The Gift of Grits

Being from the South... we eat a lot of grits..

Positive Pensées

Kathy King

The Gift of Grits

“Over time, grit is what separates fruitful lives from aimlessness.”

John Ortberg

Determination, pluck, firmness, a stiff upper lip

All of these words are some form of grit.  

Persistence, boldness, bravery, and might. 

A willingness to never give up the fight. 

To have grit has certitude and firm-ness.

Even when the chips are down, grit can help you snap back and resound with a booming voice of certainty, “I have grit!  I can do this watch and see!”

So have some grit and tenacity and be the person you were meant to be!

Grits are a pretty great staple of southern cuisine.  There are many ways to prepare them.  You can mix them with cheese, garlic, and butter (yummy).  Some folks just prepare it with butter.  Others put sugar on it (why?!!).  My grandmother called it “dressing up your grits”.  Grits are typically stone ground. The process breaks down the kernel of corn and makes the corn into a very sumptuous southern treat.  The type of stone that is used is a millstone.  The millstine dates back to time immemorial.  Millstones have been found all over the world, they were used by many civilizations to grind wheat and other grains. Stone ground grits are made between not one, but two millstones.  It’s a brutal process.  But what comes out in the end is a delectable treat. Why are grits a gift?  The traditional process of making grits has multiple steps.  First, the corn is grown, then harvested.  Then corn is then dried in a hot greenhouse for about a week, the moisture content in the corn has to be next to nothing.  The corn then goes through the sheller or the millstone.  The sheller has quite sharp teeth, the millstone has tremendous weight. The corn is taken off the cob, and the cob is discarded.  After the corn is ground, it is placed in the freezer to make sure that there are no bugs living in the kernels. After freezing the kernels are put through the grinder.  After that, they are put through a sieve not once, but twice.  The first shaking is to make the corn meal.  The second shaking makes the grits.  Does this not sound like some of the struggles of life?  We have been ground, sieved, frozen, and shucked whether it is with words, illness, relationships, or family.  When we feel crushed to a pulp can we summon the true grit within us?  Life is a beautiful, messy, and audacious activity.  Let us summon the grit to make it through not just for us but also for others.  When we show grit, we can inspire someone else (even if it is in a small way) to live a motivated and purposeful life.  

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