Thoughts and Other Things

We did not see the setting sun,   we did not see dusk approaching We were too busy admiring the beauty of your petals,   too distracted by the way the Son shown on you, We were in awe of the way He’d still your aching body with the rays of His light, how his beam fought away your enemies that were hiding in His temple. We watched Him restore your stem which had began withering,   we observed how His presence grew new green leaves were some had fallen. Those rays of light gave us hope, hope of a tomorrow together with you. But we did not know the secret you kept in that fast-beating heart, You did not share with us the things He whispered to you when it was just the two of you, You did not tell us He was preparing to pluck you out from the garden, You didn’t want us to know that your knight-in-shining-armour was readying to take you up on his horse and gallop into your happily ever after. No wonder you went away with a smile, no wonder the...

A high school friend of mine was getting married last month and so I went over to see her before the big day. We had a lovely conversation with her while she was getting her hair and make-up done for one of the many ceremonies she had to participate in. The lady who was doing her hair jumped in our conversation at some point. She was a married mother in her mid thirties, giving us young ones some wise advice about things she’s learnt so far. Then she spoke about being a mom and a wife, something she said struck me. She spoke about the guilt and pressure that the modern woman lives under. She was working when she got married and she stayed working when she had children. She soon found that things were complicated with kids, they needed more time and attention than a husband, and it was really a pain to her heart to be missing milestones because she wasn’t around when they happened. She said out of this guilt of not being able to really be there for her kids, she would lavish them w...

I’ve been so quiet for so long it’s embarrassing, but anyway, hello everyone, belated compliments of the season. So it’s February already, this year is off to a very quick start. A start, that’s what I want to write about today. Usually a lot of emphasis is put on a good ending, we say ‘it doesn’t matter how you start but how you finish’. I won’t argue with that statement, but I think how you start is also of some importance. I think we’re all familiar with the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25; but just to be on the safe side, here’s a quick summary. There were ten virgins who went out to meet the bridegroom (to fully understand this, you’d have to understand the Hebrew marriage and wedding process). Five of these virgins were foolish, taking their lamps but not taking any oil with them while the other five were wise, taking both their lamps and oil in jars. Then we’re told that they all became drowsy and fell asleep because the bridegroom was a long time in coming. Th...