The cookies arrived this week. The price is higher, the box size the same, the carrier a grandmother who is a friend of mine. Her granddaughter, an aspiring Girl Scout, lives out of town. I ordered from her because of the connection to the family. The cookies go in my freezer, waiting for drop-in company or to serve as a last-minute dessert when pressed for time. I opened the final box of last year’s stash only this week.
I once was a Brownie. Then, that rank was the first step in becoming a full-fledged Scout. I wore the brown vest. I still have the membership pin. I also have mittens which bore the image of a young girl with blond braids dressed in uniform.
I have memories of selling cookies. In my day, we didn’t go to store fronts and sell from behind a table. We knocked on neighbor’s doors to pedal our wares. Those confrontations taught me how to memorize a spiel and deliver it with a smile. I must have been good at it because I remember I sold one hundred boxes and received a prize for the most sold in my troop. Good for my era.
Not as many Scouts go door-to-door today. Society has deteriorated in many neighborhoods to the point children are not safe in their communities. Playing outside or even walking home from school is no longer the norm. In my community the lineup of cars outside the main school entrance is tantamount to a parade as parents wait for the final bell to gather their kids.
Instead, the Scout girls man tables in the entrance lobbies of supermarkets and malls. Like ants on a picnic they descend, waylaying prospective customers as they enter the store. Safety exists in numbers, as well as in having an adult around, as the traditional cookie continues its reach into modern day culture.
Jesus loved children. When parents brought their children to him for blessing, the disciples shooed them away. But Jesus rebuked his followers in Matthew 19:14 saying, “Let the little children come to Me and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” I can even imagine Him coming upon a table at the local supermarket and happily turning over coin for a box of cookies. What do you suppose might have been his favorite?