Flowing Blessings

Sunday, 31 August 2025

Today was the complete opposite of yesterday. Yesterday felt like life pressed the “fast-forward” button, with me meeting a lot of people, ticking off endless tasks. Today was slow and gentle, exactly the kind of Sunday my body begged for. My stomach had already been sending protest signals from all the rushing around yesterday, so taking this day easy felt less like laziness and more like survival.

But you know me, staying home doesn’t equal doing nothing. I still found myself wearing my invisible “supervisor” badge, checking on Cleansheet’s work at my property from afar. Technology has turned me into a professional couch manager. Honestly, it’s one of life’s underrated pleasures: being productive without having to change out of comfy clothes.

Meanwhile, my husband was on chauffeur duty, driving our eldest to her IELTS test. He came back later than expected because he had to go on a fuel-hunting expedition. Apparently, panic buying was in full swing, and he had to search from one gas station to another. People were filling their tanks as if preparing for the end of days.

I kind of get it, though. Fear makes people want to hoard. It’s the illusion of safety: “If I just stock up enough, I’ll be fine.” But ironically, that same fear is what causes shortages in the first place. And yes, I had my own mini version of it too when I couldn’t find our favorite Sumo rice anywhere. Every store was out of stock. My practical side told me, Calm down, it’s just rice, but my emotional side was screaming, I need it now. When I finally saw it online, I clicked “checkout” instantly. Was it panic buying? No, no, of course not. Let’s call it “responsible survival.” ✌

Back at home, my husband helped my mom learn how to use her new air fryer. Picture this: a son-in-law teaching his mother-in-law how to fry fish without oil. To me, it was more than just about healthy cooking. It was about connections, about passing down knowledge, about finding joy in small domestic rituals.

Feeling extra grateful, I decided to spread the love around by treating the family. Bangor burgers for my husband and kids, rujak buah for my mom. Simple indulgences, but the happiness they brought was so outsized compared to the price tag. There’s a special kind of joy in treating people you love, isn’t there? It’s like you get to watch blessings multiply right before your eyes.

Later, my husband teamed up with my mom to pack up a shelf and the very same air fryer for shipping to her hometown. He even covered the shipping fee. My mom, being her independent self, insisted on paying, so we told her to just give the money to the kids instead. Watching my children receive “unexpected” money from their grandma felt like another blessing unfolding. Twice in one day, they got to experience that life is generous.

And maybe that’s the deeper truth about blessings: it’s not meant to be stored away in fear. It’s meant to flow, to move, to circulate. When we try to hoard blessings, they stagnate. But when we let them flow, they come back in unexpected ways.

Not long after our little cycle of giving, I received a package of black garlic from Shopee Affiliate. A freebie! At first, I wasn’t sure how it tastes. But once I tried it, I was pleasantly surprised: it was surprisingly good, rich, and full of health benefits. Another blessing, quietly landing on my doorstep.

Then, as if the universe wasn’t done showering me with surprises, my husband came home with a huge bag of Chiki Balls; my ultimate childhood favorite. And here’s where the inner child part of me jumped with joy. When I was little, I once felt so left out because my older sibling got Chiki Balls during a wayang night with my dad while I got… nothing. Small moment, but big memory. Funny how tiny things like that stay with us.

So every time I bit into those crunchy cheese puffs, it wasn’t just a snack, it was kinda healing. My inner child finally got her turn. I laughed at myself, thinking, Who knew you could buy therapy for less than fifty thousand rupiah? Maybe healing doesn’t always have to be deep, dramatic, and painful. Sometimes, it comes disguised as junk food.

It made me reflect: maybe part of adulthood is learning how to give our inner child what they missed. Sometimes it’s as simple as buying yourself the Chiki Balls you once longed for. Sometimes it’s resting when your body begs for it, or speaking kindly to yourself after years of being too harsh. Inner child healing isn’t about living in the past. It's about honoring the parts of you that still need love today.

Tomorrow, life continues. We decided our youngest will stay home for online learning because of the uncertain situation, and my eldest’s campus has already moved classes online for the first couple of days of September. Life feels a little unpredictable, but also strangely manageable.

We ended the evening together, watching JPCC’s sermon from our living room. I’m still not ready to go back to church physically, but worship doesn’t need a building; it needs a heart. And tonight, our home felt like a small church, filled with family, blessings, and peace.

So yes, today was “slow.” But looking back, it was anything but empty. It was filled with blessings that flowed in many forms: food, family, packages, memories, even cheesy snacks that doubled as therapy. It reminded me of Anne Lamott’s words: “Grace meets us where we are, but does not leave us where it found us.” That’s how today felt: ordinary moments that quietly turned into extraordinary grace.

My hope is that we keep choosing flow over fear. That instead of hoarding, we let it move through us. Because blessings weren’t designed to stop with us. They were designed to keep traveling, touching lives we may never even see.

Stay safe and keep the blessings flowing,

Nuniek Tirta

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