Daily Grace, Daily Bread

Talking to N the pharmacist upon picking up my prescription made my day. I never talked to her in real life, only through texts when acquiring shifts. But she came out and we said hello. It started off as small talk and we ended up talking about her trip to South Korea, and the immigrant kid dilemma. I feel like we covered breadth of topics in a short period. We ended on a positive note on the last topic and I felt refreshed. And then shortly after, having said ‘Hello’ (the Korean way, by bowing down as he was much older Korean man than I am) to the trolley man at Woolworth and seeing his smile afterwards was a double down. I don’t normally notice these things. What makes me happy. But today I did for some reason and my mood instantly elevated.

I was so miserable for the couple of weeks. I was and am still very sick with a nasty virus but I still had to go to uni and sort things out at the new place I’ve moved into. Small set backs also added to my frustration and the feeling of misery. I kept asking when will I start to feel better? If I wasn’t sick, I feel that I would have handled everything without so much stress. So the days just went by, I was miserable and began to become a little cynical and apathetic.

And then I decide to go to Woolworths to buy milk and pick up my medication and this happens. (I almost stayed home to sulk and complain about why milk has to run out when you can’t be bothered to go to the grocery store the most. Well it was because I felt like making an afternoon tea and I wanted milk in it. So maybe if it wasn’t for this craving for tea, I wouldn’t have experienced any of this). As I was waiting in line to use the self-service kiosk, I for some reasons I don’t understand, and just for a brief moment, felt like everyone I see was ‘lovely’. As if I could love all these people. As if I could embrace them even for all their faults. I had to stop myself tearing up. Because I had this sensation almost a decade ago when I was a first year student at Otago University. Then I realised that to love the Lord, means to love the people that are in my life, weather a family member, a close friend, a mere acquaintance, or a stranger I might come across and may never see again. What pleases the Lord, is not performance but the love we have for our neighbours.

And there are plenty of incentives to love. It’s just the general feeling, it is the most joyous feeling in the world. So warm, so soft and I suddenly feel very courageous and as if my fears have been driven far far away from me. To love the Lord, to love my neighbour is in my experience, the most joyous thing.

Now I pray that I be graciously reminded of this everyday, and that I don’t forget Christ who enabled me to access this kind of love that comes from God. I am who I am by the grace of God and I praise Him for all He is. Without this love, I have no hope, but through this love, I have no fear and I can face the world and overcome the biggest of all challenges. May I learn to love, and love well.