A couple of weeks ago someone at work did something thoughtless that upset me very much. While I knew it wasn’t personal, it created stress and extra work in an already busy day.

I was angry. I drove home in tears and decided that I would have to speak with him about it the following day.

Leaving for work the next morning, I had handed the situation over to God and asked him to use it for good. As I grabbed my car keys I noticed the jars of beetroot relish sitting on the kitchen bench; I’d made the relish on a whim the weekend before.

‘I should take a jar to him,’ I thought. Weird, no? But it felt right, so I grabbed a jar, thinking: ‘well, if this is you, Lord, okay. But it seems odd.’

Later that morning I walked to my colleague’s office, clutching a jar of beetroot relish. I presented it to him and was amazed as he gushed, genuinely thrilled:

‘I love all sauces, chutneys, relishes!’ He unscrewed the lid, sniffed and looked like he’d won the lottery.

‘That’s great,’ I said, ‘because it’s kind of a peace offering. I want to talk to you about something that happened yesterday…’

We talked it through – and then he returned to the relish. He told me where he’d recently tried a similar batch, what he was planning to eat it with that weekend… and then, several days later, he emailed to tell me how great it was and ask if I could please let him know when he could make another mistake worthy of more!

I didn’t know my colleague was a sauce, chutney, and relish man. But God did. In fact, he knew it was the perfect gift for him – a gift of grace, undeserved. I was reminded that God knows us and our circumstances completely. Nothing is too small or insignificant for him to notice and use. He transforms even the smallest offering or act.

Maybe the world wasn’t set on fire by a gift of beetroot relish, but somehow – remarkably – my colleague was blessed. And me? It was like God was smiling. Right at me.