CIRCUMSTANCES CAN BLOCK OUR SENSE OF APPRECIATION.

CIRCUMSTANCES CAN BLOCK OUR SENSE OF APPRECIATION.

On December 10^th 2006, our daughter came home and announced she will be bringing her fiance us for casual introduction. Oh thank God that I did not reacted negative immediately I heard this for some reasons. The radiant in her face made me realize that it is the excitement of her life that needed not to be blocked.

That day before bed time, I shared many things with her. In the night as I lay on my bed, my eyes wide open without sleep, the thought of the family’s financial recess as I used to call then, came mightily on me. Oh why, not this time Lord; when things are still hard for the family. Our lovely dog had just been given to a family friend. Including his feeding to the family budget is out of it. Our car is not in good condition for the lack of maintenance. We had to divide our properties to different homes of our friends in the neighborhood. I had to move out of 3rooms apartment in to a room at the outs kite of the town, though where we are was not a rented house but living in one room is unthinkable thing I least imagine in my life not even after years I stay in abroad.

As I brainstorm how it will look like, having my daughter’s husband inside one room of a house? Let face the reality, people are seeing me as pastor of a Church that has its headquarters in Europe, that fact alone, to an average Nigeria means you must be rich.  On the other hand, I had been in oversea long enough to have made a lot of money. I also knew how my immediate relations will judge me in the event they met me in one room and I must confess these thought gave me a lot of worries.  How oh Lord you have not allowed me to salvage this period before this happen? Good news indeed, but the circumstance on grand is not something to write home about. How can I explain to people the hell I had passed through in the hand of evil people had brought us to zero level? Who would even want to listen to me stories? As I was there on the bed soliloquy in my mind that night, till the Lord’s Spirit call my attention to many things that shocked me. “Count your blessings, and in all things, give thanks to the Lord.”

 I put on the light. Praise God, no one wakes up in the midst of these. I saw my daughter deep asleep as she used to do on my chest when I pet her to sleep 25years ago. It now came back to my senses how God had been with us so far that she is not a wasted child. How God had kept her alive all these while. Who will say I would have a family not to talk of having children or giving out a daughter’s hand in marriage.

How daft I am that all these did not come to my mind immediately I heard about her intention. How quickly men are always drag into things that aggravate worries and anxieties? By next year mother of the house will bang her Bachelors’ degree, Faith our son is in 300 levels reading economics in one of the Federal University, Hope the last son is in 100 levels in another University pressing to become a medical doctor. And here their sister wants to get married. What other things I would that God should do for me that are of greater values than these?  

The sound spiritual and the robust health condition of the family is another point to be considered. Yes, we are now in one room in Lagos, yet, I will encourage myself in the Lord. Problem is not there kill us but to shape and direct us into the rout of greatness, for my present condition need just some days to become history. It shall come to pass very soon. Therefore, I will not allow the immediate circumstances blind me to what God is doing for me and my family. I will not allow the present condition to steal my joy and I believe that God we take absolute condition as the events rolls up in the life of my family members. As I praise God for who He is and what He has done, and the lot of what He is still going to do in my family: the Spirit of God ministered to me what to do thereby removing the shame of conducting marriage introduction in one room.

reacher and divinely ordained sermon are part of the reasons for Holy Spirit to work thus in the heart of men-men that had not sealed their heart in the first place!

INSPECTOR THAT NEVER SEIZE FUNCTIONING

Life in the village in those days was amazing. One of the things our mother feared then was the news that sanitary inspectors are coming to their street. No matter how clean the mix may look like, these agents of neatness will still find one or two things to complain about. We children thought that these people are not living among men.

 I can still remember asking my father where they came from. Are they also urinating and excreting like other human being? Have these people also have children that can mess up their compound as we use to do? I cannot remember precisely the answer to those heart bogging questions of mine from daddy, but I can still remember my father telling me that many of these people are trained to detect as quick as possible they step into your compound the wrong place you put the needle and have the mandate of the (white man) colonial master to arrest you for such offense.

Our focus in this write up is about the fear in the heart of our mothers that is well written on their faces when ever sanitary inspectors are around. I can remember when a woman is taken away to the local government office; it took the whole neighborhood 3days to gather enough money to process her freedom. In the village it is reproach on any family mostly the husband of the woman that had to be arrested for uncleanness.

Sanitary inspectors usually comes to the village unannounced, they can come in the morning or afternoon time. Immediately their convoy is sighted the women we use their best net-work on ground through which they get themselves inform at ones. In time like this, nobody remembers that someone offends her or not. They are closely netted together in keeping watch for one another; in fact if the line of communication got broken which in turn led to arresting any woman, the person responsible would be severely punished for it.   It is mostly the affairs between women and the government officials since by then men folds might have been on farm or outside in their working place.

When I think of incident like this now as a grown up I laugh and also think of the lessons I can derive. If majority of our mothers at that time  could as well feared God, things could have been better in various homes than what we have on ground today; It is apparently clear that they did not have half of such fear and reverence towards their respective husbands not to talk of God. Well, things had changed drastically; every individual had come to understand his or her right and the moderation to such rights. We have nothing to fear when we know we are not doing anything against our well being or that of the community.

Our sanitary inspectors have either went to sleep or they are doing skeleton job, so their effect were not as pronounced as it used to be in those days. But I tell you each and every one of us have inspectors in-built in us that will not stop working till we give up the ghost; ‘Our conscience’. The conscience has been given to us as police. To approve or condemn us in our various day to day decisions and actions so we will not do what is socially unacceptable, but we will uphold the societal moral-spiritual values.

Government or it agents may not be always there but one eyes is seeing us inside out, that we needed to be aware of and reverence more than any other thing. We should fear God by doing what He loves. We should give due respect to the government and its delegates. We afraid when we are at conflict with the laws and regulations that can enhance peaceful coexistence within the framework of constitutionally acceptable norms.