Stories

Hi!

Welcome back 😊 and if it is your first time here then check out [THIS :)] for a proper welcome. So yaay! Post number 2 is here… Don’t worry, I am not going to count to infinity. This one is significant, mainly because I had fears of not wanting to write again after my first post but I have the most amazing audience. Then because some of you have been asking when the next post is coming up.  First, let me say thank you to all of you who read my first post, shared, commented and inboxed me with the most encouraging words, and to those who prayed for me. I must admit I shed a few joyful tears just reading through your thoughts, God bless you.

I am a lover of stories. I enjoy reading stories, especially true stories of real people--which explains why I am a fan of Biko Zulu’s blog. I also love songs that tell stories, and movies that tell a good story. I am always down for one that starts with “…. based on true events, some names and identifying details may have been changed…...” Maybe for that reason, I also enjoy telling stories, be they short, long, seemingly pointless or very focused, it doesn’t really matter.

So here is a very short story that has a point to it, if you stay with me to the end.

A week ago, after I published my first post, and I started getting responses from all over, I remembered something which I thought I should share. Well I honestly did not plan on sharing it this soon, but here goes…. Almost 5 years ago, I was scrolling down my Facebook homepage and I stumbled upon a link that a friend (who I had never met before and still have not met to date) had shared. It was a link to a blog-post authored by her friend. 

I was going through a very tough time then because I was very sick. It was even more difficult because I did not have any idea what I was suffering from, neither did the neuro- surgeon I was consulting at the time. I felt so alone because no one really understood what I felt both emotionally and physically. Many thought it was all in my head, and I was starting to believe it. So, I opened the link and read one of the most uplifting messages, I must have cried. I made a comment on the post, and fast forward, I ended up connecting with the author of the post and a beautiful friendship begun. When I remembered this the other day I thought to myself “Blogs should have a special place in my heart (deep sigh), thanks to one of those I made a significant friend.” No scratch that… I was hoping for a deep moment right there, but clearly it is not working… Moving on…...

Today's Story

A story is told of a village teenage girl, called Mary who became pregnant under very bizarre circumstances. I know you are probably thinking, “what do you mean bizarre? there’s only one way to get pregnant.” Trust me this one was and you will understand why soon enough. She accepts her situation but I can only imagine what is going through her mind. She comes from a culture where getting pregnant outside of wedlock was dangerous, because you could get stoned to death if found guilty of promiscuous behavior and what better proof than a baby bump when everyone knew she was not married?

In the city there lives one of her relatives, the only one we are told about when this happens to her. Her name is Liz and she married to an important man in the City, and both are now very old. They have been married for many years, serving God but they were yet to bear any children up until 5 months ago when they discovered they were going to become parents and Liz’s husband is in so much disbelief, he becomes speechless literally. Liz is old, pregnant and lonely. Again, I can only imagine what she is going through. Her husband, who is the one person who would probably have the right words to say to her is silent, not by choice.

She has kept herself locked away from the crowds, friends, the market where I imagine women meet to talk about the latest developments in their homes and marriages. I wonder if they know that Liz is expectant. Maybe she even hates what a baby bump looks on her elderly and possibly frail body. Or maybe she spends all that alone time thanking God for the blessing she waited for so long. I can only speculate, because our author did not find these details necessary. But He tells us that Mary heard that Liz was expectant, and she packs and leaves to go visit her. I mean, who else would understand her at this time? Who else in the world could she pour out her fears to and feel heard and truly consoled? What about her joys and excitement of looking forward to motherhood?

True to our expectation, Liz who has been secluding herself for months, does not shrug or hide when she sees Mary. She bursts into a song! Did I mentioned that these two mothers had their sons’ names picked out for them at conception? Yes, I said sons because they already knew they would give birth to baby boys. They were generations apart in terms of age, but this one thing brings them together and they feel each other’s motions. Mary even stays with her for 3 whole months. They were probably sewing baby clothes together and massaging each other’s backs when it hurt.

This story just shows us the beauty of opening up to a friend when you feel that you are not okay. As humans, by nature we can be quite individualistic especially in the society we live in today. I would rather deal with my issues and only talk to someone as a last resort, or maybe never talk to someone. There are worrying statistics by researchers (which I do not want to stress you with) that show what a stressed generation we are today. Maybe we would smile more if we bore one another’s burdens more, if we shared our troubles with one another more and cared more. But the environment is not just right yet, like the women in the market that I imagined, we probably cannot keep to our hearts that which someone shares, and that makes them afraid or makes you afraid to open up. We see all manner of naming and shaming especially on social media.  

See, Mary was told that she was going to conceive by an angel, in Luke 1:30-31 (ESV) And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. She had this blessed assurance, she had found favor with God. If an angel came to me like that, I would be like bam! Nobody can do nothing to me. (snapping my fingers left right and center). But she still needed a friend. Its no wonder that in Genesis 2:18 (ESV) The Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” So did her friend Elizabeth. An angel came bearing the news to her husband, in Luke 1:13 (ESV) But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. That does not keep her from going through challenges.

I am telling this to my audience and to myself because I am not much of a talker myself. I am one to “die” with my problems. I am slowly learning that there is a better way, that God put us in community for a reason. Let us love on one another. Let us ask when we see a friend is breaking down on the inside. Let us hug and embrace one another more. Let us be more kind to strangers because we know not whether they are at their breaking point. But above all, let us share the love of Jesus 💖.

Adios!