A broomstick used to be something that everybody, rich or poor used to have in their house here in Africa. Times are changing now sha. It’s slowly being replaced by brushes and vacuum cleaners.
However, the old-fashioned and archaic broom that lies unused in the corners of our houses can teach us a very important life lesson.
Pick up a broom. Observe the sticks carefully. Are they all equal? Definitely not. Does the inequality make the shorter ones useless? Of course not! Dare to remove the short sticks and see how useless your broom will become.
This teaches us that everyone is important and matter in making the world a better place. The sweepers who make our streets clean matter. The women who sell food items matters. That elderly woman that fries akara daily matters. In the University, the lecturers alone do not make it successful. The security officers matter. The admission officers matter. Those who sell in kiosks matter. Every arm of the society matters.
So don’t belittle yourself if you are a sweeper, akara maker or micro trader today. You can thrive right there. You might not have billions of dollars like Elon Musk or a multi-million naira business like Tony Elumelu. It does not define your worth. You are important!
Without the short sticks of broom, the long ones cannot function. Our society will be dysfunctional if everybody suddenly becomes a CEO or business owner. Therefore, wherever you find yourself, be content. Work hard, aim for the best there and use it as an opportunity to help others.
See, life is in phases. So don’t look down on anyone. The cleaner today can be a rich businessman tomorrow. The junior lecturer today can be a professor tomorrow. Life itself has its way of directing our outcomes, especially if you are a devout Christian.
One of the Bible verses I love so much is Psalm 37:23:
Psalm 37:23: “The Lord directs the steps of the godly.“
It is the foundation of my faith. It’s why I am not pressured no matter how materialistic today’s society is; make it yours too.
Things might not be how you want them to be but know you that God is directing your life, guiding your steps and leading you to your destiny!
Love was one of the most powerful weapons God used in redeeming Mankind back to himself; and that weapon is still very much active today.
The Bible says in John 3 vs 16;
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his ONLY begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”.
Jesus was the only Son God ever had, yet, God was willing to sacrifice Him for the salvation of the world.
God gave Jesus out into the cold hands of death just because of you and I and in doing this, put both Heaven and Earth in Great danger.
Great danger?
Yes! Because the fate of both Heaven and earth depended on whether Jesus would fulfil or fail in His mission.
Jesus faced several temptations, yet, He overcame them all. He refused to be distracted in His mission to save mankind. Scriptures tell us that He prayed with so much fervency – not for Himself, but for you and I. (Hebrews 5 vs 7)
He had the power to disappear before even when the soldiers came to arrest Him at Gethsemane.
But He said, “Not my will Lord, but thy will be done”.
His great love for us made Him willing to sacrifice His freedom and dignity.
He even bore our curse;
Galatians 3:13 – “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:”
Folks, God’s display of love on calvary remains the highest display of love for eternity.
St. John 15:13 “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
Even when we fall, He picks us up and wipe the stains of sin and guilt away with His Blood.
This is the incomprehensible love of Christ – the love that passes understanding.
If you ever feel like anyone hates you, remember that two thousand years ago, a Divine Being named ‘Jesus’ made the greatest love sacrifice on the cross.
Are you feeling hopeless or in despair? Look unto the cross and be strengthened.
If you ever feel like an outcast, Remember you have been adopted by God through Christ and you are now a part of God’s Household {Ephesians 2:12-13}
Only the one who wears the shoe knows where the pain is felt. Others can only see how beautiful and shiny the shoe is; even if the feet in the shoe is rotten.
When the reason to live is not substantial and the reason to go isn’t justified too, hanging between choices; when happiness becomes one with sadness; and gloom merges with a smile facade.
And it is said “Just be strong”
What exactly is Strength! What does it mean to be strong?
Is being strong is equal to living a sad and gloomy life?
Does it mean staying longer for a soon coming death?
Does it mean masking your lifeless soul with a cheerful outlook?
Or maybe being strong means becoming a sacrifice for all in the person of another saviour 🤔🤔
The phrase “Just be strong” loses its value without HIS presence.
Only HE can supply the strength that keeps one going just as HE has kept me going.
When I was in a dark tunnel, HE smiled at me.
The pain caused by the scorning and mockery of men gave way to His reassuring and loving smile.
I can truly ‘Be strong’ because the source of my strength is eternal.
I can truly be happy because the source of my happiness is Joy of The Spirit.
In the fire, HE is with me. On the troubled waters, HE is with me. Even in the valley of death, I fear no evil because HE is with me. Even when everyone leaves me, HE never leaves me. Even all has given up on me, He upholds me with His Right hand.
HE is Abba, My Father.
Beloved, be strong because HIS will for I and you is not for evil but for good; to bring us to His expected end.
To be strong is to know Abba, hold unto his word and live according to the Spirit; not giving heed to the senses or flesh, but seeing His wondrous works and goodness in all situations.
Abba is strength, to be strong is to have Abba with you and in you, in oneness.
Feeding your mind with so much hate, Your life becomes lost without no taste, Your mind wanders into dark places, You ask yourselves why are you in pieces?
Rivers of thoughts flood your mind, Your spirit is in despair Wounds and scars are the reflections of your day, You suck up your eyes and cheeks in tears and dismay,
Fix it out, dear!
Even though you’re in darkness presently, There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Give the devil no chance in your bowels Give him no shot to explore! Embrace Jesus today and allege your gem.
If 2020 was to be classified as a movie, it would fall under the category of Horror and Tragedy. This year was definitely a hell of a year; full of ups and downs, pandemics, lockdown, deaths, inflation, hunger, loneliness and depression.
Many lost their loved ones. Some lost their businesses, their investments, their life savings.
Almost everyone lost something or someone precious this year.
Some have recovered, some are recovering, but there are those, who are still in grief, not because they enjoy grieving, but they just do not know how to come out of it.
As humans, our first impulse to the loss of a loved one is to cry bitterly, and experience pain and sorrow. Crying is good, and sometimes, healthy, but when it should only be a temporal reaction and not a permanent mood or temperament.
Many have lost hope of ever recovering from the grief they are experiencing presently; many have lost faith and the courage to move on, irrespective of the evils around them.
Maybe you fall into that category, or you know someone who falls into into that category, cherish this post, it will go a long way to helping you.
STEPS TO BREAKING OUT OF INNER HURT AND GRIEF
IDENTIFY THE ROOT CAUSE OF THE GRIEF:
Sometimes, engaging in a self-evaluation goes a long way in helping us come out of the shell of grief. Why exactly are you grieving? Who are you grieving? What are you grieving? The loss of a loved one? Poverty? Loss of Business opportunities? Identify the root cause of your grief, identify the root cause of your pain.
2. LET GO!
This is where the real battle lies in. There are people who know why they are grieving; they know they’ve lost a loved one, but they just can’t let him go.
They keep holding on to past memories and experiences with the one who they have lost. They imagine living with the lost one still present.
Some even sleep every night, meditating on the image and person of the lost loved one. One of the common mistakes people make in grief is that they blame themselves for the loss.
“If only I was there on time”… ‘If only I had enough money…’ they blame themselves for the loss. It’s time to man up and stop acting in such childish manner. It is childish to blame yourself for things that were beyond your control in the name of grief.
Let go, and move on. No amount of tears would ever bring that person back; no amount of tears would bring that business back; no amount of imagining would bring the late back.
It would only give you a false and unreal experience with the imaginative figment of that person.
These are hard truths I allowed to sink into my heart when I found myself slipping into anguish and pain. You can never be liberated from pain until you let these hard truths break those chains.
Let go! Let go of that past memory! He has left you, to join the immortals in the world beyond this world, you should equally leave him, by moving on with life.
3. ENOUGH OF THE PITIES
This doesn’t mean you totally forget about him, it just means you are strong enough to live life meaningfully, with or without him.
Sympathy and consolation is very important at the initial stage of grieving a loss. When others sympathize with us, it has a way of making us feel we are not alone in the pain we bear.
It helps us understand we are not alone in the grief we are experiencing.
But you can’t keep getting sympathies and pities weeks and months after your loss! You cannot afford to allow this.
As innocent as they might be, when allowed for too long, they form a dark, moody temperament in us.
A temperament that expects only pity from people; a temperament that wishes to display pain and grief so as to earn the sympathies of onlookers; a temperament that only draws close to those who can show pity on it!
This temperament will obscure your vision, destroy your creativity and clog your potentials!
It is the temperament that will render you emotionally unstable and mentally imbalanced.
Change your atmosphere. Surround yourself with creative thinkers.
Read books that will stir up hope and clarity of vision, and not poems that make you more depressed.
Delete those songs of hurt from your mobile phone.
Get your gadget filled with bright songs of optimism and love; start seeing the world from a more optimistic view.
3. DEVELOP FRESH, HEALTHY HABITS
Eat well. Medical research has shown that one’s habits have a high influence on ones disposition, whether melancholic or cheerful.
Develop habits that are healthy to both your body, mind and soul. Eat well; go on a walk at sunrise.
Develop the habit of ever confessing positiveness. Develop the habit of hanging out with intelligent friends and engaging in sound discussions with them.
Lastly, I want you to know that you can do all these and still feel the tinges of grief.
They do not eliminate grief; they do not remove grief, but they remove you from the grief. Do them consistently, and turn your world turn colorful again.
Before wrapping this up, let me show you something from the Holy Bible which will definitely be helpful to you.
2 Samuel 12:15-20
16 David prayed to God for the baby. David fasted and went into his house and stayed there, lying on the ground all night.
17 The elders of David’s family came to him and tried to pull him up from the ground, but he refused to get up or to eat food with them.
18 On the seventh day the baby died. David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the baby was dead..
19 When David saw his servants whispering, he knew that the baby was dead. So he asked them, “Is the baby dead?”They answered, “Yes, he is dead.”
20 Then David got up from the floor, washed himself, put lotions on, and changed his clothes. Then he went into the Lord’s house to worship. After that, he went home and asked for something to eat. His servants gave him some food, and he ate.
Bathsheba had put to birth, a lovely, bouncing baby boy for King David, a baby which came as a result of David’s mistake.
At birth, this baby boy was probably strong and energetic, full of so much potential, but days later, he became weak.
The little baby fell sick. The sickness was so serious, that David went on a fast to plead for mercy on the baby’s life.
Imagine how the King felt, seeing that baby, emaciating and slipping away from life daily. He must have loved that baby greatly, for him to have fasted and prayed fervently for the baby’s life. Yet, the baby died.
Despite the fasting, and the prayers, and the weeping in the church, crying to God to save his child, the child still died.
How do you think David should have felt? Depressed. Sad. Angry at God for taking his baby. Losing faith in prayers and fasting. The ordinary man would have felt these.
But not David; David was a man with a mighty inner strength to bear the greatest of disappointments.
As soon as he heard of the news of his child’s death, instead of lamenting and seeking sympathy, he washed his hands, worshiped the Lord and went to eat.
This is one of the greatest Bible paradoxes I have ever read. One thing we learn from it, is that in all things, we must give thanks to God. In pain and in pleasure, in the hills and in the valleys, in all things, we must give thanks to God!
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.
See them! Single ladies, garnished with beauty from head to toe. With snow like teeth smiling for the camera and confidence hugging them tightly,
On their foreheads written “single not searching” But behind the scene in their wardrobes they sit mourning the pangs of “single at thirty” What they feel they don’t show us!
See them! single guys, dressed in designers, too attractive to be called handsome, dangerous flirts, can’t control the-in-between their legs,
on their foreheads written “single, want to mingle” But behind the scene their minds sing a sorrowful song of “I wish I had something serious, not an unstable existence” what they feel they don’t show us!
See them! Married couples, in public sugarcoated love, a mixture of chocolate and honey romance, and two glasses of wine for both. But behind the scene, wife yells at night, “jobless man, you do nothing, I get to pay all the bills’! and husband with a slap replies, “watch your mouth woman or you get another slap for a goodnight” what they feel they don’t show us!
See them! public figures, with smiling faces on TV, cute winks for the camera, three times a day, confident speeches, and the”I rule the world” looks riding in big cars in show off dresses,
Celebrity lifestyle at it’s peak coupled with the “I am fine” gesture, But behind the scene, there’s a ripped soul, drowning in salty eye juice,
A broken spirit, and a “your condition is critical” note from the surgeon what they feel they don’t show us!
See them! Everyone, physical perfection, An “I don’t care about what people say about me” attitude comedy tanks, brainiacs, with heavenly looks, A dozen of hangout friends, A touch of crazy and a”never sad” body language But behind the scene Mental disorder! An “I never fit in” feeling and a suicide note under the cabinet, what they feel they don’t show us!
We are in a world where thorns and pain seems to be our daily bread; where sorrow is like a friend banging on the door, and we have no choice but to open up to it.
It’s a dark world filled with gross darkness, so much that we have to do almost everything with uncertainty. “What if this is just the end of this strange life?”
Our trust and confidence have been taken for granted numerous times. When we look back, it’s a big regret of so many wrong decisions we have made due to pressure and fear. It’s pain in me! It’s pain in you! It’s pain in us all! “What if this is just the end of this strange life?”
While we live on, truth is, we have longed died inside of us. Pain, fear and sorrow have put us in a place worse than the grave itself, a state of depression and confusion, and we count towards a time and a moment when we will finally live life or probably LEAVE THIS LIFE.
“But, What if this is just the end of this strange life we are living?”
Yes! It’s the end of this strange life friend!
A life without God brings all these; a life void of the presence of the Loving Father, full of grace and mercy.
So how about we come to the end of this strange life now, How about we embrace the One in whom true life and peace dwells.
For strange life is a life outside the Lord, But TRUE LIFE is one found and established in CHRIST JESUS!
Embrace Jesus now. Receive His true life and cast you cares upon Him!
KOINONIA ART 