#25 Mind-blowing stories about Sourdough and Sequoias

On being a disciple who lives from the inside-out

Jul 22, 2023

With the holiday season nearing, I'm gradually shifting towards what my family refers to as "Holiday Dave" mode.

While many people prefer relaxation on a beach or enjoying a quiet campfire, my approach to travel is quite different. I like to immerse myself in a new place and explore it as intensely as possible in a short period. Conquering entire nations overnight is my way of having fun! Anyone else with me on this? My wife Leah describes travelling with me as an exhausting rollercoaster ride of joy that is not for the introverted.

Take our visit to California in 2019, for example….

Day 1 in San Francisco - an actual itinerary

Wake up at Hotel Whitcomb - Downtown SF.
Go to Blue Bottle Coffee as it opens at 6:30am.
Classic Denny’s for Pancakes.
Visit Union Square for window shopping.
Walk through Chinatown.
Eat Dim Sum at 9am.
Check out the Fortune Cookie factory.
Climb up Coit Tower for the incredible views!
Bird watch.
Walk around Pier 39 eating Salt Water Taffy.
Talk to the Sea lions and imitate their noisy barking.
Visit the world-famous Fisherman’s Wharf.
Try a Boudin Sourdough Bread bowl & clam chowder.
Go on a Boudin Bakery Tour and taste bread samples.
Take a Spontaneous Boat Tour near Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge.
Go to the Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory and taste yummy samples.
Take a San Francisco Cable Car from Hyde St to Powell Market like in the movies.
Drink a Coke at Burger King (Leah needed a minute).
Check out Cityscape Bar for the views.
Drive to the Golden Gate View Point for that iconic photo.
Dinner at a Mexican Restaurant across the bridge with friends.

That was just DAY 1!

Pic: Riding the World-famous Tram

The reason I love to inhale new places in this way is because I am a firm believer that the more you experience life, the more you get to tell stories. And I love telling stories!

It is not just the stories you create, but the stories you hear that shape you. And more often than not, these travellers tales can be amazing primers (or even parallel parables you might say) for thinking about discipleship.

Two such stories I heard in San Francisco are well worth retelling….

STORY 1: THE WISDOM OF THE SOURDOUGH BAKER’S WIFE

In 1849, Isidore Boudin moved from France to San Francisco during the Gold Rush. As a Baker he began to make sourdough bread using his French recipe and then adjusted it using local yeasts. This twist led to the famous "San Francisco Sourdough," named after him.

Every sourdough starter is unique because of the specific blend of wild yeast and bacteria captured from its environment, resulting in distinct characteristics in the bread it produces.

During the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, Boudin Bakery's original location was destroyed, along with much of the city. Amidst the fire and chaos of that tragedy, an incredible story emerged.

While others were fleeing for safety, Louise Boudin, the Baker's wife, displayed immense bravery, and ran back into an endangered crumbling building. Ignoring valuable equipment, bread, and money, she focused on rescuing the precious mother dough, carrying it in a wooden bucket to safety.

The moral of the story: When everything gets shaken, we need to protect our culture. Everything else is replaceable. What if this story is a warning for the church? How often do we forget what matters and hold on to buildings, belongings, or budgets, rather than fostering that culture of discipleship?

Pic: 7X7

STORY 2: THE TRAGEDY OF THE MOTHER TREE

Just outside of San Francisco lies Calaveras Big Trees State Park, where I had my first genuine encounter with Redwoods. Giant Sequoias are absolutely breathtaking. The tallest ones can reach heights of over 30 stories, comparable to the size of a block of flats! The widest trees are 32 feet or more in diameter and weigh over 640 tonnes. Tree-mendous! And to top it off, these incredible things can live for over 3000 years, predating the time of Jesus – truly astounding considering they all start from a simple seed.

During our visit to the State Park, we came across the remains of an ancient tree that had fallen in the late 1800s. It was so massive that they used to host tea parties with 40 people standing on one stump!

In 1852, a man called Augustus T. Dowd was apparently tracking a wounded bear when he came across this grove of giant trees for the first time and subsequently hatched a plan to profit from them. In an era marked by the gold rush, circus attractions, and greatest showmen, these extraordinary trees became vulnerable to exploitation.

The second largest tree in the grove was a beautiful redwood known as the Mother Tree, and it reached a towering height of 328 feet with a circumference of 93 feet. Dowd stripped the Mother Tree’s bark intact and shipped it around the world to be put on display in a lifelike reconstruction. Naturally this process had a devastating effect on the original organism itself. After losing its protective bark, the tree was mortally wounded when a fire swept through the area. Soon, all that remained was a fire charred shell of something that was so beautiful.

Pic; Large redwood bark - displayed in Crystal Palace, London - Source Wikipedia

As Dowd exhibited his Redwood attraction in New York and London, the crowds paid their sixpence and were satisfied to experience a replica of a real thing. There was the appearance of life on the outside yet things were completely hollow.

The moral of the story: The exterior may look alive but it’s what’s on the inside that counts. What kind of life do we export to others? What if this story is a warning for the church? How often do we focus on building bigger and wider, attracting people in the name of an experience, drawing crowds rather than building the core of discipleship? How often do we leave our sources of life unguarded and therefore rely on a dying structure instead of growing organic life?

So whether you hear a story about mother dough or a mother tree, my prayer is for those of you who will be out on your travels this summer; May you find the mother of all stories to teach you something about discipleship.

Dave Boden

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