Greetings!

I know the questions/scenarios I am about to raise, will place me among a particular generation…one in which certain behaviors and practices though presumed archaic, are rooted in appreciation for the simpler things of life and the tremendous joy, that is experienced in relationships where similar values are upheld. Ok…let me cut to the chase and get into it…whatever it turns out to be…

What if your morning meal didn’t include bread or a hot beverage would you still consider it breakfast? What if there was no rice or animal protein (meat) with the afternoon meal, would you still call it dinner? I’m pretty certain that your response to both questions would be in the affirmative and why…because the name given to the meal is not hinged to its contents but rather, the [approximate] time it is taken/consumed. So, arriving safely to morning, following a long night, in which no food is consumed, that first meal is in actual fact breaking a fast. Similarly, the middle meal taken between breakfast and dinner is so called, not because of what it contains but again the time/hour it is taken…the fact that its name derives from the Anglo Saxon…nuhcheon [i.e. a noon drink].

It has taken me a long time to accept and appreciate the fact that without certain items, the identified meals would still be authentic – so no, I don’t have to eat rice to feel that I am in fact having lunch or dinner and by extension, Sunday dinners without rice and peas [red kidney beans] can still be appetizing and inspire joy and happiness. I do not have to feel deprived because my Sunday afternoon meal is corned beef [from a tin] with a little cabbage and [bare foot] white rice! Having such a meal on Sunday is not a travesty, the greater blessing lay in the ability to eat…to find something that is nutritious…to be alive!

These Covid-19 pandemic days, with their various and sundry deprivations have a way of making us feel we’re not living, but merely existing. When we roll with that feeling, we find every imaginable reason why life is altogether burdensome, and we would sooner lay it down. We seem unable to muster either the energy or courage to move beyond our acute sense of a paucity of anything akin to joy and before we know it, we’re experiencing many of the signs and symptoms of depression.

So, here’s what I’m thinking…what if we would be deliberate and intentional about affirming the value of each day and moment? What if we challenged ourselves to taste and see the goodness of…bully beef and cabbage on a Sunday; embrace our challenges as opportunities to celebrate the life that is ours now…today? The fact is, we are missing our loved ones who have gone over on the other side and while we hope to reunite with them…to experience unending joys and freedom from the maladies of this present and finite existence, there’s no need in rushing to get there. The euphoria of the great beyond, begins here…now; there is no law [not to my knowledge] that advocates postponing earth’s joys until we get to heaven.

I look in my closet and spot a few garments I have not yet worn. I look in the mirror and realize I could do with a visit to the hairdresser; the abrasive feel at my elbows and heels say perhaps, that a visit to the spa is in order but more than these…what if I would accept and embrace the fact that though bereft of these things, my life is still complete…that there is ONE whose presence with[in] me, makes me authentically whole, and no lack, no matter how obvious, can take that reality away.

So, what if you and I were to think and therefore act, not according to those things that we may be missing but in gratitude for those that are ours…beginning with life. If we do, perhaps the end of this pandemic would even catch us unawares; so busy would we be, living…savoring the veritable feast called life, we wouldn’t even notice anything…amiss.

Until next week, continue to stay safe as you remain in His grip!

Grace+