09/29/2026
This picture came up in my memories from 2021, and it made me smile. ❤️
The food was prepared by my daughter, Faith. She was about 17 at the time, but her love for cooking had started many years before.
When she was around six or seven, she would often come into the kitchen and say, “Mummy, I want to help.”
And with my busy schedule, my mind was usually thinking, Please, not today. 😂
I wanted to cook quickly, keep the kitchen clean, and get back to work. So there was always one reason or another why she couldn’t help.
Until one day, when she was about nine, she simply refused to leave.
“Mum, I’m going to help you cook today.”
That was the beginning.
As the years went by, her interest grew. After we moved to Canada, she started watching videos, trying recipes, making meat pies, jollof rice, different soups and so much more.
Then life came full circle.
During the season when I was preparing for my exams, I would come home after a long day to freshly cooked meals and pots of soup prepared by this same little girl I once thought would slow me down in the kitchen.
She gave me something incredibly precious during that season: time.
Eventually, people even started ordering food from her, and this picture was from one of those orders.
Looking at it again reminded me of something important:
Sometimes we are so focused on getting things done quickly, perfectly and efficiently that we forget to make room for someone else to learn.
That little bit of mess.
That extra 20 minutes.
That child asking, “Can I help?”
It may be the beginning of something much bigger than we can see at the time.
Make room for curiosity.
Make room for learning.
Make room for the people around you to surprise you.
And perhaps, every now and then, loosen your grip on perfection. 😊
You never know which small opportunity you give someone today may become a gift that comes back to bless you years later.
Thank you, Faith. ❤️
