Be Ready – Max Lucado

“No one knows when that day or time will be, not the angels in
heaven, not even the Son. Only the Father knows.”
- Matthew 24:36 –  

His message is unmistakable: He will return, but no one knows when.
So, be ready.

I was reminded of this not long ago when I boarded a plane. I walked
down the aisle, found my seat, and sat down next to a strange sight.

The man seated next to me was in a robe and slippers. He was dressed
for the living room, not for a journey. His seat was odd, too.
Whereas my seat was the cloth type you normally see, his was fine
leather.

“Imported,” he said, when he noticed I was looking. “Bought it in
Argentina and put it on myself.”

That was only the beginning. His fold-down table was of mahogany.
There was a portable TV installed next to the window. A tiny ceiling
fan and globed light hung above us. I had never seen anything like it.

My question was the obvious one, “Why did you spend so much time and
expense on an airline seat?”

“I live here,” he explained. “I make my home on the plane.”

Incredible. The man made a home out of a mode of transportation. He
made a residence out of a journey. Hard to believe? You think I’m
stretching the truth? Well, maybe I haven’t seen such foolishness in
a plane, but I have in life. And so have you.

You’ve seen people treat this world like it was a permanent home.
It’s not. You’ve seen people pour time and energy into life like it
will last forever. It won’t. You’ve seen people so proud of what they
have done, that they hope they will never have to leave—they will.

We all will. We are in transit. Someday the plane will stop and the
deboarding will begin. Wise are those who are ready when the pilot
says to get off.

I don’t know much, but I do know how to travel. Carry little. Eat
light. Take a nap. And get off when you reach the city.

 

 

 

 

 

what became of the Roses?

It’s only a few days after Valentine’s day (to tell you i started this post ever since!), here, by the kitchen window sill, lies a withering rose flower. Truth is,  i didn’t think i would be doing this as i intended to ’let sleeping dogs lie’, but the state of this once-so-beautiful flower wouldn’t allow me as it speaks volumes, however, i shall keep the message just a few lines away.

My boss at work ordered ‘valentine specials’ for his subordinates, live roses for the girls and chocolates (i think) for the guys. Today, i remember, tomorrow, chances are I would not. I do not find myself to blame in this regard seeing that the gesture might just wither off in such fleeting moment as certainly, would the flower.

Legend has it that in medieval times, a knight and his lady were walking along the side of a river. He picked a posy of flowers, but because of the weight of his armour he fell into the river. As he was drowning he threw the posy to his loved one and shouted “Forget-me-not”. This is a flower connected with romance and tragic fate. It was often worn by ladies as a sign of faithfulness and enduring love. In like manner, the same could be said of the Rose.

Forget-me-nots and Roses, will, for the flowers they be, wither; but a good character?

A good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you and were helped by you will remember you when forget-me-nots have withered. Carve your name on hearts, not on marble.  - Charles H. Spurgeon

Rhythm of Grace

Herein, i shall model this post after fumosh’s style; relating the mundane to the spiritual.
Some are born great, some acquire greatness, some have greatness thrust upon them…
that doesn’t sound like what i need, I would rather say, some are born wise, some acquire wisdom…
For the umpteenth time, I had gone barely halfway through before having to start all over again.
By the way, this was meant to be an aside job, helping a colleague with some route maps & calculation.

“Just this? throw it in, i’ll be done in a moment or two, i’ve got affinity for numbers and this is no tough calculation, just adding up numbers.” so i thought to myself.

 A few minutes into the task, i had a few distractions and so i started afresh every so often, by now it wasn’t getting funny as it was taking longer than i expected, moreover, i still had my own ‘work’ to do! By which time i was getting irritated at the thought of not getting the work done in as such short time as i thought I would.

I wouldn’t take this any longer, i thought to myself as an older colleague leaned over, i’m sure he didn’t take note of the look on my face cos if he had, certainly he would have gone no further!
Well he did and he offered me just what i needed – can i offer you a sugestion? why don’t you do it this way?

Gracious!! Why didn’t i think of that? with his suggestion, i could afford a whole lot more distractions, not like i needed them really! and i could turn in the job in a shorter period of time.

At that point, it dawned on me how much easier life would be acting on instructions, knowing what to do per time, never at a loss on making the right choices, being the right person at the right place just at the righ time, literarily being a round peg in a round hole – the prfect fit! and to think that we, as Christians have the promise of the Holy Spirit but seem to have little need of him in our day to day activities.

Matthew 11:29 says it all;

“Walk with me and work with me–watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you.” 

That is word enough for the wise.

Blessed week! 

What does it matter??

Hey, you just breezed past me on a bike!

hmmn, big girl like you on a bike, in V.I for that matter!

biker gurl! where were you headed this early momo?

 Wharrever! I was on a bike, and so? Well, i thought and thought about it, does it really matter? It’s a means of transportation, isn’t it? so i’m left to wonder why you would seek to rub it in that you ’saw me on a bike’, meaning you saw more than me, you saw the bike!

No doubt, there’s an increasing populace of patriots considering the worsening traffic situation. whether you do it in ’seeming secrecy’ along the rough roads and corners leading to ur home or right there in the open, in places like v.i, and on some particular crescents, could there be more to it than meets the eye? come to think of it, time is money, cabs are no options for me, i mean i can’t afford to pay so much to arrive late, Should you catch sight of me balanced on a bike, just bear with me that i must be in some sort of a hurry.

I hear it’s even ‘hearable’ for guys but for ladies? No way! Maybe not anymore o, cos looking left, right and left yet again, i find well dressed charming ladies (u cld possibly get an idea of what’s in vogue) biking along, so who am I not to join the bandwagon when occassion demands. afterall, the whole idea is to do all to His glory, yeah, including biking to His glory!

It’s so convenient that i find myself pulling up in the next available space along the road, flying a bike, all in a bid to beat some crazy traffic.

The other day, there was so much noise about a ‘celeb’ who seemed so near yet so far away from her destination, she had, apparently, been stuck for over two hours, she didn’t need anyone to convince her to do the needful, hop on a bike she did, for reals!! As for me, I’ve shaken off the dust and i really am not bothered anymore. why??

ps: do this less often if you haven’t crossed the rubicon.

Decision Making

 A group of children were playing near two railway tracks, one still in use while the other disused. Only one child played on the disused track, the  rest on the operational track.

The train is coming, and you are just beside the track interchange. You can make the train change its course to the disused track and save most of the kids. However, that would also mean the lone child playing by the disused track would be sacrificed. Or would you rather let the train go its way?

Let’s take a pause to think what kind of decision we could make… Most people might choose to divert the course of the train, and sacrifice only one child. You might think the same way, I guess. Exactly, to save most of the children at the expense of only one child was rational decision most people would make, morally and emotionally.But, have you ever thought that the child choosing to play on the disused track had in fact made the right decision to play at a safe place? Nevertheless, he had to be sacrificed because of his ignorant friends who chose to play where the danger was.

This kind of dilemma happens around us everyday. In the office, community, in politics and especially in a democratic society, the minority is often sacrificed for the interest of the majority, no matter how foolish or ignorant the majority are, and how farsighted and knowledgeable the minority are. The child who chose not to play with the rest on the operational track was sidelined. And in the case he was sacrificed, no one would shed a tear for him.

The great critic Leo Velski Julian who told the story said he would not try to change the course of the train because he believed that the kids playing on the operational track should have known very well that track was still in use, and that they should have run away if they heard the train’s sirens. If the train was diverted, that lone child would definitely die because he never thought the train could come over to that track! Moreover, that track was not in use probably because it was not safe. If the train was diverted to the track, we could put the lives of all passengers on board at stake! And in your attempt to save a few kids by sacrificing one child, you might end up sacrificing hundreds of people to save these few kids.While we are all aware that life is full of tough decisions that need to be made, we may not realize that hasty decisions may not always be the right ones.

‘Remember that what’s right isn’t always popular… and what’s popular isn’t always right.’  Everybody makes mistakes; that’s why they put erasers on pencils.  

Happy New Year!

“The Old Year has gone. Let the dead past bury its own dead. The New Year has taken possession of the clock of time. All hail the duties and POSSIBILITIES of the coming twelve months!”

-Edward Payson Powell.

The Nativity

Ever since the first Christmas, there have been several editions and versions of the Nativity story. However, it’s sobering to note that gradually, the essence of the season is being equalled to how ‘christmasy’ christmas turns out to be!

A few evenings ago, I was seated in the audience of a small auditorium to witness the production of a play titled The Nativity with a Difference. Truth is, initially, i was a bit skeptical about going b’cos i felt there couldn’t be a new twist to the story of the birth of Christ, so why freeze out there all in the name of going to see a play?? Couldn’t be any more wrong!

The set reflected a well structured plot with Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus seated in the centre stage on a stack of hay, a representation of the manger where Jesus was born, even had sheep bleating and manger boyz on stage.

Enter director.

Camera! Lights! 3, 2, 1 cut!

Enter 3 wise men.

quietly, each presented his gift (gold, frankincense & myrrh) as they all fell down in worship.

Cut!! A furious director screamed, that’s not lively!! as he managed to put a call through to a supposed modern day event manager. In a few seconds, his face lit up with smiles as he seemed to have got a bright idea, a more christmasy idea of the role of the 3 wise men. and so, he hurriedly ordered for a repeat performance no longer as the three wisemen but as three party divas with their gifts aptly packaged to suit the re-engineered plot, an 18c designer gold wrist watch, a box of top brand fragrance and a complementing bottle of designer perfume!

At every stage, there seemed to be one more thing that needed a substitute as the succeeding scene always fell short of the preceeding (according to world standards). He never failed to employ his mobile phone, came in so handy.

The hay stack was cleaned up so we could have baby Jesus in a more relaxed and baby friendly environment, definitely not a manger! Same thing for the shepherds who watched the flock, they couldn’t remain in their old dirty robes, c’mon! and so they turned up in their tuxedos and swung into the party mood.  How dare we forget Mary and Joseph? parents of the day!! All along, they sat watching the whole scene change from the ‘little’ to the ‘funky’ town of Bethlehem. Now they weren’t going to take it anymore! All the other actors and actresses had taken their turns in looking beautiful and trendy and it wasn’t going to do their reputations much good sitting pretty still and so they hopped out of stage…

so much chaos and confusion as the director seemed to be at a loss on what crossed everybody’s minds. Not for long though, as he seemed to have succeeded in staging the nativity with a touch of class and had kept every member of the audience at the edge of his/her seat. Turning around, he saw the baby! Owmigod! what’s he doing there? he doesn’t belong here anymore! Can someone please get the baby out of the way!!

Freeze!!!

did he mean, get Jesus out of the way? but it was meant to be ALL about him in the first place! how did we lose focus? how did we manage to get every other thing ahead of him?

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9.6

Celebrate with the celebrant!

Merry Christmas.

7 weird things

How easy is it to list 7 weird things about yourself? Well, i wasn’t tagged but it turned out quite an interesting read stumbling on …yeah, 7 weird things about rethots and so i thought to look inwards;

• I’ve never really suffered a heartbreak, not even in matters of the heart! (link’d to no. 6)
• I hardly ever wear a make up, not as much as a dab of facial powder but i’m stuck with lip salves!
• Once upon a time, i lived an oxymoron – the Christian life void of the Christian faith
• I am so stoical, i don’t know! I can almost fit into any mold.
• I don’t throw litter on the floor and so you find pieces of litter stuck in small compartments of my handbag.
• On one hand, you may think me a late bloomer, on the other, you just may not, cos my first attempt may end up being the only! it’s been worth the wait.
• I’m yet to figure out what the fun in soccer is!

Here are the rules
1) Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog

2) Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself

3) Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs

4) Let each person know that they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

Be Inspired!

I saw an ad on tv a few days ago and it brought back memories of the games we played, way back. One of such games was the hop scotch with the chant ‘when will u marry? This year, next year, sometime forever??’ (now, i’m wondering what would prompt a group of 8yr olds to ask such a question!)The issue now is not even the weighty question of marriage but of time. It’s amazing what one can do in time, now, i mean time with no particular reference to what length, be it a minute, an hour, a day, a month…It dawned on me that year 2007 is gradually winding up. I’ve had to fight that thought cos glaringly, i had failed to achieve all my set goals! However pitiful that sounds, i stumbled on an article and it sure did leave me inspired! 

a bad hair day

‘ve often heard that you can’t eat your cake and have it. Now, i’m not on a mission to argue that out, cos i can bet there are peeps out there ready to prove me wrong, you can as well have it up for sale if you so desire! i can almost hear them say.

It’s a Sunday afternoon, i’ve been to church but not for long, you see, truth is, i seem to be getting tired of church, now i’m not shy to say that cos i heard something sometime last week ‘If you aren’t tired of church yet, then you probably aren’t ready or hungry for something new yet so satisfying, fresh fire…’ that’s an aside anyway, topic for another day.
I realise i have so much to do today and there’s little or no time for frivolities.
How would you like to slide into a pool on a sunny Sunday afternoon as today (yes, i started writing this on Sunday!) Ever seen a cockroach dancing before a hen or chicken??  won’t be long before the latter makes a clean sweep of the former! Short of saying, i couldn’t just eat my cake and have it!
oops! the day’s almost spent and my hair’s not made, it may be a bad hair week afterall! i shall most likely be ‘wigging it through’.

now it’s five days after, it’s Friday; i’ve never felt this disappointed in a while, i narrowly missed (or missed narrowly, cos i did miss it, not like i was kind of lucky!) a deadline during the week, just about a minute delay. It was so painful cos i put in so much in terms of time, effort and everything u can think of.
What made the pain so excrutiating was the fact that, what i tried but failed to do in 30mins, i thenafter did in seconds – who would have thought attaching a file could be that troublesome? On second thought, it might just be that i was dull of hearing cos the following morning, I got to my desk and found this staring me in the face – “If your plans have failed, ask yourself if there’s a better plan waiting to be discovered” there had better be one! Now i’m asking myself

Nice weekend y’all!