Friday, 5 June 2015

DO NOT GIVE UP, BUT BE ENCOURAGED!



Today I had a burden for those people who are struggling to make ends meet.  I want to encourage you as I am not an exception.  Life is unfair as I always hear people say.  To be honest sometimes life seems unfair from all quotas when you look at things literally.  But today, I want to encourage you out there, who is feeling so down and you have no hope to move on.  The other day I was just figuring out, if someone was put in my shoes if they would make it as they seem to.  And to my surprise I tried to figure out and saw many of the people you see around, if they were told to walk on their own without support from others, you would be shocked what kind of people they would be.    How did I come up with such a conclusion?  Just look around you, if that lady was not married to that well to do man and vice-verse, things would not be as they are.  Is it true?  If one was not born to that rich family and may be tables were turned the other way round and found themselves in the slums, would things be the same?  If that guy who got a job just immediately from college and you had the same grades and yet you have tarmacked since memorial, if they were put in your shoes, would life be the same really?  If ……. ……. the list goes on and on and on.    But that is beside my point; my point is not to make those people who are making it feel offended because I have said that.   If they fall in those categories, then, instead of getting offended, they should thank God that things are going on well on their side and they should not boast lest they fall.   My wish and prayer is that we all flourish and enjoy life in abundance but that is something that  I have no control of as God knows all the plans he has for us all and that is why depending on him at all times is what matters the most and not what we have or do not have. 

My top most agenda today as I write this is, to encourage someone who is on the verge of giving up.  As in, things have not been going on well with you, or you have been doing well and all of a sudden things have turned upside down, or you have tried many times and nothing is coming up.  You have done all what is needed to be done for you to go to your next level and it’s like a big block has been put ahead of you.  Today, I want to encourage you that do not to give up.  I know it is easily said than it happens but I want to tell you today, do not depend on your own understanding or on your shortcomings.   Ask God to help you in all what you do.  You might have tried so many times and things have not worked for you.  I can’t imagine what you are feeling inside yourself, that, nothing good can ever come out of you just because you have failed many times.  My word for you today, be encouraged and know that God is on your side and he will come for you not too late even if you have toiled for how long.  The most important thing here is not to give up. I know what fails us most of the time is losing hope and giving up.   I have a short illustrating about being hopeful even if things are not looking good or interesting.

Yesterday I left the office early enough to go and receive my son from school so that I can take him to my friend’s house as I do not have a house help.  My friend moved from her previous house two days ago and my baby did not know where they had moved to, though it was within the same estate.  In the past, he used to go to that home whether I was there or not.  But because they had moved, I had to show him the new house.   As my responsibility, I always make sure I have received him from school and take him to my friend’s house personally to ascertain for sure that my baby came from school and I took him to my friend’s house before I hit the road to school.     Yesterday, things did not go as usual as my baby was left by their school bus, meaning that he was to wait for the second trip.  I do not like him being dropped in the second trip as he usually reaches home so late.  Unlikely, he missed the first trip and thus he was to wait for the second trip.  For me, I was really inconvenienced because, when he comes early, I am able to give him something to eat and take him personally to my friend’s house so that I proceed to class as I am an evening student.   So, yesterday I was in a dilemma as whether to just proceed to class or wait for my child.  But something kept on telling me, ‘class is not greater or important than your baby, you should wait for him then proceed to your class’.  Somehow, I listened to the inner voice but things were not rosy for me as time was really flying as I was supposed to be in class by 5.30 p.m.   

I could not imagine what I was going through as I knew I was missing class and I was also supposed to pick my baby personally to my friends new home.   I was torn between the two and none was I ready to give up on. Gosh, I was wishing I was a fly I just fly, go pick my baby and move on with my agendas.   But if wishes were hoses, beggars would ride.  I had no option but I held on and I did not give up.  But pressure was really mounting on me as I kept on talking to myself and asking many questions that did not have answers.  The driver of the school bus was also making me more miserable as he refused to pick my calls.  I can’t really tell why he refused to pick my calls,  but I guessed he thought I was very disappointed and thought maybe I would quarrel him, as I had called him earlier and he confessed to me he did not pick my child as he was not released from class early.   Oh!  My goodness, I kept on waiting and somehow something inside me told me, ‘Rose, please just be calm and everything will be alright’.  Gosh!  That is unlike me as I am usually a very impatient person, but since God has been walking me through this thing of my impatience to patience, I listened to him as I knew what I needed was patience enough to overcome all what I was going through rather than make a fuss out of nothing as no one, to all of us starting from the teacher, my baby, the bus driver and myself was to blame.  I kept my cool and waited.  At around 7.00 p.m., as I was nearly giving up going for my class and taking my plan B which was not to go for class that day, I saw the bus coming. I was so excited, though time was not on my side.  It was also about to rain and something still told me, ‘you can as well miss the class for today only’.  Another voice would tell me, ‘Rose, do not give up.  Missing class would mean you won’t do the cat today as the teacher had said.  You would rather appear just for the sake of the cat and also know what they learnt and borrow notes if worse finds you.   Besides, you will sign up the register so that you do not be marked absent and that will be a plus for you than missing classes’.  I felt comforted somehow by the facts that I deliberated on from my heart.  For sure, missing class is and offense in the campus that I am training in and it made a lot of sense not giving up.  It also made sense that, who knows I would find them doing the cat and also do it rather than miss out?  And finally knowing what transpired in class that day would be better than missing out all the same.  So I listened to the latter voice.  I picked my baby from the bus very fast and rushed him to my friend’s house as there was no time to bond as we mummy and baby each other.  I felt for him but I had nothing to do as I pulled his hand and rushed him to my friend’s house.   My baby could not understand what was happening to him as I was really pushing and pulling him to run faster so that I do not waste more time. 

We reached the house and I just dropped him and left running.  Usually, I use the public means because of the heavy traffic so that I save on fuel and also jump out of the bus in case there is so much traffic so that I walk the remaining part of the journey.  But because I was late, I decided to use my car.  I jumped into my car so fast and drove like a mad woman.  I was just praying that nothing bad happens because when you are on a hurry that is when the devil visits and distracts you.   God is very faithful; a route that takes me a like 30 minutes to 1 hour, took me only 10 minutes.  I was in shock as in, how could that route have no vehicles and the other side of the highway, cars were not moving? To me that was a miracle and I was just celebrating in it.  I could overtake cars that were dragging on the way and I guess my fellow drivers were wondering where is this mad woman running to as I could tell with the way they were giving me way as I tried to overtake them. 

Oh!  In 15 minutes time, I was in class and I entered so slowly like an innocent child who knows she or he is wrong but does not want to be punished.  Luckily enough I got a sit that I found vacant a place I do not normally sit as I was late and my comfort sitting position was occupied.  Anyway, I tried to pick up my breath as I had walked up to second floor where my class was located and I was running out of breath as I sat down in class.  Immediately I took my sit, I asked my desk-mate what they had done and she told me, ‘you are lucky the teacher has just arrived.  He had left a handout and said we be reading and then answer a question that he will post when he comes to class, and he has just arrived a few minutes before you.’  Then I asked her, ‘have you done it yet?’ she told me ‘no the teacher has just come and he is asking us question in relation to what we have been reading.   I guess it will be a take away exam.’  I was just waiting to hear what the teacher would say and at the same time I tried to scan through the handout and I could see nothing but a black out.  Gosh!  I wondered what I would write in that exam. Not long after the teacher asked like five students what they got from the handout, I heard him say, ‘our class today is ending now at 7.30 p.m.’ Meaning I just sat in that class for less than 15 minutes and he said ‘that exam will be a take a way.’  Then he reasoned again and said, ‘I am going to do something I have never done as in I am not very sure if I give it as a take away, whether people are going to be honest enough not to Google for the answer or work as an individuals.   He said, to be fair enough; since the exam was out of two, that he would give everyone the two marks for free.  He also gave us an option to read the hand out or not.  The whole class clapped their hands as it gave everyone a sigh of relieve.   I guess because may be all of us were not ready to do that cat.  We said the grace and left for the day.

What am I saying?  It is good not to give up.  You can imagine if I missed out the class I would have really lost as to me it’s like I lost nothing because the teacher also came to class late, he also said no one would do the cat as per that day and thus I was included to those who would get the free marks, I was also updated on what transpired in class as I also got my hand out so that I would read it when I got home.  And last and not the least, I was marked present for class that day.  To me, this was a very encouraging lesson that, as much as things are not going the way I want them to, God has a better way of handling them and I do not need to panic or be impatient or curse the day, as all things work together for good.  I would also have quarreled the school bus driver for no apparent reason and cause a bad blood for nothing.  I would have not made the right decision if I meddled on the negative and thus jeopardize my son’s responsibility and expose him to uncertainties that may be, would have caused more damage to me and my baby.  Today, I want you to be encouraged and be calm and be still and know that God is in control.     

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