I would like to tell you a short story which began long years ago in a very distant land.

Once upon a time there was once a little seed. Actually there were more, but for us is most important only this one. It grew up with its parents and siblings, developed and became adult at home far away in Macedonia. Fully ripened seed (now paprika), had to leave its family, because it had to become food for people. She noticed that she is different from others, because she had a beauty bug. All paprikas were beautiful, slim and light-green, but she was little one, plump and dark-green. It is because she was a different type of it, but she didn’t know. She was crying and asking: Why? Why me? Other paprikas laughed at her because she was not as they were. She was grieving, she didn’t know that she tasted much better as a paprika than others. She underestimated herself, she didn’t trust herself and she lacked appreciation. When she was at a shop, one girl came and she bought only this little paprika. Only this one. Not another one and she brought her home. The girl put her down next to rice, meat with which she became the best firend. Later they met Bryndza from Slovakia, Chicken from Serbia and an Apple, whose road was the shortest. It grew up in nearby farm in Slovenia. Every day they talked about their lives and they were thinking what will happen with them. They were scared. And then somebody of them said: „we grew up as we should grow up. Maybe with flaws, but exactly for whom we should be. Maybe paprika is little bit plump, maybe rice is small and pale, maybe meat is a little fat and bryndza a little bit salty. Doesn’t matter. We have to become food to feed people. This is the reason why we are here. And we are here to find our internal fulfillment and to work hard on our life mission“. The macedonian paprika became stuffed pepper, the Slovakian bryndza became bryndzové halušky, the serbian chicken became chicken stew and the slovenian Apple became a filling of štrudel. As food they met on the table 4.4. at 18:30 in the student kitchen of Mansarda and with peace of mind they returned to the hands and mouths of 10 hungry students and 1 nun.

Don’t forget that everybody of us is like one of these ingrediences. Necessary and essential for the life. We all can change taste of this world. We live in that place where our Maker can change all our tears to joy and happiness, He will use your pain for His aims. Don’t try to hide your wounds before Him. He knows about you everything. You are His lovely! Only He can renew your heart. He also felt pain, refusal and anger. Only together you can go through all exams. He will lead you back to place of peace and happiness after the storm. Again the sun will shine in you and your heart will be healthy.

„You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?“. (Matthew 5,13)

Veronika Letková