No Harm No Foul No Bake Chocolate Cookies . . .

“But this I call to mind, therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations: 21-23

“Marilla, isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?” … “Oh, don’t you see, Marilla? There must be a limit to the mistakes one person can make, and when I get to the end of them, then I’ll be through with them. That’s a very comforting thought.” Anne of Green Gables, written and created by Lucy Maud Montgomery, makes plain the awkward, difficult truth of humanity, we make mistakes. We err. We sin. Sometimes on purpose, sometimes by mistake, sometimes by sheer stupidity. Regardless of the whys and hows, we do it and must live with the outcomes and consequences of our mistakes.

If you have read the book, and I suggest you do, you will remember that the plot twists and turns around Anne’s mistakes, one after the other. It is a coming of age story, a book about growing up, a book about love and hope, and a book about mistakes and forgiveness. Anne has great aspirations and dreams. She loves deeply. And she makes some monster mistakes.

I love the fact that Anne did not let her mistakes keep her down. For Anne, with her pure and optimistic spirit, every morning stretched before her gloriously, anticipated and exciting, no mistakes, YET. I wish I had that kind of outlook, expecting great things, ready to dive into each new day with the thought that all would go well. Or at least could go well.

Some of us look at life anticipating the mistakes and missteps, faltering before putting one foot on the floor in the morning. “What if” thoughts swirl negatively toward the drain instead of spiraling toward the heavens, planning always for the rainy day, instead of believing the sun might come out. Another favorite character of mine, Eeyore from Winnie-the-Pooh, spent a whole beautiful, sunny day hiding because he claimed it was hurricane weather.

I have lived in hurricane territory and I am not downplaying the possible storms in our lives. Storms come. People make mistakes. Daily. I am saying that to live a whole life with one’s windows boarded up, hiding under the bed prevents one from living at all. Trying nothing for fear of failing or making a mistake is not really living at all.

And the beauty of life, of living and making mistakes, is not that someday we will reach the point where we have no mistakes left. I love the sentiment and wish it were true! but mistakes will continue as long as we breathe. Our hope comes from knowing that God’s mercies are new every morning. The writer of Lamentations–hear that, lamentations, to lament, to moan and grieve–assures us that there is a new morning. A dawn where the mistakes of yesterday are mercifully in the past and God’s love and faithfulness and forgiveness give us opportunity to try again. To face a day where there are no mistakes in it, YET.

Too often we live with low earthly expectations instead of high heavenly ones, focussing on ourselves, our inabilities and inadequacies instead of remembering and focussing on God’s power and love. The writer says, “This I call to mind”; I remember, I recite, I recall. God’s love never ceases, God’s mercies are new daily, God’s mercies are perpetual and constant, God is faithful. It is not about me, it is about Him. I can try things, and look forward to things, and enter each day with hope because God is merciful and loving. My mistakes will not carry the day, God’s love and mercy will.

That is a comforting thought. I made a mistake yesterday. Nothing too earth shattering, but its been bugging me. Nagging in my brain all night, what if I had said this instead, if only I had responded differently. A bad storm came through around 5AM, waking me, reminding me of my error. But as I lay listening to the drum of rain on the roof, I remembered God’s faithfulness. That His mercies are new every morning. That today is a new day, with no mistakes in it, YET. And He will be faithful and merciful to me even as today’s mistakes pile up.

I want to share an old recipe with you. There are quite a few iterations of it around, but this one is from on old church cookbook, the kind people typed up. My copy of this ‘book’ is in pieces and really well worn, which is to say old spills discolor almost every page. There are recipes from my mom in here, as well as other relatives and people whose names I barely remember.

Florence Brown shared her recipe for No Bake Chocolate Cookies back in the 1960’s and they are a family favorite. Her recipe is easy, but I will confess I have messed them up several times! Yes, I have made mistakes with this recipe and had the cookies turn out too hard and crumbly or so soft they never set. Yet, they are so good we come back to them time and time again. I’m grateful that my mistakes did not stop us from trying these yummy cookies.

NO BAKE CHOCOLATE COOKIES

• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 4 Tblsp baking cocoa
• 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 cups quick cooking oats

Combine first four ingredients in a sturdy, large saucepan and boil together over medium heat for about 1 minute. This boiling time is where mistakes can be made! Too long makes them crumbly, too short and they will not set. Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients. Drop by spoonfuls immediately onto parchment paper and allow to set. They will start to harden even as you are forming them.