Cookie Woes and Ministering

We had a ministering conference during Relief Society on Sunday.  We (the RS presidency) were each supposed to bring two dozen cookies so we could provide some refreshments at the end of the conference.  I volunteered to make chocolate chip because I knew they would safe/fail proof.

Bri and I had a full day starting with Aubrey's all day volleyball tournament at 8:00 and ending with a date night at a haunted house.  I needed to bake those cookies and it was 10 pm.   I was pleasantly surprised when Tanner agreed to help.  

We teamed up and doubled the recipe.  Everything was going great...or so we thought.

But then the first batch came out of the oven.  These cookies were about 1/16" thick and just lovely.  This wouldn't have been so crushing if I wouldn't have been so tired and I didn't have to have them for the next day.  

I was beat and still needed to hash out my part of the ministering presentation.  I figured we probably doubled everything but the flour.  I added flour, put everything in two pans and made them into bars.   Then I could move on with my life rather than living on a 8-10 minute timer until 12:30 in the morning.

The bars turned out good enough and I was able to use my cookie woes as an object lesson in Relief Society the next day.  I printed two pictures.  One showed a beautiful pan of cookies and the other showed our sad, flat little guys.

I related it to ministering.  Sometimes we might get caught up in the "fluff."  We might not reach out because our cookies didn't turn out.  Maybe we haven't had time to make a treat or purchase the cute little gift we had planned on giving.  Maybe those we minister to are sick, and we hesitate to make contact unless we have a meal on hand to provide.

We need to worry less about the fluff and make that call, send that text, just reach out. 

Our ministering brother and his wife did just that these past two weeks.  They noticed Tanner had not been at church for a couple of weeks and stopped by after Young Men's to see how he was.  It was 9:00 at night.

They didn't bring cookies.  They didn't bring a card or a meal.  They brought concern and love.

They also followed up with a few texts to check on his recovery over the next several days.  I was extremely grateful for those texts and also pretty surprised at how grateful I felt.  With both Brian and Tanner being sick, I felt like a buoy had been thrown to me.  This experience really helped me realize/remember how simple acts of kindness can make a really big difference. 

Ministering could be a batch of perfectly made chocolate chip cookies, a home cooked meal or help with a move. 

Ministering should be a friendly face, a budding friendship, interest, a helping hand. 

Ministering is love.