“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
Matthew 7:24-27
“At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 18:1-4
The rain came down so fast that our front walkway was submerged by the time I checked. Thankfully the storm was short lived and by mid-morning mere puddles remained, reflecting the sunshine that had replaced the clouds.
To me the puddles were a nuisance, messing up the flagstones and forming ruts and holes in my yard. To my grandchildren, however, puddles are nothing but fun. Break out the Wellies and the umbrellas, rainstorms equal puddle jumping time! In fact, their preference is to get outside before the rain subsides to give the umbrellas something meaningful to do! I’m not sure why they bother with the Wellies, they will be absolutely drenched by the time the come in. Drenched and delighted.
The Bible has much to say about children. In Proverbs and 1 Corinthians we are told to grow up; to mature and put away childish thoughts and selfishness. In the gospels Jesus demands the little children be brought to him and explains that unless adults have faith like a little child they cannot be saved. So is being like a child a good thing or a bad thing?
I believe there is a difference in the connotations of the terms childish and childlike. To be childish refers to attitudes of immaturity, selfishness, and pettiness. To be childlike evokes images of wonder, honesty and openness. Childish defines the negative qualities of young people; childlike the positive qualities.
When puddles fill my life, both figuratively and literally, I long to respond with childlike wonder and faith. What good can come from the puddles; what kind of fun can we make of them? How long can we enjoy them before the sun comes out? Drenched and delighted.
Instead, I usually see the ruts and holes and inconveniences of the puddles. How can I fix it? How long will I have to endure the puddles before I can accomplish my agenda? Childish, selfish and self absorbed, I am more often wet and worried than drenched and delighted!
Jesus’ call to come to him as a little child humbles me. I am reminded that I need to see with new and renewed eyes; to view life with the wonder of a child. I need to see the fun in the puddles, the beauty of the grass after a rain, the delight of splashing for the sheer joy of it!
The rain and the puddles also serve as a test of my faith. Is my life built on the solid foundation of Jesus? Am I trusting in God, who promises to never leave me or forsake me, despite the storms outside? Is my faith firm enough to withstand the hurricane, like a house that will not be swept away by the flood? Anyone can say they have faith, but our actions and reactions during and after a storm prove what our lives are founded on.
Jesus is very clear that trials will come. Life will not always be easy and sunny; but the wise man will hear and follow the words of God. In this way, the storms and trials and stresses of life will not overcome us. Jesus is also clear that it is when we humble ourselves like a little child that the kingdom of heaven is ours. The foundation and the agenda must be God’s. We can allow ourselves to be drenched and delighted!
Today’s recipe is a fun take on peanut butter cookies. The consistency of the cookie cup and the fudge filling together is marvelous. These are definitely the best kind of puddles to have in your kitchen and life!
Fudge Puddles
Cookie Cups
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/4 cup Gold Medal Flour
- 1/3 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
Fudge Filling
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
In large stand mixer cream together butter, peanut butter, brown and granulated sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and beat with creamed mixture until well blended. Dough should form into a ball. Dough will be slightly sticky. Cover, either in bowl or wrap in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for at least an hour to chill. This dough can also chill overnight if necessary.
Preheat oven to 325*. Spray mini-muffin tins. Remove dough from refrigerator and roll into balls. Place each ball in a mini-muffin tin. Do not push down. Bake 14 minutes and remove from oven. Take the back of a teaspoon measure and push warm cookies down. Fill with chocolate filling. Remove from tins and allow to cool the rest of the way on wire racks.
For chocolate filling, put sweetened condensed milk and both types of chocolate chips in a saucepan. On low heat, melt together until mixture is smooth. Add vanilla. Using a spoon, fill each baked peanut butter cookie cup.
About the filling . . .! I doubled the cookie cup recipe and had almost enough filling ( without doubling the filling) to fill all of the cookies. The last nine cookie cups just received a Hershey’s kiss! If you bake the original recipe, you will have excess chocolate filling. Not that excess chocolate filling is a bad thing! You can use this filling to drizzle over ice-cream or other treats.
