Sunday morning anchor

This morning I tossed and turned in bed as ECG turned my lights on and off. I didn't care much because the weather was nice and cool. I looked at my phone when my alarm went off and contemplated missing church to have some extra sleep. "You read the mass readings the night before remember?" My brain whispered to me.

After a few more snoozes I slapped myself and got off my bed. Getting ready for church didn't take very long because as I mentioned earlier I didn't really have power so I looked for the most decent outfit that had been already ironed, an orange dress. I got into my car when I was all set and drove off. I seemed a bit late, 15 minutes to be exact but when I entered the church I heard the first reading. I smiled to myself as I sat down.

The sermon was about the sacrifice we are to make for God during Lent. The priest mentioned fasting and said there were so many other things we could sacrifice besides food. So I drifted off thinking about what I was going to sacrifice. A lot of things flew into my head. Some were really pointless and others made a lot of sense. So I decided.

I listened to more of the sermon and was really glad I came. Sure I had missed out on some sleep but it was nothing compared to what I received at church. After mass I set off to find myself a cold  drink because it was a hot Sunday (SUNday lol). On my way I saw a couple of people I always wanted to talk to. To invite them to a group that wanted to expand. For some reason I never talked to them (probably thought they won't be interested) but today I was like 'eh let me just go'. So I went and spoke to them and they liked the idea. Just like that. I smiled to myself after and went home, after my cold drink of cause.

Moral of the story? Sometimes a little effort to do the thing you believe is right or best can bring you more joy than doing something else. Today's first reading was about Abraham and his son Isaac who was almost sacrificed. Abraham had a big thing to do so I guess we can do ours too :)

Being Francis

Francis saw his older brother packing his bags. "Hey Dan, where are you off to?" He asked curiously. Dan looked at him and continued packing. "I don't know how you manage to be happy here." Dan finally replied. He picked up a T-shirt and threw it into his small suitcase. Francis did not see that answer coming. He enquired further and Dan made it clear he was leaving their new home. His brother was even more surprised.

 Just then their sister walked into the room. "What's going on here?" She asked. Francis turned to her and explained Dan's intentions. She shook her head and turned to walk out like nothing was happening. "Pat, won't you tell him to stop this and stay?" Francis called out. Without turning Pat said, "He's not a child. He can do as he pleases." Then she left.

Francis asked his brother why he wanted to leave one more time. "Why should I stay? Father doesn't love me, he expects me to follow so many rules and what do I get in return? Constant disappointment. He says “ask me for anything and you'll have it” but he doesn't honour his words. My friends in the South are living very happy lives free from strict parents. That's where I'm headed." Dan let out. It looked like he had given this a lot of thought.

"Daddy loves us so much. Don't you see that? He gives us a lot of food and everything we need and his rules are just meant to protect us." Francis said. "I'm 25 years old, I need more than food. I have asked him for so many things and he just did nothing." Dan said, beginning to get angry. His little brother tried to calm him down but it was useless. He picked his suitcase and walked out with Francis running behind him. "I have one last thing to say. Count all the things Dad has gotten for you and see if they are worth more than the things you are asking for. I will tell Dad you'll be coming back because I know you will." Francis said almost in tears. "Good luck with that." He said and left the house.

If Pat, Dan and Francis’ father was God and they were normal Christians like you and me, can you relate to their actions? Pat is the Christian who believes but does not spread the word nor help others out. She prefers to be a Christian on an island. Dan is the Christian who loses his faith because he thinks God is asleep or maybe just picky because his prayers are not being answered. He feels all he is doing for God is in vain.

 Francis is the Christian we all want to be. The one who believes in God with all his heart and wants everyone to do same so he calls people to God and encourages them. We have probably been all these people at one point or the other in our journey with Christ. It's time to be Francis in our own little way. If you are not sure how, just pray and an idea will pop into your head, completely unique to you. God bless you :-)

Monday morning surprise

As Samira walked to work she remembered the sermon that was preached at church the day before. The topic was about loving your neighbour. Even those that didn't love you. She knew one person like that at work. Sarah Brown. Sarah just didn't like her and the feeling was very mutual. From her first day at work Samira never got along with her. Maybe Sarah felt insecure around her because she was younger, she just couldn't tell. "I'll love my neighbour." Samira said with a long sigh. Just before she entered her office building she saw something interesting. There was a car having boot sales not very far away. She looked at her watch. She had enough time to do some window shopping. She saw a nice necklace. It looked like something Sarah would love. She thought for minute and bought it for her at a very good price.

When Samira got to work Sarah was not at her desk but she saw her favourite red bag and knew she was around. She picked up a sticky note from her desk and wrote a little note. She stuck the note to the present she had just bought, put it on Sarah's desk and walked away. When she got to hers Elikem walked by with a smile. "Is that a bomb you put on Miss Horror's desk?" She asked. Samira giggled and shook her head. Elikem always had names for everyone. Then it hit her that she wasn't the only one who didn't like Sarah. "Love your neighbour." She whispered to herself as she turned on her computer.

After a few hours there was a general meeting for everyone. Samira took a seat at the back of the board room next to Elikem. "Pay raise time, woop woop." Elikem whispered and did a little dance in her chair. Samira laughed. "You are such a child." She said to her. The CEO of the company walked in with some sheets of paper. He said he had bad news. The company was not doing as good as it used to and they had decided to do a downsizing exercise. Samira's heart missed a beat as he mentioned the names of the people who were being laid off. Her heart sunk when she heard Elikem's name. Fortunately for her that was the last name. She breathed a sigh of relief and turned to comfort her friend.

When she got back to her desk she saw a red sticky note and instantly knew who it was from. It said, 'thanks for the necklace. It's so lovely. Yes you are right we started off on a bad note. So your apologies have been accepted.' Samira smiled. She turned around and spotted Sarah at the entrance of the board room. She walked to her but the CEO was quicker. Samira just stood aside and waited for him to finish talking to her. "Sarah I thought we decided on 12 people? This list is short of one." He said. "Sir that's true but I found out recently that she has potential as compared to the others." Sarah replied and smiled at Samira. "Alright, I trust your judgement, have a nice day." The CEO said and walked away...... 

Love your neighbour!

Changes

Angela looked at her watch. Her brother was 20 minutes late. She played around with her drink uncomfortably. She didn't like where she was. She didn't like shabby public places like this. She just had to give her brother some money and he suggested they meet there. She was contemplating leaving when she saw an old friend of hers. He was called Henry. He walked straight up to her and sat down. "Wow, Angela how are you? It's been so long." He said. Angela nodded boldly. She told him why she was there and they did a little catching up. She enjoyed his company even after all those years. "Where is your Rosary ring? You always used to wear it." Henry asked. Angela looked at her empty finger. “I don’t believe in those things anymore. I’m now an atheist. Henry was surprised so he asked why. "I don't think God exists. If he did he wont let evil things happen to good people." She said and sipped on her drink.

Henry was even more surprised. He remembered Angela was one of the most dedicated Christians in school. "Well I can't say I understand all God does but..." Henry started but Angela cut him short. "I watched my dad lose everything. First his job, then his wife and finally his life. I had to wait tables just to pay for his funeral. There is no God, just luck." She said. Henry could feel the bitterness in her voice. "I'm sorry about your father. He was a good man. All I can say is things happen for a reason." He said. Angela was about to reply when she felt the floor underneath her shake. She looked down immediately and saw that the building was collapsing. There were screams all over the place.

People rushed to the exit but the stairs were the first to cave in. The screams got louder as one pillar underneath them fell causing the whole floor to tilt. The people on that side fell to their doom as others held on to anything they could find. Henry grabbed a table leg and pulled Angela to it. As they hung there they could see another pillar about to give away. Angela looked down. They were 3 stories up. Her heart beat hard. Was she going to join her father wherever he was? "Angela we might not make it. Please accept Christ now before it's too late. Just pray." Henry yelled. She was surprised he was thinking about her at this moment. She looked up and saw that the table leg was about to break.

Just as it broke and they slid down to the edge of the floor she closed her eyes to pray. "We are glad to have you back. You will join us in heaven but not today." She heard a voice say. She opened her eyes. She was inches away from the edge when she grabbed on to a decorative light pole. Henry got a hold of it too. She looked around and saw a roll of water hose attached to the wall. She turned and saw 7 people holding on in fear. She turned to Henry. "We can use the water hose to climb down!" She yelled. He looked at it and understood exactly what she meant. She stretched her hand and dragged it towards her. "Ok, go down before the pillar gives away! " He screamed as she gave the hose to him. She smiled and said, "not today, I won’t die today." She gave him the hose and unrolled enough for Henry to climb down. Everyone cheered when he got down safely. Angela turned around and gave the hose to a child.  Henry and a few people downstairs helped the little boy as he came down. One after the other Angela helped all 7 people down. She climbed down as fast as she could herself and met a host of cheers.

Minutes after the area was cleared the second pillar collapsed. Angela was safely out of the building looking for Henry. She didn't find him. Wherever he was she wanted to say thank you for those few words that gave her back the life she lost: a life in Christ.

He fell asleep on my shoulder

I wasn’t exactly late for church this Sunday. I made it just in time to hear the first reading. I sat outside as usual on a plastic chair. It wasn’t really because I was late oh, the plastic chairs are just more comfortable to me. The sermon was nice and long and Father was talking mostly about marriage. I smiled and giggled. Was I ready? Clearly not. As the mass went on, kids would run to their mothers every now and then and whisper into their ears. Their mums will give them money or whisper back to them and they would run back. It was really cute. I smiled and wondered when I would be doing same for my kids. Would I have a son or a daughter? Maybe both. Thoughts I usually keep to myself so I don’t scare my boyfriend (lol). 

It was prayer time and I closed my eyes and said a silent personal prayer. When I opened my eyes something hit me. I keep asking God for so many things. He definitely gives me majority and I guess the rest will come in His time but seriously what do I do for Him? I sat up and said to myself. “From now on I’m going to pay my dues. Well at least do the little I can.” I smiled and felt really good about myself. When it was time to shake hands I’m sure everyone noticed how genuine my smile was. There was this cute little boy (about 1 and a half years old) who was walking all over the place. His family was sitting right next to me. I didn’t notice him standing in front of me till something touched my feet and I looked down. He had his hand stretched out so I giggled and shook his hand. He made a little sound and raised both of his hands. For those of you who know nothing about kids, this is a way of saying “carry me”. I smiled immediately and lifted him up. He held my blouse tightly and put his little head on my shoulder. 

My heart felt warm. He didn’t know who I was and vice versa but he put his trust in me to carry him. I sang along with the choir and swayed slowly to rock this angel in my arms. I could see a number of people staring. Well of course they would, I almost always came to church alone and went back same. Me carrying a child was definitely news. Then I felt his grip loosen. Was he falling asleep? I could feel his tiny weight more. I was right, I was humbled, I was melting. For no other reason than that the little boy fell asleep on my shoulder. His older brother came for him from me. He woke up in the transfer and started crying. His father carried him and he fell asleep again.  

When the mass ended I went home with a big smile. I had a flat tyre and had to change it, my trip to the swimming pool had to be rescheduled, my friend was leaving town for a very long time but none of these could take away that feeling. That amazing feeling I got when he fell asleep on my shoulder.

Her request

A two year old girl was playing with her 4 year old brother and she asked him, "Martin, what is blood?" Martin looks at her and responds, "It is some red thing in people." Angela thinks for a while and asks again, "Have you seen some before?" Martin smiles and nodds his head. Angela gets up beaming from ear to ear. "I want to see some." She sings. Martin admires his sister's excitement and thinks of how to grant her wish. He grabs her hand and they run to their parents in the living room.

"Daddy, can I have a blade?" Martin says when they get there. Mr. Lamptey turns to look at them curiously. (Angela is still beaming)He smiles at her too. " Yes you can but not now." He replied. Smiles begun to fade but these kids were not satisfied. "When?" Martin asked again. His father stuck to his words. This time Angela grabbed her brother's hand and dragged him back to their play room. "Daddy is bad!" She muttered as they left.

They went on playing for the rest of the day but Angela still had blood on her mind. During lunch, she asked again. "Daddy can we have the blade now?" Her father patted her head gently and said, "yes dear, but not now." Mrs. Lamptey who didn't want to comment on the matter got a little worried. When the kids run off she asked her husband, 'Are you really going to give them a blade?" Her husband laughed out loud (lol'd) and nodded. "Yes, when they are old enough to handle it." He explained and immediately calmed his wife's nerves.

Later that evening, Angela was chasing the cat around the play room and she fell. She had a bruise on her knee and was bleeding lightly. Martin rushed to her. "This is blood." He said excitedly. Immediately she stopped crying and starred at her knee. "Wow, the red thing." She said trying to smile with tears rolling down her chubby cheeks.

This story is not very different to what we do everyday. We ask God for things that we know we need but God made us so he knows us best. He knows what will help us and what will hurt us. So we ask and ask and when we don't recieve we feel like he isn't listening. He is, he just knows what's best for us and gives it to us in his own special way.