Excerpt from "Life is Like..."

Chapter 2

Over the Christmas holidays a friend of mine decided to bake chocolate chip cookies from scratch for the very first time. She was in her late forties and living alone except for her beloved dog and an independent cat. She had never had a desire before to bake cookies. However, upon hearing all the delicious and assorted cookies another friend was making, she was beguiled into thinking that making cookies was a piece of cake. No pun intended. We were all so happy she was finally getting into the Holiday Spirit. We all encouraged her to make the cookies and let us know how it went.

After the holidays I was talking to my beginner cookie making friend when she mentioned she did actually make chocolate chip cookies from scratch. And, of course, I asked her how it went. To this query I received the following response. “I will never bake cookies again!” With a chuckle in her voice she told me the story.

“From now on I will get homemade cookies from my mom or friends! I never realized how difficult it would be. I thought it would be so easy. It was only making chocolate chip cookies. How hard could they be? Well, I found out!”

As her story unraveled I had to smile to myself, because I never thought of making chocolate chip cookies as difficult or complicated. Or did I? Was there ever a time, perhaps the first few times, I made them that I felt that way? So I continued to listen to her cookie baking adventures.

She proceeded to tell me she never realized how quickly flour could get all over everything. She had flour on the counters. She had flour on the floor. She even had flour on her Black Lab and cat. Having been in her home I could just see this scenario. A white Christmas inside! That was only one of the several things that gave her pause to bake chocolate chip cookies, or any cookies for that matter, again. She had gone and bought all of her ingredients for the cookies. She bought a bag of flour along with a big bag of NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels.

She ended up buying two bags of morsels in case she didn’t have enough for her cookies. She likes chocolate. She also purchased a new baking pan for this very venture into the unknown. Now, it was going to collect dust in the cupboard. She was done baking cookies for ever: after just one day. How many of us are like that? We quit after one try if it doesn’t turn out the way we want, or we think it is too difficult to do?

I suggested she use her baking pan again: only this time go to the store and get either the cookies in a roll that you slice or get the pre-sliced ones. Why should she deny herself the pleasure of fresh baked cookies? Why should she deny the pan its right to do its job and create something delicious for her?

Eventually, after I stopped laughing and wiped the laugh tears away, I finally asked her how the cookies tasted. She told me they were delicious, just like she remembered homemade chocolate chip cookies should taste. But she still wasn’t going to bake cookies ever again.

How many times have you come up against something you thought was going to be easy, only to find it more difficult instead? How many times have you walked, or even ran, away from something you felt was too difficult even though it was good at the end, and you felt the end didn’t justify the means? How many times have you walked, and yes, even ran, away from good things and settled for less because it took too much work?

We came to this Earth to work! Now isn’t that a new concept for some of you. You have heard of the phrase “school of hard knocks” haven’t you? Well, that is what our life here on Earth is: a school of hard knocks! Without difficulties we wouldn’t appreciate life as much. The cookies wouldn’t taste as good if they were easy to make. Such is life!

Life is like making chocolate chip cookies. The process may seem difficult at times. However, the finished product is delicious. So make some chocolate chip cookies in your life! And through the difficulties keep your mind on the final outcome. On the goodness and deliciousness of your endeavors. Because truly, life is like making chocolate chip cookies!