Posts from the previous blog, Crafted Notes appear HERE:
I watched my three year old nephew walk through the wooden door that led to my room. The annoying creak of the door jolted me out of my thoughts and shifted my focus to him. His baby gait reminded me of the drunk fellow that almost tumbled over me at Ajegunle the other night. Even though I wasn't sure, I think I had also seen him pick a wallet from a young man's pocket while I was walking to the bus stop. I had stood with other people in two's, three's and as one man, hoping to catch the danfo as fast as possible. I had observed the drunken fellow and I had written about him that night. He tried to talk to me and I hated how the stench of the cider, vodka, gin, tequila or whatever he had taken oozed from his lungs. In his semi-sanity, he blurted, 'Fine girl. I'm Sola' Sola?! I became more irritated; he's my favorite teacher's namesake. I thought to myself what a mess! Can the bus just arrive already? I slid my right fingers in the pocket of my jean jacket to pick my phone, but on second thought, I brought my movement to a halt for fear that Sola would ask for my number. A few heads turned when he started to speak to me and almost immediately, they looked away, not because they did not care, but because Lagosians had mastered the art of eavesdropping without acting like they cared. So now, looking at my nephew, I smiled as he held some flowers in his hand. The smell of the white and pink petals overshadowed the lavender air freshener that hung in a corner of the room and his voice filled the atmosphere, 'Mary, I get you two flowers.' His ungrammatical statement, spoken with so much confidence, made me chuckle and almost immediately, I got lost in reveries. I wondered if Sola had ever been like my nephew, small and composed, tiny with big dreams, putting smiles on faces just by picking out flowers and carrying the aura of loveliness everywhere he went. I said a yes to the questions in my mind, but again I wasn't sure. I took the flowers from my nephew and put them in an empty vase that had been lying beneath my bookshelf. My florist classes were not a waste so I put a little sugar and some vodka to preserve it. As I put some vodka, I remembered Sola and was irritated at his constant appearance in my consciousness. My nephew smiled and jumped at my flower preservation strategies (as my florist teacher called it); he was elated. My phone rang. I rinsed my hands and cleaned it on a toilet napkin. It was Sola. I might have forgotten to mention how he began to search his pockets and his man purse frantically the other night at Ajegunle. A worried look overshadowed his face and the stupor from his drinking began to fade. "My phone" he stuttered. "Can you flash it for me? I'm sure it's somewhere in the bag." I rolled my eyes and frowned. "What's the number?" He dictated the digits and the phone rang in his pocket. He brought it out; a smile of victory on his lips. I wanted to kill him for making me seem so stupid. "Yes? Why do you keep calling?" I picked up the phone now. He was dying. His liver was now beyond repair. I shivered and my eyes failed me. A tear dropped and soon, it was a river of tears. "You had every chance to stop" I managed to get the words out. "I know. I don't have a valid reason for this, but that's what I do. I get up, live and drink." We prayed. I called my family doctor and we went to Sola's family house. I met him doing something he never did: praying. Whatever the problems might have been, there had to be another way to solve them without drinking himself to death. He had the most normal look and it was hard to believe he was dying. Two weeks later, he died. I picked the flowers my nephew gave to me and laid it on his grave. "Till we see again" I said. "You are free to choose, but you are not free to alter the consequences of your decisions." - Ezra Benson Goodbye Royalty, With Overflowing Love, Alexandra Zion. |
Today, being Monday and being the beginning of another working week, by our blogging calendar, we kick off our blog posts with the story of Herod, Herodias and John. About two days ago, I was reading the sixth chapter of the book of Mark in the Bible. Now, when I got to the seventeenth verse all the way to the twenty-eighth, something struck me. Actually, many things seemed to jump out the pages of my Bible and right into my eyes, then straight to my heart. The story began, in verse fourteen, with how the fame of Jesus was fast spreading and how Herod Antipas, the king heard about Him. Some said Jesus must be John the Baptist and that he had come back from the dead, and Herod, if you ask me, was quite perplexed. Wanna know why? Because he already had John beheaded. Now, if you read through carefully, Herod Antipas did not actually want to kill John, but something had happened prior to his death – Herod had sworn an oath to give even up to half of His kingdom to the girl (precisely the daughter of Herodias) who had danced so well and had literally “taken the king’s breath away” and “swept him off his feet.” Okay, back to the real story. Why was John beheaded??? It happened that Herod had gotten married to Philip’s wife called Herodias. Now Philip was Herod’s brother, but Herodias and Philip got divorced. Being a preacher and an advocate of truth therefore, John the Baptist went to Herod and reprimanded him, “It is against God’s law for you to marry your brother’s wife.” Take note that Herod liked John and viewed him as a man of wisdom, so he always listened to him gladly. However, John’s rebuke of Herod’s actions did not settle well with Herod, neither did it settle well with Herodias, hence “she bore a grudge against John and wanted to kill him” (Verse 19). But the Bible makes us understand that without Herod’s approval, she was powerless. Herodias then waited for an opportunity, and she got it. As earlier stated, she prepared her daughter to dance before the king and this pleased the king so well, that he vowed to give whatever the girl asked even up to half of his kingdom. Guess what happened! Little dancer girl went out to her momma and said, “What should I ask for?” You know what Mama Herodias said? “Ask for the head of John the Baptist!” In verse twenty-six, the Bible says, “Then the king deeply regretted what he had said; but because of vows he had made in front of the guests, he couldn’t refuse her.” *sigh* I learnt a number of things from this story, and I will be sharing them right now. Please feel free to let me know your thoughts and lessons learnt too (in the comment section). First, when I read how the king had regretted his decision, I remembered the saying that we should not make promises when we’re excited and over the top, neither should we make decisions when we’re angry. We could end up doing or saying something that can never be taken away. So, watch that tongue and that thought. Second, I remembered Queen Esther’s story in the book of Esther, chapter five, verses two to five, she found favour in the sight of the king, her husband, and he said the same thing Herod said. With that, Mordecai (kind of like Esther’s foster father) was elevated, not just elevated, but also rescued from the death traps of Haman. Come to think of it, the Bible requests us in Hebrews 4:16 to “Come boldly unto the throne of grace”, to pray to our father, the King of kings. Do you ever hesitate to ask Jesus, the King of kings, for what you need or desire? I assure you that you have favour with God, and can approach Him with all boldness and confidence. Why? Because of what Jesus has done on your behalf. Third, you need to do something. It is pleasing God. Now this is not hard at all, so take a chill pill. Herodias’ daughter danced and pleased the king and she got what she wanted. If we want to receive from God, we need to please God. In Hebrews chapter eleven and verse six, the Bible says, “And it is impossible to please God without faith.” Do you believe in the truth that God exists? Do you believe that Jesus paid it all? Do you know who your Daddy is? He is the King of kings who owns the earth, and everything in it. If, with faith in your heart, you ask Him of anything, do you think he would refuse you? Capital N- O. So reach out to your King today and don’t you have any iota of doubt in your heart. Goodbye Royalty, With Overflowing Love, Alexandra Zion. |
