Comfort

Grief gets to me deeply. It beats my understanding why the good times we share with those we love, gets truncated by death. A lot of times I've found myself feeling utterly defeated at the insufferable reality of the indefinite absenteeism of a dear one.

I have attempted a lot to cope with grief, I even made myself believe I had a serious disagreement with the deceased and as a means of resolution, we had to cut off every form of communication. This facade went on for a while, but really, how long can I deceive myself that way?

After my efforts to cope with denial failed, I resorted to activities, just anything to keep my mind completely absorbed with mundane task so as to eliminate any possible reflection on my colossal loss. From unnecessary work, to excessive house chores, to binging movies and random movements, it all ended on the same note of exhaustion, leaving me weary and still grieving.

Then I attempted to achieve comfort from my passion. I created a list of things I'd like to cook and bake and made room for impulse cooking to satisfy instant whims. On one of such days, I was tired and sulking in grief and I thought, what if I made pottage, it could cheer me up. I said to myself, the sort of pottage that looks like pepper soup is especially good in boosting appetites and cheering ones mood, if I made it with irish potatoes, I would feel a lot better. I went ahead to gather the items I needed to make a steaming pot of irish potatoes pottage then sat to take pleasure in the warmth it gave me. Yet, soon after the fun faded, I was reminded of my bleeding heart and in need of consolation.

Gradually, I was turning into a recluse, not to pursue faith but to nurse grief, all my methods were disappointing. I got discouraged and gradually started becoming depressed. However, it was during this phase I realized my many attempts to find comfort were ineffective. This realization led me to take seriously the Bible verse that says "The Lord is close to all whose hearts are crushed by pain" Psalms 34:18a. My efforts to find solace got outshined by the hope this verse gave to my heart.

Now, at every stage of my despair, my mind keeps echoing these words of Christ "come to me, you weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest". It is just beautiful to know how much the Lord speaks of comforting his people. Over and again, God assures mankind of relief in His word. The comfort I got from food, the warmth I received from a soothing plate of potato porridge and the care of an extremely loving husband could not match the consolation God gave me through His word and my believe in Jesus Christ, His son.

As with the prophet Jeremiah, 'I found God's words and I ate them, and His word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart' (Jeremiah 15:16a). My heart was kindled with hope, a certain flame of encouragement kept my mind lit and comforted. I did not receive my dead back to life, but I received the hope that assured me of the ressurection from the dead. I did not stop mourning but I was not mourning as someone without hope. My eyes still burns from hot tears filled with anguish but my spirit looks forward to a great reunion where death shall be no more.

After receiving these dosages of consolation, with hope in my heart and vigour in my bones, I attempted again my irish potato pottage and this time it felt more comforting than in my previous trial. You do not need to loose anyone dear to your heart to enjoy the blessedness of this sizzling meal.

Consider it an easy feat to prepare this Irish potatoes pottage. You will need the following food items to chart your course:

●Chevon (goat meat)

●Chopped onions

●Grounded scotch bonnet peppers

●Seasoning cubes

●Pepper soup spices

●Salt

●Peeled and washed Irish potatoes

●Coarsely chopped scent leaves.

Start by washing the chevon, put into a pot and season thoroughly with some of the chopped onions, grounded scotch bonnet peppers, seasoning cubes, pepper soup spices and salt.

Personally, I prefer chevon from a billy-goat because often, meat from male goats gets tender more quickly than meat from nanny-goats. Generally, since it is quite dicey to know the gender of meats in our local market, when using chevon, cook on low heat and delay adding salt to it until it is reasonably tender to avoid toughening the meat beyond the extent you can chew.

Allow your seasoned chevon to steam for a while before adding some water to the pot to preserve the flavour of the meat. Once the chevon is near tender, add the irish potatoes (you can cut into chunks if the sizes are quite big), additional water, some chopped onions and seasoning cubes and spices to keep the taste intact while the potatoes cook to a boil and the broth thicken. Lastly, add the scent leaves, stir to mix properly, put off the heat and serve to your satisfaction.

No matter the extent of your grief and how sad and empty it continually makes you feel, there is comfort for you in Jesus Christ. His invitation says "come", don't hold back, just come as you are and receive His balm for your heart. Right now, God is speaking over you and me and all those who fondly remember their departed ones “COMFORT, COMFORT My people, says your God." Isaiah 40:1

Let these words comfort you for we shall indeed meet again with our departed in Christ to share love, laughter, hugs and possibly a plate of soothing irish potato pottage.