So if you don’t know this already I love kombucha and it’s a love I got my family hooked on too…my mom now is a home-brewer of the stuff. Kombucha is a probiotic beverage that is a great, natural and such a refreshing drink I always request more of when I get to steal some from my mom’s fridge. I have been missing it while being abroad.
Where am I going with sharing this odd craving? Well I am stoked this month since I found it’s sister product, kefir soda, here in Malaysia! One Sunday, while exploring the city on bikes, we found this cute pop-up market in this old bus depot with a shed that was converted to a home for Patie’s kefir soda making business!
I was in heaven as she gave me samples of all her flavors and explained the differences between kefir and kombucha and the whole fermenting process. Not only was the kefir great but Patie, the entrepreneur, is the sweetest lady and a sister in Christ (I was surprised she was so open about it and questioning us since it’s a closed country and we have to be careful with our words)! I was so intrigued I told her I would be back which lead to the opportunity for me to help her out and do life with this inspiring lady.
Anyways, I am now quite educated on this amazing drink and couldn’t help but relate it to what God is stirring up in my heart this month. I have lots of time to think and process which is just what I have asked God for…deeper intimacy with Him. He has given me the space to dive deep in my heart to dig out the garbage that has been taking room from Him completely moving in. Through books and podcasts and sharing testimonies with my teammates I have realized how much pain and hurt I did suffer in the past that has been affecting me here in the present. There is junk I didn’t even know existed; I have realized my testimony isn’t as pretty and straight forward as I had been telling it. God has brought up specific moments from my past that need attention. These hidden wounds have had a hold on my identity and it is hindering the growth in depth I want with my Heavenly Father.
Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
Psalm 139:23-24
Similarly to make kefir, the kefir grains are added to water, some organic raw sugar is added and the fruit flavoring of your choice is mixed in as well. Then it sits. The live cultures feed in the sugars which ferments the drink. The longer it sits the more bitter it becomes; the baggage we let fester inside stays and grows, takes the sweetness of life and makes it bitter. If you let it sit too long it ruins the batch- it’s not pleasing to the taste buds and it’s not good for the mind- the alcohol builds up which would eventually mess with your head.
In life we are still going to have hurt and pain it’s guaranteed. It’s how we react and how long we let it sit and eat away at us that matters. If we take it, strain it out then add all the fruitfulness of our blessings to our life we create a handcrafted brew of deliciousness. This fruity, sweetened probiotic refreshment also is great for the immune system just like healing from past wounds makes us stronger and more confident in who God has called us to be. It builds defense in our inner being against the foreign things that try to attack.
Thank you Lord for this delicious thirst-quencher. Thank you for helping me heal and become one more step closer to the daughter You have called me to be. I want to become that handcrafted, signature beverage bringing joy and strength to others with every sip 🙂
I could be an advertisement lol
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Fun Fact: We are here in Malaysia for a historic moment! Elections were last week for the new leader, which happens every five years, and the opposition won for the first time in sixty years…not to mention a female prime minister being sworn in as well! Wow, it’s cool to see the pride and unity of this country 🙂
