Good day, beloved friend. I hope you are having blissful moments as the hour progresses. I was reminiscing about a moment in the past, laughing at how childish I was then and how far I have come since then. Those days were not as simple and straightforward like the present times, because I desired for a lot of things.
So, I was residing in the western region of Nigeria at that time of my life. Family was at a state of harmony and friends were few but a constant reminder that there were good people existing on the face of the earth.
And in my mind then, I was always complaining about how imperfect my life was, how I don’t always eat what I would have loved to eat, how I would have loved to wear the latest designer clothes and how I would have loved to travel to different places instead of walking the same streets and extending my greetings to almost the same set of people every day. It was frustrating, not until I overhead a truth that shocked me and rock me on my feet.
I remember overhearing a discussion about a family of four who lived in penury for so long a time that at some point they had to share the little they had among themselves, sometimes turning their days of lack into fasting. If I had not heard about this from a trusted source, I might not have believed, because this family are always seen smiling and at peace with the world. And mind you, I overhead!
The point I am trying to bring out is this:
Whatever it is we are stressed about and decided to complain about, there are those who have it far worse than we do. We complain about how bad the time is, how we don’t have the latest designer cloth, how we don’t have enough toiletries in the toilet, how we have not tasted the latest candy flavor, how our husbands doesn’t spend lavishly on us, how our car is old and not the latest model, how our phone is not the latest iOS or Android model and how we don’t have the latest computer, how our church is too small or too big and how no one seems to like us.
Meanwhile, others don’t even have what to eat, others don’t even have a cloth to wear, others don’t even have money to buy toiletries or a bag of rice talk less of cubes of candies. Some have never left their villages since they have been born, some doesn’t have access to proper educational system, some people have their feet as their only means of transportation, and some doesn’t even have access to the state of art plumbing system we enjoy, but they still find a reason to smile and be joyful.
I am not saying we should not strive to be the best in all things. Indeed, strive to be the best, but don’t kill yourself with worry. Worry will not add one cubit to the hair on your head. So, take life step by step and let your joy become the shield that guards your heart against worry, heartache, doubt, depression, sadness and any thoughts of suicide.
Find reasons to rejoice in the things you presently have and don’t be hurried by the brilliant situation of another individual or family. Let us always rejoice in the days and things that the Lord God has made and let us be glad in it.
In God’s Love,
Okunola Peace.
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