For want of salt


            I know I have been absent from the blogosphere for a while. My meandering mind wandered into the realm of baked goods. I have been exploring my baking skills and sharing the benefits with others; it brings me a lot of pleasure to share my baked goods. Keep in mind that I work with other nurses who are often the recipients of my kitchen exploits; when it comes to food we nurses aren’t always that picky, especially if we can grab and go.
            Something I bake frequently is chocolate chip cookies. I know the recipe by heart, it isn’t complicated. So, this past week I decided to bake cookies to take to work. Eggs, butter, flour, baking soda, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla all blended together and the chocolate chips of course. I tasted the cookie dough and I knew something wasn’t right, but I continued to scoop the dough onto the baking sheet and bake them.  I placed the final baking sheet into the oven and took a bite of a slightly cooled cookie and it hit me. I forgot the salt! Mind you, only a teaspoon of salt is needed for a whole batch of cookie dough but boy, does that teaspoon make a difference. I still ate a couple of the cookies, trying to convince myself that they weren’t THAT bad. At the same time, I knew in my heart that I could not share these cookies, my pride would not allow it, I could not subject my friends to the inferior cookies.
            I pondered what I could take away from this baking lesson (aside from reading the recipe). Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth. But is the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” occurred to me. As Christians, we add flavor to the world and hopefully do not leave a bad taste. The cookies left a bad taste in my mouth and I did throw them out.  It caused me to consider more deeply my words and actions and the taste I leave behind me. My desire is to leave others wanting more; more of what I have to share, more of my faith, more of Jesus. This is adding flavor to the world; to create in others, at the very least, a curiosity to know more about our Savior. To lead lives so filled with peace and contentment it causes others to want it too. When asked by another, ‘what makes you tick?’ how will you respond? Flavor the conversation with the saving love of Jesus Christ and all the joy it brings to know Him. It doesn’t take a lot of salt to add flavor, just a pinch can make a world of difference. You and I can make a difference.

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