The Full Package

This New Year’s post is coming in February because January was in a hurry going somewhere. (And there is also the perfect excuse that it’s New Year in China!)

I have thought about something inspirational to say but all I could think about was pineapples. Weird? I know! And then I fell asleep. I woke up today knowing that I had dreamt about making the perfect recipe with pineapples and which for the life of me I can’t remember because some dreams are troublesome like that. And now that I am writing this post, they are talking about pineapples on the TV!

So maybe this post should be about food. And I’ll start with lettuce. I harvested the largest plant of lettuce on the first day of the year. I didn’t plant it. It sprouted on its own from some loose soil we’d thrown away. I had a bed of lettuce plants already growing which I watered and did my best to pamper, but this one, it wasn’t even on my radar. I remembered to water it about two times, forgetting it was even there. Until the day I needed some fresh greens and I saw it sitting nice and pretty. It had germinated and grown all by itself in the dry holiday weather, no effort on my part, and delivered a big bowl of fresh, crispy salad. It was literally the largest lettuce plant I’d harvested the entire planting season.

But before I could wash and cut it up, I paused because it was clear as if I’d heard it: “This is how 2021 is going to be for you. Everything prepared and ready, no effort on your part because I’ve gone ahead and put things in place and all you have to do is take.”

And I was like “Whoa, Lord, I just want to make a salad and you’re telling me all this?” And I laughed, at myself and God because He gets me. I mean, taking a mundane thing like salad and turning it into an insight. And that’s really kind of like me, getting intense all of a sudden and sometimes I wonder whether it puts some people off. But my Heavenly Father was doing the same thing to me, perhaps also to tell me, You’re all right, Grace. And I get you.

This entire story is a bit personal for me but I thought, why not share? Because even though it’s nice to talk about the grace of God, we sometimes get bogged down with routine and the mere spirituality of grace which is not very relevant when the hustle is real. But just as I like to remind myself, grace is very practical and the only way to live is to be high on the grace of God. If you had a choice, God giving you what you want or you giving yourself what you want, which would you choose? Sounds like a no-brainer, huh? Grace is all about letting God lead. It’s as simple as that.

Now, don’t go folding your arms and not do anything. Which is why I wondered whether or not to share this so that it is not taken out of context. You all know I ain’t got time for lazy bodies. But the thing is, each day that I work, I work because I know the end is sorted. So no stress.

And moving on to lighter matters, but still on food (like I promised), let’s talk about chocolate. My sister got upset with me because I hadn’t eaten the the bar of Golden Tree chocolate given to me on Christmas day. It actually sat unopened by my bedside for a whole month. In fact, to prove her point, she took it and hid it for a day but I did not miss it. I only realised it because she told me. I also got a pack of Niche mini bars over the holidays and ended up giving most of it away.

Here is the thing about me and chocolates. I like chocolates, it’s just how I like them. I like them crunchy, with texture. Filled with nuts, wafers or Rice Krispies inside. In the spirit of clarity, I just finished a chocolatey treat today, courtesy Ritter Sport with whole almonds, and in record time, too. For me, a plain chocolate bar on its own feels like a cool guy with everything you want except he forgot the roses, the one thing you said he should bring. That’s my full package, and I like the full package (who doesn’t!).

What’s that got to do with anything, you ask? Well, look at the date…it’s almost that time of the year. No, not Val’s Day. My birthday! February is my month and I have been educating my family on the kind of chocolates to get me. And yes, you are welcome to spoil me, too!

Okay, I did it! I was wondering how I was going to get away with a New Year’s post on Valentine’s week. And this is really all about you. To say don’t worry about where you are not. Be excited about where you are and are going.

So darling, HAPPY NEW YEAR to you! 2021 is a great year and whatever you do on Valentine’s Day, keep on lovin’.

 Stay high on grace.

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