JoiningColline’s Gratitude challenge will help me to stay hinged on the blessings that I am surrounded with, no matter how minutiae they may seem.
The song ‘count your blessings and name them one by one,’ plays in my mind as I write this. It will indeed surprise you what the Lord has done!
There is always something to be grateful for and when we are thankful for what we have, it actually makes it enough. Fear disappears and abundance appears!
Our lives may not be perfect, but gratitude bestows reverence on us, changing the perspectives of how we experience Life and the World.
Today, I am simply grateful for the simple things of life.
For more in-depth understanding of a word that I have read before and accepted its meaning literally.
As I was bleary-eyed this morning and trying to have a quick devotion with the children whilst pulling on my canvas as well (multi-tasking Mama) I was trying to explain the concept of Psalm 27.1: ”The Lord is my Light and my Salvation” to my young ones and I floundered a bit, before my light-bulb of understanding came on. That our lives could be likened to a very dark house in need of light. We pay our electricity/gas bills so that we may have light supply in our house, but we can still be in that darkness with its cast shadows and monsters lurking and growling at us, if we fail to turn on the switch to let the light shine. We are the ones responsible for turning on the switch and nobody else! For this revelation and explanation to my young ones, I am thankful.’
For sustained good health of my family, I am grateful.
I am grateful for getting my exercise in today.
I am really grateful for a quick power snooze without any perturbing thoughts.
For the warm, tasty home-made chilli soup that I indulged in. I am truly thankful. It does not escape my mind that some unfortunate souls are somewhere without warm food or shelter. Not because they love it that way, but because providence found them there.
Take not for granted the little things that makes your life beautiful. Like my people would say, “when you are eating a piece of fruit, think of the person that planted the tree.”
”Hia!” ”Is this not where I hung the shirt?” Ikem queries the silent night. His brand new blue second-hand T shirt with the Chelsea logo was gone! Could it have been carried by the breeze? ”Ah! Ah!” ”I just washed and put it out here not too long ago to dry in the light harmattan breeze!”
His other frayed shirt is hanging and flapping in the wind as if in mockery of his thoughts. He knows in his heart that one of those crooked eyed boys in the neighbourhood has pilfered the new one! ”Maybe it is Jude that took it o.” ”Jude!” ”Jude!” ”Jude!” he bangs on the Jude’s door, to no response.
This reaffirms his decision to go home to the village for Christmas in a couple of weeks and proceed to Onitsha with his cousin Chuks. “From the look of things Chuks seems to be doing well at Onitsha.” ”I will join him and start afresh from there.” ”I am tired of this place!”
”So what am I going to wear for tomorrow’s event now?”
He had just walked out of the dingy common bathroom of their quarters bare-bottomed feet; the sling of his worn-out slippers had finally died a natural death on his trek back home after a hectic days hustle.
It was dark in the neighbourhood. ”O boy, these NEPA boys have dismantled and collected the wires o”, says his neighbour Jude, seated on a heap of cement blocks outside, enjoying the nights fresh air. Their light connections are haphazardly and illegally done, coupled with their inability to settle the NEPA officials with something for the weekend.
Child naming ceremony
Ikem chooses not to let such things bother him right now. He is moving to higher grounds in a few weeks time, besides he had purchased quite an assortment of apparels including two new sandals and sneakers that he will launch over Christmas in the village.
As a matter of fact, if fate continues smiling the way it has been these last couple of weeks, ”I might even consider buying a G.S.M torch light phone and a few items to take to Mama and Nwanneka.’‘ ”It is almost my turn to collect the accumulated funds from ‘Isusu’.”
He felt happier than he had in a long while as he quickly washes and hangs his shirt to drain before he retires for the night. Tomorrow will be a good day, he whistles as he goes along. Papa Emma’s is having the child dedication of his twins, and surely the celebration will be followed by several plates of rice and meat coupled with free drinks to go around.
Party Jollof rice with plantain and moi-moi
He plans to join them to go to church. He has not been to church for so many months. It was tiring attending church services that were fast turning into fashion parades, whilst he had nothing fashionable to wear. It always made him feel ashamed.
Now! The new Tshirt he planned to showcase tomorrow has disappeared. “Thank God I didn’t wash the Chinos jeans as well.” ”I will just have to wear something else!” He muses to himself.
Links to the earlier series are at the top of the page. Thank you
Quick Glossary for words that you might not know:
Child dedication: Child dedication is a symbolic ceremony undertaken by Christian parents soon after the birth of a child. This rite is intended to be a public statement by the parents that they will train their children in the Christian faith.
Chuks: A shortened form of an Igbo name given to boys which could be derived from Chukwuka, God is greater, Chukwuemeka, God has done so well, Chukwudi, God lives, Chukwuebuka, God is very big etc
Isusu: An informal means of collecting and saving money through a savings for the enablement of kith and kin ventures.
Harmattan: Harmattan is a cold-dry and dusty trade wind, that blows over the West African subcontinent, from the Sahara Desert into the Gulf of Guinea between the end of November and the middle of March (winter).
Hia! Just an exclamation like Oh dear!
Moi-Moi: Nigerian steamed bean cakes made from a mixture of washed, peeled black-eyed peas, onions and fresh ground peppers (usually a combination of bell peppers and chili or scotch bonnet). A very protein-rich food that is a staple in Nigeria
NEPA: National Electric Power Authority was an organization formerly governing the use of electricity in Nigeria now replaced by PHCN (Power Holding Company of Nigeria).
Nwanneka: An indigenous Igbo name given to a girl and it means: ”my siblings are supreme or very important.”
Onitsha: A city with one of the largest commercial markets in West Africa. It is situated on the river port on the eastern bank of the Niger river in Anambra State, southeastern Nigeria.
To settle: The act of adjusting or determining disputes between persons without pursuing the matter through the formal process. In this case, it is giving something under the table to the officials.
I found a lot of treasures in the neighbours backyards this past week. Will share just a few. Do take a peek.
a cooking pot and twisted tales 