The Many Blessings
Recently I had a conversation with a colleague that took me down memory lane. Actually, we were trying to resolve a knotty and naughty work issue. Time was of the essence as we needed to close out the year and close the books financially. Thankfully we were able to resolve this in good time and we went on to talk about life, family, and other pursuits.
Amid the conversation, he teased me about an event that happened more than a decade ago. We laughed about it. Removing emotions and knowing the outcome of that event made it funny. But the details were not so funny. The live-action was not fun at all. It was a life and death matter.
After our conversation, I reflected upon that incident and thanked God for His mercies. It was an event that would have been marked in my calendar if anything had gone wrong. But you know homo sapiens — things went well, and I have forgotten about the incident. I remember the sequence of events and I remember that it happened on a Sunday evening. Easter Sunday.
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Beware that thou forget not…… — Deuteronomy 8:11a
And you shall remember….. — Deuteronomy 8:18a
I am sure you are curious about what happened. Grab some popcorn, and turn off Netflix. Here we go…
I was dressing to go for house fellowship. The day was Easter Sunday. These are the things I remember clearly. I had put on a singlet, after donning a boxer and was looking for a comb, then I heard my wife scream. I ran there to inspect. What I saw did not look good. I met my son in a fit. That is the English language. Let me rephrase. My son was having a seizure. His eyes rolled into the back of his head. Lifeless shivering. What happened from there is blank to me.
All I knew is that I picked him up, ran to the car, and headed for the hospital. Thank God the hospital was close by. I parked by the driveway and rushed him to the emergency ward where the medical folks took over. While driving to the hospital, I kept telling my son with a loud voice “Easter Sunday is the resurrection day. People don’t die on Easter Sunday”. That was my confession until we got to the hospital. Remember all these were happening in nanoseconds.
“Bobo” was stabilized. How to get a vein to pass a drug into his system was now the fight. My kids are not blessed with ease of finding their veins. I prayed again. Somehow, one was found on his head, and he stayed there motionless. In about 4 hours all was well and calm though my son was kept in the hospital for further examinations for some days.
That was the incident that my colleagues reminded me of.
Here is his text “I still recall how you ran to the hospital almost naked to save his life”.
Until when he sent me that text, I had long forgotten about the event.
His text jolted my memory.
His text made me remember.
His text drove me to Thanksgiving.
It is a new year.
It is easy to take the good stuff that happened to us for granted.
It is easy to aim high and want the best in life.
It is easy to remember where we failed.
It is easy to forget the many last-minute miracles that God pulled through for us.
It is easy to take for granted our kind neighours who looked out for us.
It is easy to forget how our friends went a million miles to ensure we were ok.
It is easy to forget the victories that took us here.
Beware that thou forget not…… — Deuteronomy 8:11a
And you shall remember….. — Deuteronomy 8:18a
That is why in the scriptures, God specifically said “Thou shall not forget”. The reason is simple. It is easy to forget. God's word ensures that the things that are counter-intuitive are stated clearly. It is easy to forget, especially when it went well. It is easy to remember the good times and think this is how life has always been. And you forget the moments when God came through for thee. When Saul was feeling cool with bad behaviour. Samuel reminded him:-
And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel? — 1Sam 15:17
I have made it a mental note to always thank God no matter the situation. Na who dey alive, de hungry. As one American Marine said in a movie, after a bomb blast while trying to rescue a colleague,“Sergeant, if you are in pain, it means you are alive”. I thank God for enabling me to have a good cup of water. And the ability to enjoy the breeze around me and the sunlight, the people and the visions of tomorrow, etc.
The words of the songwriter come to mind
Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your blessings, see what God hath done;
Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.
This evening, I am taking up a special note to thank God for the many things that happened in 2022. Because we are always in a hurry and trying to sort out today, we might easily glean over the wonderful things that have happened in our lives in the last 24 hours. Or the last 7 days. Or the last 52 weeks.
Shall we take down our point of gratefulness to God together? Shall we…
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