He is my delight

I remember a day that I had gotten off work early, and on this particular day I was extremely excited about going home and making cookies. This type of cookie is a personal favorite and delight of mine. I always enjoy making these cookies because of the texture, taste and unique nature of them. They are called chocolate delights, for they surely are a delight to make and eat! :) The ingredients include dark chocolate with nuts topped with chocolate and white chocolate dripped stripes on top. Oh it truly is a beautiful experience all around! Needless to say, i hurried to the grocery store to buy the ingredients; however, payday was a week away and I was low on cash. I knew that with baking you cannot buy cheap ingredients, but because of the lack of funds, I bought cheap ingredients regardless. I did not think long term of the consequences, and without reservation I headed home with the goods to begin what I thought would be a successful baking experience. I was so happy and peaceful. My soul was singing as the dough came out with its dark brown sheen. But then I paused, looked down on the dough and noticed a different sheen than I was used to. I mixed it around some more but still felt that the sheen and texture was off. However, I just shrugged it off, thinking that I had mixed it to much. I joyfully rolled out the lovely balls onto the cookie sheet and gently pressed them down a tad. As I put them in the oven I expected a matured cookie genius to emerge from its time in the oven. Time passed, and I waited patiently. As eleven minutes came to quickly I opened the oven door and to my horror I saw cookies that were dull, that had not risen and dead in personality! I was heartbroken! The beauty I had expected was stolen by the presence of mutated monsters!

I pulled them out and in sadness stared down onto the cookie sheet with a puzzled look on my face. I went over the directions a couple times. Step by step, I wondered where I had gone wrong, but I had followed the recipe to the T. I was mystified, and then it came to me like a gentle breeze on my mind. Did you invest and give your time to the highest quality ingredients or did you trust in the mediocre to create a masterpiece? I knew in that instant that it wasn't my abilities that had created these cookie zombies but rather the mediocre ingredients I had invested in to make them. regardless it was I who was at fault. I stood back from the oven, threw the cookies away in complete disappointment and wondered how I could correct this horrible circumstance. For I yearned to eat these cookies that I had waited all week to have, and I would not be disappointed! I knew that I would have to spend double to get the cookies I wanted, but I didn't care. I wanted these delicious delights and I would do anything to get them. And so I went back to the grocery story, bought the best ingredients possible and tried the recipe over again. 

It is the same with your spiritual walk with God. You are wondering why your life after so much time is turning into a cookie disaster. But the question I must ask is, are you investing in the best quality things in your life to make it a personal success? Or are you only investing in the mediocre, thinking that the end result will be amazing! Lately, God has been asking me to trust Him (again...) and when He asks me to do this I know He is referring to my future. Are you trusting God? Are you on the spiritual offense rather than constantly fighting on the defense? Do you have a consistent prayer life? Do you seek God, in every aspect of your personal life? When you plan the future do you put God into the whole equation, rather than just a side effect or byproduct of your plans and dreams? When you don't do these things, then you are only buying the off-brands of life expecting a master piece. The truth is that you will only look like every other grocery store bought chocolate chip cookie in Walmart. Your life will be flavorless and lack unique zest and personality. But if you invest all that you have in Christ, he will be your delight, you will be the most beautiful creation that the world has seen! Your truest and greatest investment would be when your life is in God's hands. It can be no safer, no more beautiful, no more potentially capable of greatness than when it is in His hands!  

I got back from the grocery store, after buying the new ingredients and began the journey once more. Instantly as I mixed the new ingredients with just as much love and care as before I noticed an immediate difference. The sheen of the dough was shinier, the gloss was beautiful, it was dark, and the aroma of the dough was deeper and richer. I felt like the cookies would be amazing this time! But the truth is that this time I invested in the best of the best, but I would not know its success until eleven minutes later when it came out of the oven. Many times we don't know what will happen, we don't understand why certain things do happen and we are anxious to try to understand what we can do. That is how I feel this senior year. My future seems so unclear and I feel so completely up in the air. But don't let that anxiety push you further from Christ but rather draw you closer to Him. 

I rolled out the balls of dough and yet again lovingly laid them on the cookie sheet. I was happy and nervous. I could feel the ultimate disappointment touch my soul again if these did not come out as they were meant to. I imagine, that is how God feels when He puts so much into us. The best quality ingredients, all His love and care, and best dreams and intentions He has for us and we decide to turn from Him anyway. That is how I felt about these cookies. I placed them in the oven trusting that because I had invested the best in them they would come out beautiful! I waited as eleven minutes slowly passed by. The seconds seemed like an eternity. But as the clock clinked and the alarm went off I rushed to the oven opened it with anticipation and saw the most beautiful and unique cookies I had ever seen! I was overjoyed! 

I learned the hard lesson that day. What you invest in is what you get. It is a concept that is rather simple, yet not easily understood by many. You want to be amazing in life then invest in the very best. Let me give you a hint, the very best just so happens to be Christ! ;) Your hard work will pay off, I PROMISE! Just because its not in your timing doesn't mean that the process of the change isn't happening. Just keep working to the best of your ability and it will all work out!