(originally written December 11,2009, but seems to fit my busy day, preparing for a Christmas cookie exchange tonight!)
Baking cookies has always been an important Christmas tradition in my family. It always has been since my childhood. I don’t remember a Christmas where I haven’t been a part of making at least a few delectable treats.
There are a few cookies that bring memories of Christmases from my past. From a very early Christmas I remember a butter sandwich cookie with a mint butter cream frosting, made by my Aunt Belva. She threw holiday parties without parallel; the Christmas that I tasted the butter cookie was no exception. The cookie was cool because of the mint in the frosting, but it melted in my mouth because of all of the butter. I made these cookies a few years back. When I tasted it, it was as if I was transported back in time, standing at the foot of her large, cherry dining room table. It was covered with what seemed like thousands of beautiful Christmas goodies and I could smell all of the wonderful aromas coming from her kitchen.
Another very special cookie is the Christmas sugar cookies that my grandmother would bake. I specifically remember a lot of bell shaped cookies which she decorated with colorful royal icing and tiny silver balls. Oh how those cookies made my taste buds sing!
My grandmother is an incredible baker. She has passed down recipes to my mom, who has passed on a lot of recipes to me as well. A Christmas does not pass that I don’t look forward to making those Christmas sugar cookies. It wasn’t too long ago that I remember making these cookies in the midst of maternity nausea. There is almost nothing that can get in the way of this tradition. I love to bake at Christmas time.
And its not just me – my sister has this baking tradition, too. We love to use old recipes from our family and new recipes that we find. Earlier this month, she called me to say, “Get to the nearest Target, the Christmas Cookie edition of Better Homes and Gardens just went on the stands!” Not one day later my mom called and said the exact same thing. We have all spent time pouring over these recipes and discussing them over the phone. Yes, I think its safe to say Christmas baking is a deeply rooted tradition that we all hold dear.
Its my mom’s fault, really. She is good at baking. Not only was she good at it, she let us explore while teaching us the art of things like a well chilled dough, when to take your cookies out of the oven or how to pick out a new recipe. A lot of who I am today as a baker revolves around my mom’s example.
A love for baking was not all that my mother instilled in me. Without knowing it, my mom was a good example in other ways. From a young age I saw my mother make her love for the Saviour a priority. I saw it in the unspoken, every day things.
She probably doesn’t know that when I was in high school, I used to come downstairs to the kitchen in the mornings, long after she was gone to work and find her Bible and devotional book open to a particular passage. There were many nights I could hear her and my dad pouring their hearts out before the Lord for loved ones in need. These are memories I hold dear from my life in my parents’ home.
A Scripture came to mind today: “Train up a child in the way that they should go and when they are old they will not depart from it.”
Now it is my turn. I have a little eyes watching me at my house. I don’t want to be only a good baker for my children. My prayer is that my children will know what it means to follow Jesus by watching my life. Maybe they will share a love for baking a good cookie with me. But, far more importantly, its my hope that they will treasure the life they can find in Christ.
When my children are grown, I hope that they will have learned to love spending time with Jesus and how to keep from burning the cookies! Mom, if this was your prayer for me, your prayers have been answered! Thank you for your example. I love you.
md
(written December 11, 2009)
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