LIFE

LIFE

My thoughts ran to and fro on the issues of life...

Why do some rejoice and some mourn? The same hospital where one is celebrating the birth of a child, another is crying for the death of a loved one.
The heart feels both emotions literarily, the same heart that leaps for joy can also feel extreme sorrow and deep sadness or other pains

Have you ever felt the pain? if you haven’t ever been in this position- that is great, but does it mean that you are better...?

When a baby comes into the world, it comes with possibilities and destiny. On the very imminent journey of growth from childhood to Adulthood in life- that child will get to experience both joy and pain- sometimes at the extreme. What matters is your reaction to what you feel at any given time.

GOD is the Ultimate and He hates no one. Think about it, people go through horrible experiences in life, so horrible that you can’t imagine it happening to you or happening around you. As I watched one of the stories of 9/11 again, it felt real and yes it was real. I began to imagine those who died in the twin towers, the horrible feelings they may have had knowing they would die while their families watched live on tv... , that is just one out of many life experiences and occurrences we see, hear and live through but... the heart heals even though it never forgets. When I  read and hear these happenings they leave my heart and I’m sure yours bleeding for the victims and their families. The  immediate thoughts that comes to mind is  “that could have been me or my family” and I shout... “GOD forbid”. However, nothing- absolutely nothing makes you or I better than those who died even if you were in the same accident. As I always say- our ultimate goal is to make it back to heaven, the circumstances and or way of death won’t matter even though we pray to avoid terrible situations. And like I said earlier... it could have been you or a close relative. We always have to be sensitive- to consider people going through these emotions while experiencing ours.

In recent years, precisely 2016 and 2019, I was HIT hard with the death of my parents. I am from a close knit family that love each other to a fault, my sisters and I were so loved by our parents it was sweet. During the years the LORD gave us, I thought I understood the pain of death. I will visit someone who was bereaved and say... “so sorry for your loss”, please accept my condonlence”, It is well”, and all that we say and on my way out, I will say “GOD forbid, this will not come near my dwelling “, in those years whenever I went by the casket makers I would sometimes shut my eyes and mumble a prayer... GOD forbid... those times all I could think of was death should not come near me and my family... Then 2016... it hit me and it did very hard. Then I knew how annoying those consoling cliche words were... “sorry for your loss?, it is well? What exactly is well ? It made no sense. The most annoying was “It is GOD’s time or He is in a better place “... these words sounded like pin piercing through the skin but you know that as well raised adults- you do not question people who came to support you, you have to find a way to stay calm, while you listen through which was what we did.

Yes the thoughts of “why” lingered in my heart for so long and it hurt that my sweet family of seven was now 6 and our pillar and most loving father of all times was gone.

That pain made me understand that the pain of death cannot be understood by proxy and it doesn’t mean a bereaved person didn’t do something right, or a person who is diagnosed with cancer or dies by it didn’t eat right or didn’t pray as much,  or participate in that important fasting or show up at the mountain for prayers.

My sisters and I began to treat my mum like our egg and the prayers started again, keep her o LORD, I would say “she’s my one eye o”, we would watch her like hawks and didn’t want anything to happen to her and bam... 2019, we got that most dreaded call that she’d been called home. Home where? How? Whatttttt... GOD what did we do now? questions kept coming and as we trust GOD to heal our hearts, my heart yet wondered, now seeing what the life of an orphan is, especially those orphaned early in life at their most vulnerable time.

Then came the gratitudes, flowing in- in truncates... and the questions... who deserves what they go through? Does GOD have favourites? Is He punishing some? I know many of you dear readers can’t put down on paper your experiences in life, For some,  you saw a parent  kill your other parent, for some you may have been abused as a child, for some the abuse was by a parent or relative, some you may have been gang rapped, it’s the pain of the loss of a child or children all at once or the pain of losing a husband or a best friend... whatever the pain is that you feel from life’s experiences... listen to me, it is not because you are not loved, it is not because those who didn’t have those experiences are better than you, it is not punishment for sin...
Hey... I know you are waiting for me to tell you what it is or give you an answer that will soothe your pain... there is no answer.

All I have to say is that it is the circle of life, joy, laughter, pain, joy again. Be conscious of one thing... make good use of your times in life, love and not hate, be patient and kind, share with others what you have been given by GOD, Decide not to be the cause of pain to anyone, giving them the baggage of experiences to carry through life. If you are an abuser-change, an armed robber, a corrupt official -change, conspirator- change, a gossip-change, a murderer- change, a hater- change... in your own little way, make the world a better place.

We are not here in the world to live forever, we are here for a short time to impact our world, don’t live as though this place is forever ours to keep. Make good use of your life circles and go through the tough times with love from those around you and not alone.

You are just at another bend in life’s journey, you are not alone, we all deal with pain at different times in our lives, suicide is stopping life when it’s just at a bend and not the end of the road(DONT DO IT), don’t stop there, keep moving. Remember it is not anything you did or didn’t do. It is just LIFE
LIVE LIFE

By Ojonuma Miachi Abiamuwe