The Parable of the Deviled Eggs

My three-month-old nephew received an infant blessing by his father at church this Sunday.   This is a special opportunity within my church for families to come together and celebrate little ones.  Most often, the family will meet afterwards for a brunch.  I had a plethora of eggs leftover from our pancake breakfast fundraiser so I offered, somewhat short-sightedly I guess, to make deviled eggs for the brunch. 

I've cooked perfectly respectable hard-boiled eggs in the past so I wasn't expecting much difficulty.  I thought I might even doll them up a bit, for the special occasion.  This could reflect something similar to what I had in mind:

Instead, for whatever reason, my cooking/peeling efforts were falling short of my heighty expectations.  The whites were looking more like this:

Whaaaa???  This will not do, I told myself.  I explored different options.  I read the recommendations of supposed experts in the field of cooking.  I did what I felt I could, but each batch were coming out "awful" (by my standards, at least) and I got frustrated.  After a couple hours I threw in the towel and told my family I would be bringing lemon squares instead.  I felt my humble eggs would be an embarrassment to an otherwise polished breakfast buffet.   

My husband, aware of my frustration, sweetly offered to bake the lemon squares.  What a kind and thoughtful gesture!  I leashed Cooper, threw a coat on Chloe and took them on an evening walk while Ryan took his turn working in the kitchen.  

The next morning I went to plate the lemon squares and couldn't get them out of the pan.  Ryan must have forgotten to spray the tin before packing in the crust layer.  That (or an overnight in the fridge) made the plating effort futile.  

GREAT!!! I thought.  Grrrrr.  Now my plan B would look more pitiful than my plan A.  I had nothing presentable to bring and the brunch was starting in a matter of minutes.  For a half of a second I considered staying home.  I didn't want to show up with nothing to contribute after promising to help.  However, I recognized that my presence and support would mean a lot more to our hosts than the food I could bring, so I made a quick decision.  

I let go of my pride and brought the best of what I had to offer...the deviled eggs, no matter how hammered the whites were.  I couldn't garnish them up the way I had intended because of the lack of time, but I brought a respectable presentation...and it truly was the best I could give under the circumstances.

Braced for (maybe a little) judgement - "Who fails at boiling eggs Tanya?", a well-meaning chuckle or two, or the potential of bringing home a still-full tray of eggs (because noone would want them), I placed them on the buffet table and a prayer was said on the food.  

I had accepted whatever was going to happen.  I was happy, however, to see that people actually enjoyed my eggs and ate the lions share of them, in spite of their meager appearance.  It had been a complete non-issue and my frustration was for nothing.  My best effort had been accepted and nothing more was expected.  I could put my troubled mind to rest.

Why do we do these things to ourselves?  We exaggerate the significance of truly unimportant issues in life.  We expect more of ourselves than what is asked or reasonable and then imagine that expectation is owned by others.  We brace for judgments, forgetting that those who truly matter see us with love.  If we DO fail at something significant, we go to dark places and imagine our situation is hopeless.  This is not God's way, it is NOT what he would want for us, and we need to understand that any correction given by our loving Father comes with encouragement and renews hope within ourselves.  

There will be a time when each of us is given the opportunity to reach a state of perfection through the atonement.  It is impossible without the Lord, and will come only after our earthly journey is complete.  For now, we need to remember that God will only ever expect our best effort...regardless of how insignificant is appears to us.  If our intentions are good and we are on a righteous path, it doesn't much matter were we stand on it.  

Jeffrey R Holland's talk from our most recent General Conference resonates the truth of this principle:

"Brothers and sisters, every one of us aspires to a more Christlike life than we often succeed in living. If we admit that honestly and are trying to improve, we are not hypocrites; we are human. May we refuse to let our own mortal follies, and the inevitable shortcomings of even the best men and women around us, make us cynical about the truths of the gospel, the truthfulness of the Church, our hope for our future, or the possibility of godliness. If we persevere, then somewhere in eternity our refinement will be finished and complete—which is the New Testament meaning of perfection."

For more from Elder Holland, follow this link: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/10/be-ye-therefore-perfect-eventually?lang=eng

Don't allow Satan to convince you that your best efforts have failed you, God or others; as I did with my ironically named "deviled eggs".  Hold your head high.  Heavenly Father knows your heart.  He loves you and celebrates even your most minute successes.  They are all triumphs to He who knows and loves you most.  God never expects more than we can give and rewards every effort.  I really do believe this.  I hope you will too.