A Tale of Two Biryanis

I think it's interesting that exactly two years after writing this post, I find myself inside of a tale of two biryanis. Allow me to elaborate:

For lunch today I had some leftover biryani from an event that took place recently. While I try not to complain about food that I've received freely, this particular biryani distribution left something to be desired. Perhaps it was the ratio of rice and meat, or maybe it was the fact that the last week and a half has been a bit overwhelming for me.

Now we fast forward to dinnertime, which (after a mildly stressful midterm) was a considerably less stressful period of life. Knowing that things would be significantly more calm, I heated up a second plate of biryani. This biryani was different. As with the biryani from two years ago, this biryani was prepared by the hands of a compassionate mother who is always eager to love the world through food. This time, the ratio of rice and meat was just right, and the devotion and love cooked into the biryani was present in every byte.

I say all of this with the hope that your spirits be lifted, especially if you are encountering a particularly stressful time. Maybe your life is like the first biryani, where things don't fit right and you feel like something is missing. I urge you to press on, to never lose hope. You are strong enough to persevere and make it through to that second biryani, the biryani which reminds you of the love present in the people around you. As I said two years ago, biryani made with love is a gift from God. My hope is that you will encounter this same love through biryani and through the people around you, two gifts that God has so graciously given to you. Love you all <3.