Unbaked Cookie Dough

I think most people feel like an unbaked bowl of cookie dough for the majority of their lives. We feel like an unbaked bowl of dough, or a blank canvas, or an unfinished math problem.

And, for most of our lives, we constantly ask when the dough will be baked, the canvas will be painted, or the problem will be solved.

We waste our whole lives trying to figure it out.

And, as we try to figure it out, wrestling with questions and doubts and concerns, the cookies are being baked in the oven, the canvas is being painted, and the math problem is being solved—and we don’t even realize it.

We keep waiting for the moment when we will blossom, and when we think we finally are, we become ecstatic. But when we shrivel up, we whine.

The truth is that, as we are waiting to blossom, we are blossoming!

I realize that was a crazy mess of words, so let me try to explain that mess with an example.

A couple years ago, I thought I was at my peak. You know what I mean. I had a big group of friends (according to an introverted homeschooler’s standards). I was busy with school but not overwhelmed. I knew lots of kids in my youth group. I felt pretty satisfied with my life.

However, my peak season didn’t last long. I soon felt like I was withering.  Most of my friends moved on. My sister went away to college. I felt very far from God. Life changed, and I didn’t feel as satisfied.

Even my five-year-old cousin feels like she hasn’t hit her peak season. It’s kind of funny and sad at the same time. She cannot wait to turn six. As soon as she turned 5 1/2, she wanted to be six. I asked her, “But don’t you like being five?” She replied, “Yes, but then I’ll be six and then seven and then eight and then nine!”

Basically, we can’t wait to get out of whatever season we are currently in. We feel stuck, wondering if life will ever change. When we finally “blossom,” we enjoy it; but our time of blossoming quickly fades and we feel dissatisfied again.

I know. It’s a vicious cycle.

But that’s what life is—a cycle! It is a series of ups and downs, ins and outs, and ups and overs.

At different times in our lives, we ponder these questions:

1. When will I start high school?
2. When will I get my driver’s license?
3. When will I get a boyfriend/girlfriend?
4. When will I finish high school?
5. When will I graduate from college?
6. When will I get the perfect job?
7. When will I get married and start a family?
8. When will I get a house?
9. When will I get a raise/promotion?
10. When will I get grandkids?
11. When will I retire?
12. When will I die?

(The last one was a joke, by the way. 🙂 )

When we have answered one question, we start asking the next one. We spend our lives asking ourselves (and God) when we will peak. When will we become successful, accomplished, and recognized? When will we finally _______?

Most girls cannot wait to have a husband, a home, kids, and grandkids. Most guys want to get a college degree, get a job, get a promotion, and get out.

We trudge through life believing we are unbaked, un-started, unsolved messes.

We wonder when our days/months/years of work will pay off. Will your college degree earn you a job? Will your time serving in Bible study help you become its leader? Will your countless piano lessons provide you an opportunity to perform?

Maybe we just need to learn to be diligent.

Blessed is the person who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the Law of the Lord, and on His Law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers. (Psalm 1:1-3 NASB)

As you struggle to pass your driving test—even though all of your friends have passed theirs—you are prospering.

As you clean up after your best friend’s wedding shower—even though you are still a single lady—you are prospering.

As you listen to your sister announce her third pregnancy—even though you’ve been trying to have a baby for years—you are prospering.

As you maintain your little home—even though your family is packed into it like sardines—you are prospering.

As you teach Sunday school to rowdy youngsters—even though you’d love to be leading the men’s Bible study—you are prospering.

As you scrub bathrooms to make a living—even though you crave a “real” job—you are prospering.

We believe the lies that Satan and our society tell us every day. They tell us that we’re failures if we drive old pickup trucks, have never been on a date, work as a cashier, or live in one-story homes.

But God says we “overwhelmingly conquer” (Romans 8:37 NASB). Even though you may be struggling spiritually, emotionally, mentally, physically, or financially, you are not losing the battle of life. I have no idea what you’re going through, but if you’re trying to seek the Lord and not throw yourself an eternal pity party, you are prospering.

You are learning to wait. You are learning to be diligent. You are learning to trust God.

In God’s eyes, you are blossoming NOW. You are prospering NOW.

After all, you’ll never learn to have faith if you get everything you want when you want it.

Even though my friends seem scarce and I don’t have hundreds of blog followers and I clean toilets to earn money, I am still a conqueror. I am blossoming NOW. God’s plan for my life is happening NOW.

Even though you may be without a job, a family, or a car, you are still a conqueror. You are blossoming NOW. God’s plan for your life is happening NOW.

Not because we have accomplished a lot. Not because we live in mansions or drive new cars. Not because we have countless Facebook friends.

We conquer because we are His (Romans 8:37).