Disappointments

I had the urge to bake this favorite cookie of mine, which recipe was shared by my best friend. After getting the ingredients I needed, I called my son and asked him if he wanted to join in, in baking a batch. He got excited and volunteered to apply the icing when the freshly-baked pistachio cookies came out of the oven! When he saw how delicate the cookies were, he got afraid of messing up in putting the icing. I told him, this batch was our cookies and that, he didn't need to be afraid as I wanted him to have fun instead, whether the icing would be looking nice or not, I guaranteed, the icing wouldn't change the taste. I saw a tremendous sigh of relief on his face and this was what he did the first time he applied the icing:

He goes, "Mom! It doesn't look nice! Sorry..." I said, "It's okay, just keep trying...To me, it looks nice for the first time you did it..." So the more he tried. After applying the white or milk chocolate icing on 5 0r 6 cookies, with 5 or 6 times getting disappointed, his skill got more adept, until I saw the frustration and disappointment vanished into thin air. Much to my surprise, he started enjoying his task and showed he was having a great time as he began applying the icing with a more precise pattern.

The best part was the tasting part. The cookies were so deliciously soft and the icing made it more appealing to be bitten. We decided to try to put them in my cellophane wrappers, before we ended up devouring everything. They looked so good that we both knew that we had made a special gift, to be given as "homemade gifts" to families and friends:

Our lives do not come in great looking packages such as these cookies. We all go through frustrations and disappointments also as we meet life's challenges. But God is always there encouraging us the whole time. He is always there going through all these trials with us. He is always coaching us, as we try to perfect our "icing techniques" on different cookies [trials] of life. We should never get tired trying and trying, doing good, no matter how many times we fail and get disappointed, with ourselves and with others. We should accept the risks of life but before we tackle each and every risk, let us put our trust first in God.

May you enjoy the sweet taste of success as you listen first to the One Who is the true Baker, the Encourager of this fragile life!

Psalm 34:2 - "I will boast only in the Lord; let all who are discouraged take heart."

Galatians 6:9 - "Don't get tired of doing what is good. Don't get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time."

Galatians 6:4 -"Be sure to do what you should, for then you will enjoy the personal satisfaction of having done your work well, and you won't need to compare yourself to anyone else."

Psalm 55:22 -"Give your burdens to the Lord and He will take care of you."