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We all know the saying “that’s how the cookie crumbles” but do we know how we can stop it from crumbling? Or, in the case of actual cookies, how we can make dry cookies come back to life with soft freshly baked moisture? If you know me, you’d probably guess that one of my favorite cookie flavors is peanut butter. Problem is most peanut butter cookies get dry very quickly and that’s not good.

But it turns out, I have a really, good trick for putting moisture back into cookies, whether they’re home baked or store bought? And if you try my tip, you might say that’s how the cookie doesn’t crumble. At least not as easily. But before I tell you what the trick is, I want to talk a little bit about that whole metaphor thing that’s baked into the statement.

The actor Jim Carey made us all laugh in the movie, Bruce Almighty, as a television news reporter who always wrapped up his report with, “And that’s how the cookie crumbles.” But you don’t have to be a celebrity or even a smart cookie to understand this metaphor applies to just about any kind of life issue. You might be talking about an investment that didn’t pan out, a project that failed, or even a serious matter that you’re trying to make light of. Whatever the case, we use this flippant comment to ease our disappointments when something doesn’t work out as sweet as we’d hoped. As a way of easing the pain of disillusionment by laughing it off. But whether you laugh so hard you cry or weep with sobs of anguish, tears can help you contend with what went wrong. 

Studies have shown that crying can help you heal when you’re going through emotional trauma, because they release toxins that build up within you. The Bible often talks about tears and crying including the shortest verse: “Jesus wept.” We also read about a woman named Mary who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears. I think my favorite verse about tears is Psalm 30:5, “Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning.” It’s one I often count on.

So, you may be asking, what’s that got to do with cookies? Well, that’s where my trick comes in. 

Here’s the trick: #1 Put a slice of bread on top of a plate of cookies, #2 wrap the cookies with plastic wrap leaving the bread on top of the cookies and #3 give them 10 to 30 minutes. #4 Take off the bread (now very dry) and Waah-La! You’ll have soft moist cookies. (The time varies with different kinds of cookies). You may even see good results with as little as five minutes, or you may have to leave them overnight. Either way, you will realize that the process of osmosis took place by drawing all the moisture out of the bread and placing it into the cookies. 

Getting back to metaphors, Jesus often used bread in a metaphoric way. Not long after he miraculously multiplied two fish, five loaves of bread, and fed a crowd of 5,000, he said, “My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” (John 6:32b-33). Then he reiterated it later by saying, “I am the bread of life.” (John 6:48) 

Applying this profound analogy to something we commonly eat, one might say that Jesus is the only moisturizing bread that can truly bring life into our dry spirits. When we let Him come into our hearts by believing in Him and his sacrificial love for us, He pours His spirit into us with a supernatural osmosis. We are born again with fresh life and a sweetness that lasts forever. However, we are like fragile cookies living in a world of crushing disappointments and crumbling disasters. And sometimes our half-baked faith allows His living water to seep out or we fill ourselves with things that don’t fit His recipe for goodness. So, we need to keep coming to Him for a filling of His Holy Spirit every day. We need to lay Jesus, the Bread of life, on our cracked and dry souls.

And that’s how our spiritual cookie doesn’t crumble.

If your’e going through a tough time I hope you will let your tears flow and ask Jesus to fill you with His hope and strength. Let me know in the comments here, if I can pray for you in some way.

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