I didn’t know how much of my self-worth went down the drain, until much later. Do you know that I would often go to occasions and find ways to “pack” food that we would eat that day and the next?
“I shudder now remembering how people used to look at me then. To cut the long story short, my health became compromised and actually began to deteriorate. I was on sick bed for a long time and by the time I was discharged, I made a single decision that I am not going back to the life I was coming from. How that was going to happen, I didn’t know but leaving the hospital to my father’s house gave me peace and that peace was everything to me.
“A childhood friend linked me to a recruitment agency and I registered with them. I was even willing to do the job of a domestic help with my graduate certificate, anything at all. But they kept telling me “nothing yet.” The months of “idleness” began to take a huge toll on my mental health. And I would always break down in tears and embark on self-pity.
“There was a day that I had a strong urge to go to the mountain to pray. I felt that getting away to talk to God would stabilise my emotions. The next morning, the tears and emotion of self-pity descended on me again, didn’t I just come back from the mountain? That evening, I went over to a friend’s house just to get distracted. While our banters were going on, she received a call. Apparently, a job offer (P.A. to an important personality) came up and she was asked to look for someone she can trust. That call was a reminder. As soon as the call ended, she sat down, turned to me and said “…wait a minute! Why didn’t I think about this earlier, you can actually do this job?
“Immediately, I was linked to the woman that would be my boss and we talked over the phone at length. You would think we had known each other for a long time. She sent N50, 000 the next morning and told me to be on my way to the city three days later. If you have ever been “so broke”, you would know how much that money meant to me. At that point, I was even running around for half of that sum to pay my children’s school fees. I am currently on the job, it came with beautiful accommodation. I have been told to use my weekends to “go and learn how to drive.’’
The lessons from this sister’s experience are these… God is still there, doing what makes Him God…just at His own time. The day it feels your own “has finished” could be the day your rising has just begun. No matter how low you feel, prayer does a better job than self-pity and desperate measures. Don’t be ashamed to open up about your challenges, not everyone is out to “mock” or “pepper dem.” Some people genuinely care. Please don’t forget that this opportunity would have gone to someone else, had this sister stayed at home to nurse self-pity. So, showing up is important. The friend or anybody that cares will NOT look far (and you are near), when opportunities come up.’’
This is my admonition to you out there, when opportunities (for a better life) come up, earnestly LOOK AROUND YOU to see who can benefit from your connection/contact, first.
Even when you supposedly know better, you WILL still walk into some mistakes. Is it not life again? But that is when you should not be so hard on yourself. Focus your energy on finding your way out of that mess, first.
Credit: Chukwuneta Oby