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    Yes, I know not eating grits is a betrayal of my southern heritage. However, my preference is based on a jillion “oh you’ve just got to try these, they’re really good” experiences with grits that simply reinforced the obvious — I don’t like grits! I’ve been exposed plenty of times. Grits and me just don’t quite jibe. So if you don’t mind, “I’d just as soon not have the grits, please.”

    I can’t tell you have many times I’ve been told, “I’m sorry, but they just come with the meal, we can’t leave them off.”

    Sure enough, when I get my bacon and eggs, here come the grits. Of course nine times out of ten, they are in a separate bowl. “Now why can’t they just keep the bowl and not deliver those things to my table,” I murmur to myself.

    In its own bizarre way, life is a lot like that. To get the stuff we want, we also have to take the bowl of grits because, as some unknown voice of fate reminds us, “I’m sorry, but they just come with the deal, we can’t leave them off!”

    Spiritual point of fact, it’s what we do with the “grits” that often determines our character.

I’m talking about shining a light for Jesus no matter the intensity of the darkness.

    Sure, I firmly believe that God works all things out to our ultimate good (cf. Romans 8:28), but somewhere along the way, we have to make a commitment to do the same. I’m not talking about some trite little saying like, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” No, I’m talking about recognizing the grit, grundge, and sludge that gets dumped in our path that comes with the everyday living.

    I’m talking about making a commitment to be a person of redemptive character in the midst of the mess. I’m talking about shining a light for Jesus no matter the intensity of the darkness. I’m talking about walking with a resolved graciousness no matter the depth of the sludge. “Grits” come with the deal. Everybody gets his or her share of them along the way. There’s no sense in whining or taking them personally. Instead, let’s push them aside and not let them deter us from being the kind of people we’d to be, God wants us to be, and the person next to us needs us to be.