Learning How To Be A Square

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2

Being raised in the South, I can hardly get through the day without having bread of some kind. Growing up it was biscuits for breakfast, white bread sandwiches at lunch, and yeast rolls for dinner. There was never any discussion of carbs or gluten or calories. It was just understood that a meal was not a meal without bread.

My favorite meal of the day was breakfast. My mom made the most mouthwatering biscuits. Soft, fluffy, melt in your mouth circles of goodness, dripping with butter or jam or covered in sausage gravy. There is no comparison in my mind to those biscuits and the cardboard tasting canned kind that often appears on my table. Sadly as I have become older and my doctor has become more adamant about me keeping the pounds off, it is a rare occurrence for biscuits to be on the menu at our house.

Recently, during a wonderful week of kids, grand kids, and memory making, I decided to teach my granddaughters how to make biscuits. We discussed the importance of measuring properly, how to cut the shortening into the flour mixture, and how to gently knead the dough. I taught them about dusting the surface of the counter with flour to keep the biscuit dough from sticking.

At last we stared down at the rectangle in front of us. It is here that I told them how I had made a change to the way my mother had taught me. When I was a girl, we cut biscuits using an upside down drinking glass dipped into flour. This made perfect circles. But there was always leftover dough that had to be scooped up and formed into a circle by hand. Each time you handle biscuit dough it gets a little tougher in texture. So the end products were a little like misshapen hockey pucks.

While watching a cooking show I watched the host cut the biscuits into squares. Her reasoning was that there would be no leftover dough to handle and who decided biscuits had to be round anyway? Wow I thought. I had always made circles because my mom made circles and her mom made circles and so on. Because that is the way it has always been done.

So I shared with my granddaughters the secret of my square biscuits. It made sense to them! I watched as they carefully cut and transferred the dough onto the cooking sheets. They were so excited and proud to serve them up with the sausage gravy I also taught them to make. Grandpa deemed the entire endeavor a great success, telling them they could make him square biscuits anytime!

When I came across this scripture in Romans this morning, I thought of the square biscuits. The world would say that I must make round biscuits in order for them to be correct. But experience has taught me that the shape of the biscuit does not alter the taste or texture in any way. Much like my life. The world says that I must conform to the behaviors and customs of the world but experience has taught me that what is on the outside does not in any way alter the Spirit of God within me. I have learned that it is much easier to please God and seek after doing His will if I am not worried about what how the world wants to define me. It is ok for me to be a square in a world of circles!

©Michelle Welch, team member of Breath Of Life Women's Ministries
photography by Michelle Welch, all rights reserved
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