Grated Grace

Grated Grace: A Meditation Through Carrot Halwa

In the quiet of the kitchen, a humble heap of carrots awaits—washed, peeled, and patiently grated. Their natural sweetness is hidden, waiting to be revealed. As I stir the pot over a gentle flame, adding milk, sugar, ghee, and cardamom, I am reminded that transformation—like holiness—takes time, heat, and surrender.

Carrot Halwa, or Gajar ka Halwa, begins as raw, firm roots—common and unspectacular. But as they soften and absorb the milk, they slowly release their fragrance, their color deepens, and sweetness emerges. In the same way, our lives, touched by God’s hand and heat, can be slowly refined bitterness softened, roughness smoothed, potential drawn out.

Just as the halwa cannot be rushed—lest it burn or remain raw—so too God’s refining work in our lives takes time. We must remain under His care, not resisting the fire of trials or the stirring of His Spirit. In the kitchen, I do not abandon the halwa; I keep watch, stir gently, adding what’s needed in season. Is this not a picture of our Shepherd’s love?

Psalm 66:10-12 says, “For You, O God, tested us; You refined us like silver...we went through fire and water, but You brought us to a place of abundance.” How often we fight the fire, forgetting that the sweetest version of ourselves is yet to be drawn out under divine timing and love.

Today, as I serve this warm dish to my family, I remember we too are being stirred, softened, and sweetened—not wasted, but wonderfully remade. I would like to sum up this journey of humuility and surrender in these lines below-

Grated and pressed, yet I find my grace—
In God’s slow fire, I’m set in place.
With milk of mercy and ghee of love,
He stirs my soul from heav’n above.
Through sugar trials and cardamom cheer,
He makes my life a gift sincere.