Celebrate a Faithful Life

Celebrating A Faithful Life

This set of cookies celebrates a woman's life filled with the beauty of faith and grace.  As I dreamed on these cookies, I thought of the responsibilities of her life.  Daughter.  Pastor's wife.  Mother.  Teacher.  Counselor.  Friend.  In all of these she is a woman of faith.  More recently, an unbidden role crept into her life.  Cancer patient.  The family wailed and cried when the diagnosis of incurable ovarian cancer was determined.  For a while we refused to accept a new reality for her, a woman who was otherwise healthy and active, who went marching into retirement with dreams of travel, helping those in need and working in her beautiful garden.  This wasn't the plan!

Although travel was mostly set aside, and helping others became spoken encouragement instead of delivering Meals on Wheels, the call of the beauty and peace in the garden remained.  The two surgeries, endless rounds of chemo and perpetual needle sticks/IVs/exams became something not to be simply endured, but seen as tools, the hoes and herbicides, to manage and beat back the weeds of disease.  As these implements were welcomed, strength was gained and better health flourished.  She was able to tend her beloved day lilies and all her blooms.  The beauty there fed faith in God's grace, that love she relies on when the world says "all is lost."  The garden says "here is My beauty, offered to you now and eternally."   

This set of cookies celebrates my mother's life, filled with the beauty of faith and grace.  It represents her favorite day lilies, cone flowers, hydrangeas, and blueberries, little birds and rabbits.  I honor the life she gave me, her firstborn daughter, her love and gentle counsel through the years.  I am blessed by her respect for me, and the thousands of ways she has offered encouragement through the joy of our lives together and the pain of loss.  I celebrate my mother's love of God's beautiful garden of this earth and her faith in His eternity.   

I love you, Mom!

***These cookies are part of a collaborative project designed to honor Anita of Sweet Hope Cookies (https://www.facebook.com/SweetHopeCookies) for her tireless work on behalf of those living with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease).  I have followed Anita's work for quite some time, and finally met her in Salt Lake City at Cookie Con.  She is full of joyous mischief, witty remarks and is a constant blur of action living her love for others out loud.  Anita works for support of ALS patients because her brother Randy died from the effects of this debilitating disease.  I feel a kinship with her, as my grandfather, my mother's father, was stricken with this illness when I was a young girl, and died a few years later.  It is my intent to follow Anita's path of generosity and deep care for others through cookies.  I find it quite apropos to celebrate the life of my mother while celebrating Anita's inspiration, as they each have added so much sweetness to this world!*** #CelebrateLife

Faith and Flour

Who would have believed it would be cookies?

A wise woman, my pastor, in fact, taught me that all believers are given dominion (Genesis 1:26).  At the time I was wrestling daily, if not hourly, with purpose.  It was agonizing, and I ended many days feeling empty, when my aim was to be fruitful.  I had experienced a heartbreaking change in my professional life.  I resigned the job, but it had not been my plan.  Sometimes the Holy Spirit pushes you, ready-or-not, out of a dangerous and deadly-to-the-spirit situation.   A year later, belief was strong, but my faith needed a giant boost.  Reflecting on dominion in a totally different way, thanks to Pastor Shelley, I could step one foot before the other not knowing the plan, but having faith that whatever God had waiting was unbelievable good.

With many, many unfilled hours stretching before me I decided to bake.  I had frozen paletas (Mexican style fresh pops) all summer, but it was cold outdoors with the coming of winter.  The oven was the more attractive option.

I had seen lovely cookies somewhere online, skimmed a recipe, and waded in softening the butter and measuring flour.  The cookies were simple for a girl who thought the best toy ever was an Easy Bake Oven.  But royal icing?  I was ignorant that it is tricky, taking knowledge and finesse.  This mystical icing is as fragile as fairy dust, and takes the bloom of the peony and the sweetest song of the lark to love it into a workable form.  

Upon finishing the cookies, my kitchen featured several hundred drips of royal icing in rainbow colors on the counters, floor, and sink, truly every surface.  I am not easily vanquished, even by meringue powder, so I kept at it.  But I'll be honest, though I was proud of those cookies, I still didn't see dominion.  I'll share more of the story in the next few posts.  If you struggle with purpose,  I hope you'll find something for your encouragement here.  

My First Cookies 

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She's Come a Long Way, Baby!