This year my daughter-in-law, my daughter, and I decided to try a drop-off cookie and pastry exchange. Normally we would be bringing such treats to multiple gatherings on both sides of the family, but with the Covid restrictions, we had to figure out a way to get our baking fix without eating six dozen of the same cookie ourselves.
So I got to work and made my personal favorites, chocolate biscotti, and chocolate chip cookies. I decided I had the time and energy to make one more type and asked my husband what he wanted. His reply was he loves iced sugar cutouts, like my sister makes, with lots of details and really pretty. My sister usually bakes about 20 dozen cutouts each year and spends several days painting them and using them as gifts for business associates. and church friends. She is much more artistically talented than I and I usually only bake cutouts when I can't get any of hers.
So I pulled out my favorite recipe and set to work. The dough came together without mishap and I put it in the fridge to firm up. I looked over my collection of cookie cutters and pulled out about eight, reminding myself that I need to not do more than I have the time or talent for. The icing looked and smelled good and I was ready to get to work. Then I realized that if you only decorate cookies every few years, you don't necessarily have all the tools you need. A toothpick and a spoon worked well enough to cover the large areas so I was a little emboldened. That is when things started to unravel. I could not get the colors to blend the way I wanted so each Santa had a dusty rose hat. My hand was not steady enough to get the eyes straight and then I started rushing and realized I was going to have a lot more to clean up because I was rushing. After an hour or so I decided that a single color on each cookie and some sprinkles would do. They taste good and my husband is satisfied, even though they do not look like bakery quality.
I started thinking about how this baking experience relates to Advent and how I should be preparing myself for Jesus coming. It feels like I was fighting most of my bad habits during this project, rushing, trying to do too much, not taking the time to find the right tools, giving up, and taking shortcuts. I will probably get more compliments on the cookies that I bake more often, just like I can do most things better when I practice them. Like the cookies, I am pretty good as is. But this time of year we as Catholics and Christians have the opportunity, even the duty, to try to become more prepared for the coming of our Lord, not only at Christmas but when we meet Him face to face at the end of our life.
Make sure to find a way to enjoy the Christmas season, even if it means some major changes in tradition. We can all learn to enjoy simple things and appreciate all the wonders of the season.
