Say it!

DON’T WAIT UNTIL I’M GONE 

Give me my flowers while I can smell them, 

Hear my stories while I can tell them, 

Sing my praises, so I can hear ’em, 

Give me my medals, so I can wear ’em, 

Don’t wait until the day I’m gone, 

To put me upon a throne, 

Give me my propers while I’m still around, 

Don’t wait till I’m ’neath the ground, 

Let me live my history, 

Please don’t let me be a mystery, 

Let me feel the pat on my back, 

Don’t give it to me and take it right back, 

So if I’m such a jolly good fellow, 

Let me know that I’m now mellow,  

Now is when I need a friend, 

To show me love before the end,  

So don’t wait until I’m gone, 

Listen to my song.

---From Notes by Aaron Nevillle

I first came across a poem like this in a funeral many years ago. It struck me as odd that at funerals, many people would write wonderful tributes to the dead, whereas when they were alive, they rarely heard such kind words.

Why does God allow us go through the ‘hard’ way?

As a mother, I hate to see my child cry. I do everything to make him comfortable, but sometimes I allow him cry for his good. Just the other day, he wanted to play with a knife. He had seen me using it to cut some vegetables, and started asking for it. I told him gently it was not a toy and gave him other safe toys instead, but he refused. He cried and cried and begged and begged, wailing pathetically. Of course I felt sorry for him crying, it broke my heart to hear him cry so much, but I knew I would be a terribly bad mother if I gave him the knife.  From my son’s perspective, I can imagine him wondering why his loving mother would prevent him from having this new and different toy. 

When God seems far away.

When a woman gets pregnant, she often doesn’t feel the baby move for a couple of months. She knows she is pregnant because of the result of a pregnancy test and sometimes some symptoms. However for about four months she doesn’t know how the baby is doing because she can’t feel its movements. A decent mother doesn’t just say, “Oh well, since I can’t feel its movement, then I am not pregnant!”

The 'maternal' love of God

Like many Christians, I grew up hearing about the love of God. In fact I even talked to others about this love, but sadly I didn’t really understand the depth of God’s love until I became a mother. 

You see I grew up in a typical Nigerian home where dad was a bully.  I remember how terrified we always were as soon as we heard him drive into the house from work. We would quickly turn off the TV, stop laughing, become sober and pretend to be busy reading our books or involved in one house chore or the other.

Peace ... even in the storm !

The story of Jesus in the boat napping during a storm is a popular one in Christianity. It often seems strange that Jesus would be sleeping at such a perilous moment. In fact his disciples were so confused by this that they cried out to him “ don’t you care that we perish?” 

I recently found that we can exhibit the same calmness no matter how big or small the storm is in our everyday lives. Just few days ago, I went shopping and discovered to my horror that I didn’t have enough money in my cash card to pay for my purchases.

A heart of Gold

The other day I read a story that warmed my heart. It was the story of a brave young man, Michael, who risked his life to save a toddler from a burning house. This incident happened in Nigeria of all places. You see in Nigeria, people rarely risk their lives for others. They may try at the beginning, but if they realise they might die in the process, they don’t bother anymore. In Nigeria, as in many other places, people look out for "numero uno". I have heard stories of people who rather than help save children from a burning fire next door, ran to save their own properties while the children cried helplessly. So you can see why this story is truly remarkable. Be inspired today, there are still good people on earth, and indeed you could be a hero too. 
This is the way it was recorded by a newspaper called the Nigerian Eye.

Personalized Miracles

I have often heard people pray for God to do for them what He did for others. That is not really a bad prayer, but the danger is we try to dictate to God how He should deal with us. We forget that God knows what is best for us, and He relates with us on a personal basis. He knows what our strengths and weaknesses are, He knows our personalities, experiences, and He sure knows areas in our lives that need pruning. So when He does things for us, He personalizes it in accordance to His will for us.