Have you ever made a recipe but didn’t follow the instructions? Like maybe used salt instead of sugar or tried one of those healthy alternatives that came out poorly? Yeah, me too.
Even worse—it was for a meal train for a mom with a new baby. I have my cookie recipe memorized. I could do it in the dark, in a train, in a box for a fox (like my Dr. Seuss play on words there, friends), but I had been baking a cake—and my cake temperature was different than my cookies. Cake was at 325, and my cookies were always at 375. You can see where this was going.
The mother-in-law was at my house to pick up the supper. I pulled the cookies out that I had received so many compliments on, and they were raw, flat, and ugly. I put them in for five more minutes… now they were overly chewy, stuck, and unattractive. I couldn’t send these to her.
It took me forever to realize why my cookies hadn’t turned out how they always had before. I had missed the temperature of the oven. And although the cookies tasted okay to my family… they weren’t my best. They didn’t love them, and they’d never ask for them again.
Next time, I made sure to preheat the oven correctly, and they turned out perfect. All three dozen gone within six hours.
But what does this have to do with our daily life?
Proverbs 5:1 shows us to pay attention—not only that, the Good Book repeats it again right away:
“My son, pay attention to my wisdom; listen carefully to my wise counsel.”
If we pay attention but don’t listen, it doesn’t matter. If we mix the cookies perfectly and follow the recipe but don’t follow the instructions for the temperature, it’s a flop.
When we choose to slow down and do things the LORD’s way—whether in our daily life of parenting, work, finances, health—you name it—we have a promise fulfilled in verse two that we can take to God’s bank.
Verse two shares:
“Then you will show discernment, and your lips will express what you have learned.”
That recipe or lesson you learned will go on to bless someone else. So don’t think that the lesson of bad cookies was just for me—or that something that happened in your life is just for your own learning curve. It will bless others.
And the result? Delicious cookies and wisdom for everyone to benefit from. Nothing returns to the LORD void.
Rachel Redlin is a columnist, author, journalist, and award-winning radio host. She lives in Northwest Kansas with her husband and five children, where she writes about faith, food, and the simple everyday life. Want to read more or contact us? You can subscribe to the FREE newsletter at www.simplybloominggrace.com
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