Greetings!

May grace, mercy and peace be with you in abundance this New Year. May you experience fullness of joy, confident of the fact that nothing can befall you…you will face no challenge that is beyond the scope of Emmanuel’s knowledge and undergirding and therein, you will be at peace.

 Of course, you know that I have been silent for a number of weeks; actually, as many Jamaicans on the first day of a new year would say to those we saw only the day before… ‘fram laas ier mii nuh sii yuh!’😊 Believe me, it hasn’t been because I had nothing to share, on the contrary, my heart has been so full, the difficulty was in extracting the right and appropriate thing from that storehouse, to share. So, in frustration, I adopted my default position for such situations – mi cyaan badda! Thankfully however, I [and hopefully you] believe in God who makes all things beautiful, according to His timetable. It was His will that enabled me to spend the last three weeks of the year with family and friends abroad, providing me with time to rest, relax and be refreshed.

There is no mistaking the fact that by the end of November of 2021 [what a year!] I was at the end of my emotional, physical, and spiritual, tether. I am sure you get the picture because you have been [and may even now be] there! So absorbed had I become, in the various and sundry problems and challenges, of friends and family, not least of which were the seemingly never-ending instances of illness, death and dying, life took on a dreary, lack luster aura; even when the sun was at its brilliant best, there was a gloominess extending beyond the physical, which its rays seemed incapable of permeating. If you have ever read the book or seen the movie titled The Shack, you will understand my description of that time, as one of Great Sadness.

Just imagine, having to be strong for those who were going through their times of grief, when my insides were churning and more than anything, I wanted, myself, to have a good bawl; or courageously offering comfort, when what I really wanted to do was to run and hide. I guess one could say that I perfected the art of masking my feelings, for were the truth to be known, much of what I was able to accomplish, was via auto pilot – God being at the control! I can now say it with sincerity, upheld by thankfulness…were it not for Grace – that supplied by Almighty God, I do now know how I would have survived those months.

As I get older, and my relationship with and understanding of the ways of God are moving to a deeper level, I am also learning to appreciate the importance of a spirituality that is anchored to openness to God and retrospective thanksgiving. What do I mean by that? In the middle of 2021 somewhere around the month of May, the Lord placed it on my heart to use my credit card and purchase a plane ticket, which would allow me to travel outside Jamaica, to spend time with family and friends over the Christmas season. Remember now, a pandemic was raging and although there was some easing of travel restrictions, people were still reticent about air travel. Fast forward to today; I was able to get the required tests for travel abroad and back to Jamaica and so far, to have had a negative Covid test. I had one of the most amazing Christmas seasons ever [even though I was not able to attend a Christmas church service]. Not only did I get to spend quality time with my older brother, but I also felt the prayers of the larger community of loved ones, for my eldest brother [who remains in hospital as I write], assuring me that Emmanuel was in control of all things. I had a wonderful time with family and friends who allowed me to make their home mine, so that I could embrace times of quiet, without any pressure to be overly sociable. That was a significant blessing which allowed me to listen to and hear God in ways that my Great Sadness had hitherto, not permitted. What I heard may be summarized thus: Do Not Fear but Be Still and Know that I Am God!

I leave you with a story that further clarified the amazing nature of God, who deigns to be interested in all aspects of our lives, even the mundane.

On the day that I was returning home, my friend who was transporting me to the airport told me en-route, that he would park his car and come into the terminal with me. I am Jamaican you see, and so had an extra bag that we knew was a bit 😊 overweight. Once parked he said: “I was hoping someone would have left a trolley here in the car park.” Recall the story of Abraham, at his wits end and about to sacrifice Isaac [Genesis 22:13], lifting his eyes and seeing in the distance, a ram caught in a thicket. Well, before my friend could send up an arrow prayer…there, two rows beyond where he had parked, was a trolley. We were able to easily transport the loaded bags, into the terminal. This is already an Epistle, so I must leave out some details, to get to the punchline.

Having gone into a line and noticing the agent checking the weight on everyone’s bags I began to get nervous. As I got near to him, I realized that I did not have my bag tags and therefore, had to leave the line get them. That took a while as there are many of us, still not au fait with the machines that facilitate that aspect of the travel process. Eventually, I got my tags but, in the meantime, there is another gentleman now asking people for their documents even before they reach up to bag drop. The minute I heard his accent, I knew he was uan aa wii. I handed him my passport and he proceeded to read my name aloud…Georgia Jervis also known as Grace! What! how did he know that? Grace is nowhere on my passport! My friend and I looked in bewilderment at him and smiling he said: “Ms. Grace, you sang at my wedding, how could I forget you!” Pause and catch your breath because I am still holding mine. Bags were dropped without a question!!

I must end here but recall God’s word to me…Do Not Fear but Be Still and Know That I Am God. I have entered the New Year with a resolve to do just that and as that famous New Year hymn declares…whate’er the future brings, glorify His name.

Until next time continue to be safe and well as you also remain in His grip.

Grace+