Finding Gold in the Gray Days

A March Update from Becca:

The last few weeks have been gray.

Literally gray — rainy, cold days in Charlotte (with the occasional pop of sunshine. Thank you, Lord).

Figuratively gray, too.

Personally, our close circle has felt heavy with grief. Deaths. Illness. Weeks filled with funerals, meal trains, and hospital visits. The kind of sustained grief that makes you wonder how anyone can look at the brokenness of this world and not believe in something bigger than themselves. (That’s a story for another time.)

Work has felt gray as well. Slower sales. Rising expenses. After five years in business, you’d think I’d be used to the rhythms of slow seasons — but they still sneak up on me. Just when you think you’re getting ahead, a credit card bill lands. Boom.

The gray days make me doubt.

I catch myself asking:
Why are we baking cheese crackers?
The market is crowded.
Competitors are more efficient.
Prices keep dropping.
Are we really that special?
What makes us different?

Then yesterday, I read something that made me pause.

In Theo of Golden by Allen Levi (the best book I’ve read this year), there’s this exchange:

“What do you think makes good art?” 

“For anything to be good — truly good — there must be love in it.
There must be love for the gift itself, love for the subject being depicted or the story being told, and love for the audience.
Whether it’s sculpture, farming, teaching, lawmaking, medicine, music, or raising a child — if love is not at the very heart of it, it might be skillful, marketable, or popular… but I doubt it is truly good.”

Then, it hit me.

Pennies are an art form, they are gold.

They’re love through crackers.

Love for family recipes and memories.
Love for delicious food.
Love for entrepreneurship.
Love for our Penny Pals and their smiles.
Love for a team that shows up every day, baking from scratch, supporting their families.

A whole lot of love.

And love may not always be the most efficient strategy.
But it is powerful.

So on the slow days — when doubt creeps in — I look for faces.

The happy customer.
The proud retailer.
The teammate who feels seen and supported.

That’s why we’re here, and that's what will matter long after we are gone.

That's gold. 

So, in a gray world, we're creating something with love at the center. You're a part of that just by reading this. I thank you! 

What love are you creating in your life?

Stay Cheesin! (Even on the gray days).
Becca