By Stephanie Francom

About seven years ago, I tasted the best chocolate chip cookies ever! A friend brought me a plate of them, and I’ve been hooked ever since. They’re made with real butter, oatmeal, wheat flour (believe it or not), and the BEST milk chocolate chips I’ve ever had! They’re almost golden brown, soft and chewy, and loaded with yummy, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate.

What’s the secret to these delectable treasures? Of course, the ingredients matter—they’re absolutely vital. But, believe it or not... the real secret is the time in the oven. For real. After tweaking the baking time, we found that eight and a half minutes at 350 degrees, plus one extra minute sitting on the hot baking sheet outside the oven, makes them absolutely perfect. Any less time and they’re doughy. (Gross.) Any more and they get hard. (Grosser.) Honestly, unless my cookies are baked just right, I won’t even eat them. My kids will settle for mediocrity—but not me. These divine dainties need the perfect timing to deliver their greatest goodness!

Everything in our lives takes its own perfect time to develop and become its very best. And it’s worth the wait.

This is the very essence of The Law of Gestation. Every idea, every dream, every creation needs a certain amount of time to “cook” before it’s fully developed. We wouldn’t want our dreams to come too soon—before they reach perfection. You might want to argue with me on that, but seriously, we wouldn’t.

I recently set a scary goal: to get ten new customers for my business in just two weeks. The deadline was a training I was giving on the Laws of Thought, and I wanted to share my success story. Plus, I wanted to qualify for an all-expenses-paid vacation with my husband (Yah baby!) and earn free product from my company.

Temptation and failure lurked in the shadows. Nothing happened during those two weeks—until the day before the training. Then, out of nowhere, a new customer called. I placed his order, hoping it was the start of something great. But… no more calls came.

The next morning, driving into the training, I pondered what it all meant and why I didn’t hit my goal of ten customers. No clear answers came, so I chose gratitude for my one new customer. I thought about all the free product I’d received in the past and the many customers who made that possible. My gratitude grew, and I found peace. I decided to learn prosperity’s lessons one step at a time.

Then it hit me—“This is just The Law of Gestation.” Oh, right! Suddenly, everything became clear. My real goal was to qualify for the vacation, get free product, and inspire my team. I still had four days left in the month—plenty of time! Happy dance!

I chose gratitude and belief that the goal would be met.

And it was! The process kept unfolding quietly, with no obvious signs. But by 11 PM on the last day, I had all ten customers! It came together perfectly. I met every qualification and inspired my team to believe in their success, too.

We must have patience and trust that Life will deliver our greatest desires in its perfect time and way. Remembering The Law of Gestation fills us with hope when the wait feels endless. (And sometimes it is!) But it’s a beautiful reminder that our big dreams will be worth every moment in the end.