Christmas Cookies

by Bettina Dowell

Going to my Aunt Dot’s and Uncle Don’s house for Christmas has always been a treat. Very few places on earth feel as comfortable, warm and accepting as being in their home. One of our favorite things about Christmas though is Aunt Dot’s cookies. She starts very early in the season preparing and freezing cookies of every variety imaginable. No dieting or scrimping in these cookies. They are filled with butter, sugar and many other yummy ingredients. When we arrive, there is always a tray out filled with these delicious delights.

There is only one problem with all this sugary yumminess. Sometimes, I find myself grabbing “just one cookie” so many times during the day that when the mealtime arrives, it is hard to eat. Like a five year old, I have already filled up on cookies, leaving no room for the main meal my body needs to actually nourish me and satisfy my true hunger. So like my spiritual condition at times.

God knows I am hungry – and wants me filled up – on Him. But too often, I have filled up on cookies and have no room left for the food that will actually nourish and fill me. Then, in spite of the fact that I have eaten, my body ends up hungry for the nourishment it requires.

Let me share with you some of the spiritual cookies that I have used to fill me up in the past:

1. Having the perfect house (ok, realistically, I was never even close on this one!)
2. Being the perfect parent (might have made this one except for those “imperfect” children I had to raise – just saying)
3. Getting everything “done” on my list (yeah, that was going to happen)
4. Being the hostess with the mostest (Martha Stewart, look out)
5. Having a career/job I loved and valued (somehow this rings very hollow from a currently unemployed person!)

Here is the real truth. God and His word are the only things that will actually satisfy the empty hungry places in my soul.

How do you know if you have hungry places that are unfilled? Maybe your anger with your spouse, your frustration at your job, or your fear of the future is actually unidentified hunger pain. Today, can you let go of some of the cookies you have been stuffing on and fill yourself with the only thing that will actually truly satisfy?

Cookies are great, especially when made by my Aunt Dot. But they are treats, never meant to actually satisfy deep hunger or provide extended nourishment. So, enjoy your cookies this holiday, but make sure you are filling your soul with the things that will feed your hunger.

Open your mouth and eat what I give you.
Ezekiel 2:8b (NIV)

About the Author:
Through years of interacting with women and their families, God has developed a passion in Bettina’s heart for women to accept and embrace their identity in Christ as His princesses. She believes that when women truly know who they are in Christ, it affects how they live their daily lives. God trains her graciously through His word and very often through her own many mistakes.