Tayce T. and the Possibilities

When my brother and I were younger, our Nintendo 64 was our prized possession. That gaming system taught me myriads of lessons about sharing, bonding, celebrating the talents of others, and other life lessons.

One of my favorite games was Paper Mario, a game where you’re a two-dimensional Mario in a colorful 3D world. My brother used always finish games incredibly fast, so he would make the most of every single game by finishing the side-quests. One of them was cooking and discovering new recipes. You could collect items from throughout the game, and then entrust them to a citizen of Toad Town – a nice mushroom-headed woman by the name of Tayce T – to cook them up for you. You could cook a single item, or if you were brave you could even use two ingredients. But either way, you would go into the process excepting to add something to your recipe list, whether it was tasty or disgusting, useful or otherwise.

Some items were better than others. And usually if something didn’t mix or was not meant for cooking (such as a Sleepy Sheep), you would get something called a Mistake. This is the one item that does not go into your cookbook, no matter how many times you make it.

As I was reminiscing earlier this morning, I realized that I can apply this situation to my attitude about service. In life as a young adult, there are always new venues of service to pioneer: cooking, yard work, cleaning, writing letters, encouragement, or even simply trying to understand what someone’s going through. Whenever I desire to do something for another person, I anticipate the risks involved in actually making it happen. Will my plans turn out okay? What is there is a setback? What if I embarrass myself? What will people think of my motives? Is this even socially acceptable?

Sometimes we mess up, or it could have been better, or it didn’t turn out quite like we had wanted. Sometimes you thought you were doing the right thing, but the other person didn’t receive it well at all. Taking action is risky, and even the smallest comment has the capacity to ruin a relationship.

But sometimes, we have to try new things for the sake of love – simple, unapologetic love. But at the end of the day, God looks at our hearts and rewards us according to our love. AsSt. Therese of Lisieux pointed out, “You know well enough that our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, but at the love with which we do them.” In God’s eyes, the only way you can make a mistake is by not loving. This allows us, then, to love without fear!

Yet fears can always arise: What if I make a mistake? Does my motivation even matter as long as I’m doing “the right thing” outwardly? When I mess up, is it better to dwell in guilt, to pretend it didn’t happen, or to accept grace and move on? And when I do experience guilt or embarrassment, how do I seek justification?

When we go out to obey the command to “love one another,” there are endless possibilities of what can come of your initial plans and desires. But if we are afraid, it isn’t love – fear is a sign that you’re not looking out for your fellow brother or sister, but rather for your own reputation. And if we’re truly loving perfectly, then it’s impossible to fear, because perfect love casts out all fear.

Fear is a ploy to keep your from advancing in the game. So why should we worry? We’re not the cook. If we supply the ingredients, we need not feel guilty, but only thank the cook for what He has prepared for us. Mistakes are part of the process, and with love, fault has no place because love keeps no record of wrongs.

Now that I know whose opinion really matters, and what is at steak, I’ve been renewed with the courage to love others without regret. Now that’s some Tasty Tonic.