Welcome to the February 21st edition of Faith & Life Lessons.
You will see this email full of tidbits from my week. My goal is simple. I hope that from how I live my life, you can find a thing or two that helps you as you try to live a life that matters. I am always trying to do one thing - make Christ-focused decisions in love, work, and life. And this was my week.
The Story of My Week
We had a minor COVID scare in the family this week.
One of the people that come to the house sent us a message a day after she was in the house to tell us she had tested positive for COVID.
My wife headed to the hospital with the kids to see if they could do a test.
The nurse said they didn't need to do a test immediately but had to isolate. They would need to come back for the test about 4 days later.
I was traveling back to the family that weekend after been away for work and we had mapped out our Sunday.
Change of plans - we all stayed indoors.
The next day, we made our way to do the tests. Since I wasn't at home when the lady came, I was told I wouldn't need to do a test unless any other member of the family tested positive.
I thought there was a nicer way of doing the tests for kids. There wasn't and the kids did not find it interesting either.
I have had the unenviable record of having done COVID tests in 3 different countries (I might hit number 4 soon), so I know the discomfort they bring.
My winning strategy is to close my eyes and not see as the whole test kit goes into my throat or nostrils. I have experienced different testing protocols - one nostril, throat & 2 nostrils, throat & 1 nostril. The burden that comes from work travels in a COVID world.
Anyway, the results were all negative so everyone was able to resume a normal life.
Thank God, the lady is also showing no symptoms and we pray she'll test negative soon.
I am grateful to God and continue to trust Him for protection during this period.
Things I Learnt
1-When A Community Raises the Child: There is this old African proverb that goes like this "it takes a village to raise a child".
In the age of independent living, we often assume that this does not hold.
Something happened that reminded me of how true it remains.
I had gone shopping for the family and was walking home with my shopping trolley bag. At a traffic stop, I was about to cross the red light since the road was completely clear of vehicular traffic when I saw a father and his daughter waiting on the opposite side.
Without been told, I knew the message he was trying to pass along to his daughter, so I waited until the light turned green for us to walk across.
As we walked past each other, he said "thank you very much".
As a father, I understood what just happened. It is easier to explain to your kid the need to obey a red stop when "the rest of the village" is doing the same thing.
I have been in that situation when we wait at a red pedestrian stop and other people pass by. I know have to explain to my kid why we need to stop even if others are not stopping.
I saved that father an explanation. And he was grateful.
It still takes a village to raise a child.
2-A Different Time, A Different Perspective: I was listening to someone do a sermon using an event from the Old Testament.
The lesson he was teaching was rock solid - the only concern I had was the "how" he adopted.
It's interesting when we filter an event in the Bible using 21st-century vision and make the guys look like bad guys.
Perhaps, my view is formed because I have context for the people in the Old Testament story.
They were doing the right thing in the light of the context they had. To hold them accountable to a context over 2,000 years driven by the society the speaker finds himself is unfair.
But this doesn't distract from the message he was bearing. Unfortunately, it just creates a distorted filter for members of the listeners to see Biblical events.
They start interpreting the Bible in the light of current socio-political events.
God expects us to live by the measure of revelation that He gives per time. We are responsible for what we do with what we are given.
We should be careful to not hold others accountable for what we have been given but for what they have been given.
Every generation will be judged by what they have been given.
Postscript
May you receive new insight from God for you to live fruitful and successful in this current season of life. May your life be an example of faith in Jesus that your children can look back to celebrate and learn from. Amen
Tata,
Tola
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