Monday, 14 June 2021
Wednesday, 26 May 2021
Monday, 24 May 2021
Saturday, 29 February 2020
Prisoner of Hope
Rom 15:1313 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
You know, this scripture really encouraged me recently and the Holy
Spirit was telling me a lot. I sense that people are at different stages and
levels of expectations; results, promotion, a client, school, finances, a
project, a job.
And many people find it terrifying having to wait when it is
taking time, or are in situations that they are tired of hoping because they
have been hoping for so long. They have been disappointed so much that it’s hard
to hope again. Now they’re in a practical phase. This is real life yunno, get
your head out of the clouds.
Hope wasn’t a concept I was alien to. I’d listen to motivational
speeches, I’d even listen to teachings by the likes of Myles Munroe, of blessed
memory, TD Jakes, Joel Osteen, I’d hear their testimonies, it would pump me up for success. But then real-life situations are almost always different. I wanted to
fulfill my purpose and do all these great things, but there was a divide between
what was in my head and my reality.
Then I figured it out; I was trying to produce hope without the power of
the Holy Spirit. And it was wearing me out. Romans 15:13 tells us you overflow
with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. better talk.
Romans 15:13 King James Version (KJV)13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
It goes beyond, goody too shoes, feel-good motivational, sweet, it-will-get-better talk.
Because where most people have difficulty is in waiting or still hoping
when an expectation is not met at the time they want it.
Notice from the above text that it is the job of the Holy Spirit to keep you in peace and joy while you are believing. So you’re not just waiting in trepidation or in depression or just being a train-wreck till what you are believing works out. You are believing for
something in peace and joy up to the point it overflows. Not in panic or
depression till it works out.
God is the Prince of Peace, and He is the God of hope. Listen to
something radical; GOD WILL ALWAYS MAKE YOU HOPE FOR SOMETHING. No matter how
bad things are, GOD WILL ALWAYS GIVE YOU SOMETHING TO HOPE FOR!
And it’s not
this fearful expectation of will it happen or not? but a peaceful, joyful, blissful; patience in believing and waiting.
When you throw away your
expectation you are being ungodly. That is demonic. It shall be done unto you
according to your expectations.
You know Jesus said that I will send you another comforter, the Holy
Spirit. The truth is that in this world you will have trouble. And many
people have thrown away their faith because of a situation; grief, loss,
heartbreak, failures. And they question the whole point of serving God. They cannot go beyond a
particular situation where their expectations were not met to believe God again
in their finances, health, education, ministry, beyond the report from the
doctor, beyond the loss, beyond the breakup…
But people think believing God means you will never get a bad report.
Isaiah asks us, “whose report will you believe?”;
Can you go beyond the
negative response? believing in faith for your finances and not seeing results
yet; the test not coming back the way you want it…
King James uses the word; Abound in hope! God wants you to abound in
hope so much so that even in a negative situation, you can see the good, you
can see how it will possibly work out.
Now, this is not saying God allowed the
negative thing to happen or brought it because in him is light and there is no
darkness at all! But you know we are in a fallen world, and bad things happen,
but even when the situation is a result of your own foolishness and poor
decisions; God blessed and defended Abraham even when he was lying about his
wife and making poor decisions.
This was because He had righteousness accounted to him.
Now Jesus is our righteousness and God will even work out your failures for
good.
So it did not work out the way you wanted, you had to repeat a school
year; God can use it to teach you something new, meet someone helpful to your destiny, meet a
future prospect, business partner, life partner, open you to business
opportunities in that area, open you to life-changing information, make you
available to pour into lives that will be a blessing on a national scale. Countless possibilities and blessings can come up from a bad situation, the way you did not plan if you change your perspective.
You can find good in any and every situation! My mentor always used to
say, even if they were about to cut off your head, you can find something to be
joyful and hopeful about; the knife may be brand new; not rusted, and blunt.
That is something to shout about!
And this is not just positivity, but allowing the Holy Spirit to talk us
into hope. Many people feel it is an automatic process that they should just
feel good and hopeful.
Granted if you have exercised your senses it can come naturally but
sometimes it is not by feelings. See what the scripture says:
This
is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in
his presence 1 john 3:19
The scripture says we
assure our hearts. We are the ones that set our hearts at rest in his presence.
We have to make that conscious effort sometimes. We need to allow the Holy
Spirit comfort us.
1 Samuel 30 (Text
Case Study)
David once had his town burnt to the ground
and all the women and children were taken away. Worse he wasn’t around, and his two
wives were among the captives. He came back to ashes and loss. Scripture said he and his
men wept till they had no strength left. Do you know what it means for a grown
man, a king, as powerful as David, the man after God’s heart, to cry so much?
You know the problem had hit the ceiling.
So David and his
men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. 1 Samuel 30:4
David was so
discouraged and distressed;
for the people spake of stoning him, because of the
soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his
daughters Samuel 30:6a
This was really bad. But
what did David do?
David encouraged himself
in the LORD his God.
David did not wait for
anyone or voice to encourage him.
So many times people expect something
automatic. People closest to me know that I’m a walking bag of hope.
The job of the Holy Spirit
to the New Testament believer is to comfort and encourage us even in
difficulties.
But do not talk yourself out of the comfort of the Holy Spirit.
Instead, talk yourself into it. That is where you need the power of the Holy
Spirit;
"Be still,
and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted
in the earth Psalm 46:10
When you silence panicky,
fearful thoughts; praise God, worship him, study the word, listen to worship
music, listen to a sermon, fellowship with the brethren, pray in the spirit, speak in tongues.
In the stillness, you recognize the bigness of your God and He
is exalted in your situation.
You are using the power of the Holy Spirit to
produce and sustain hope in your life.
And hope does not mean you
just do nothing or do the wrong things and hope everything works out; in that
state of stillness, the Holy Spirit ministers hope, the next move, the next
the thing to say; per time.
Samuel 30:8 and
David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I
overtake them?" "Pursue them," he answered. "You will
certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue."
God speaks when you are in
clarity of mind. Noticed that it was after David encouraged himself in the Lord that he inquired and God told him what to do.
Encouraged, God tells you the next step, gives you hope; He
doesn’t just comfort you but gives you the power to move on.
Most times the
power to move on is in the comfort.
Samuel 30:
|
David recovered
everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives.
|
18David recovered all that the Amalekites had
taken, and David rescued his two wives.
|
18So David recovered all that the Amalekites had
taken, and rescued his two wives.
|
18And David recovered all that the Amalekites had
carried away: and David rescued his two wives.
|
18David recovered everything the Amalekites had
taken; he also rescued his two wives.
|
|
19Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl,
plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back.
|
David recovered every
single thing and person! Nothing was missing!
The Lord can encourage you
if you let him and make you recover from everything life has thrown at you.
God dwells in the realm of
faith, not in the realm of emotions. David was crying and all that but it was not
until he encouraged himself in the Lord and asked God for what to do that God led
and helped him overcome his enemies.
Wipe your tears, Be
encouraged in God. Allow the power of the Holy Spirit to make you abound so much
in Hope.
Jesus loves you. Life is
gonna get better, brighter!
Romans
5:5 King James Version (KJV)
5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of
God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
The Holy Spirit disperses
the love of God through our hearts. That’s his job. Allow him to do it today.
Be hopeful!
Sunday, 15 October 2017
All God wants is a Relationship.
Our personal relationships are not given to us by God solely for our own fulfillment, but to mirror God's love towards us.
Everytime in the Bible, it drew parallels between the love of God towards us and the love of a father- child, mother - child, bride - bridegroom, and God used these relationships as an imagery to help us fully understand His love for us!
If you have ever experienced a love that is unconditional, patient, ever giving, it's not just for you to want it and enjoy it, but to understand that, that is the way God is commending his love to you!
The love you see in the hard working single mother that would do anything to put her kids through life with a soft landing, a father, frustrated by his child's behavior but still is a provider anyway, a significant other that would support the other financially without asking for anything in return.
You See, what these love filled relationships God has blessed us with do is give us an insight; just a tip of the iceberg on how much God's love is for us! And it should make you appreciate His love for you more, it should make it more real, practical, relatable. Let me summarize God for you, God is love! That's the summary of the mystery of God, He can't exist outside himself, love!
And love keeps on loving, keeps on giving!
On the flip side, if you have experience a love that is unreciprocated, disrespectful, controlling, passive, holding back; that too gives you an insight on the heart of God and how he feels when we drag him through our mess.
when we say we love Him with our lips but our lives tell different stories. You know grace is available and love keeps on giving but understand the heart of love; where love exists, there is vulnerability and where vulnerability exists there's the chance of getting hurt.
And many people don't understand it this way, that they hurt God's feelings. Oh no you say? God does not have feelings? When you say I can do whatever I want with my life, you've just discounted God's plans for your life and the awesome purpose He has for you.
No God won't punish you for doing whatever you like, how you feel like, he won't punish you for your compromise or for not spending time with him, or the brethren or for persisting in that addiction and immoral lifestyle but He feels, the Holy Spirit can be grieved and maybe you should have expected him to scream from heaven to stop you, maybe you didn't feel anything when you did what he was convicting you not to. No he won't contend with you, he won't make you miserable, he'll encourage you and build you up to make better decisions and maybe that's why we keep passing up his convictions and keep hurting him with our lifestyle.
but what is love without choice?
And maybe the reason you are still struggling with sin is because you've not felt the disappointment of a parent that have given their all into a child that is turning out rebellious, you've not experienced the hurt of a passive lover that claims they love you but are emotionally closed out, you haven't experienced the hurt of a child who's daddy left and was never there. And maybe if you have been in these situations you can understand how we drag God through every rotten thing, after he's invested his whole love, given us his son, his spirit, and daily commending his love towards us.
We aren't concerned about what his word has to say on certain issues like morality, we trust in our own understanding, we don't want to spend time meditating, talking to him in prayer, we're basically not reciprocating his live.
But love keeps on giving, keeps on loving, maybe one day it would woo us completely to its side.
But the reason many Christians struggle with stuff is that they don't have a relationship with God! And I know you want to say, no, I'm born again! But relationship has to be built. You need to learn your partner's rhythm, understand their heart, understand what slights them, what gasses them up. If you truly had a good relationship with God, you'd be more concerned about glorifying Him in any situation than anything, you'll be constrained by pure love, not judgement, not fear of hell fire but the love for the one who has given his all for you and will never stop chasing you!! Until you deep his love for you, you'll never be free to serve him!
Because at the apex of God, is not miracles, healing, signs and wonders, mighty revivals raising the dead, speaking in tongues and frothing at the mouth. At the apex of revival is people having a thriving day to day, normal relationship with God, not necessarily anything special. That's what God has been always after from the beginning; in the garden and till now : he wants to be your friend, your lover, your father, your king!
Selah
Sunday, 30 July 2017
Finding Healing and a Miracle in the midst of Grief. The Jesus and Lazarus story.
Jesus had both spiritual and emotional ties to Lazarus. And
now Lazarus dies.
From
John 11:1 to 32 Jesus is talking smart with so much confidence, and spiritual
knowledge and gusto in the midst of the situation. He knew beyond a shadow of a
doubt that He was going to handle the situation, death? He got this!
But
v 33 it seems like Jesus ‘breaks’ down. Jesus is troubled in his spirit. He
groans and finally in 35, He weeps, freely. Jesus was troubled (v.33) Because no matter how spiritual you
are, or how much you know, nothing can prepare you for being in a situation,
than actually being in the situation. Then you actually feel, pain, grief, hurt
like every other person. And you cannot just understand or wish the feeling
away. Even Jesus with all the answers felt too. And sometimes you get to feel
life.
But
let us back off a little and view these verses more critically that alluded to
his grief;
v.33
He groaned in the spirit and was
troubled
v.35
Jesus wept
v.38
Jesus again groaning in himself,
cometh to the tomb…
If
you look at it carefully, Jesus was not just crying or mourning!
First,
he started by groaning in the spirit
Romans
8:26
In
the same way, the Spirit helps in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to
pray for, but the Spirit himself
intercedes for us through wordless groans.
So
Jesus was not just crying He was groaning in the spirit like Romans 8:26
explains. Jesus was emotionally distressed since He was still living in the flesh; the
flesh gets weak in some circumstances, you do not even know what to pray; He
was in an emotional state of being unable to enunciate words, so he began to groan in the
Spirit.
Then
v.35. Jesus wept. You can notice the chronology of events and for the fact that
these two events were separated, means that they are not the same. Groaning in
the spirit is not the same thing as crying or weeping and the simple difference
is that while one was a spiritual activity, the other corresponding activity
was physical. Very physical.
So
we can see that groaning/praying in the spirit has a direct and dual
relationship with our emotions. Because Jesus ended up expressing his physical
emotion; weeping after He had groaned in the spirit. And I believe this was not
weeping of regret or pain but the type that heals the soul.
- Praying and worshiping in the spirit directly affects our emotions.
Jude
20 …praying in the Holy Spirit,
Jude
21 keep yourself in the love of God
There
is a special manifested form of the love of God shed abroad in our hearts when
we pray, worship, and groan in the spirit.
So the consequence of what Jesus was doing was first, praying the perfect will of God for the situation, then he was
encouraging his heart and emotions, and allowing the spirit comfort him in the
present tragedy through groaning/praying in the spirit.
Then
again, praying in the spirit is a weapon part of the full armour of the spirit
to fight the enemy.
Ephesians
6:18: with all prayer and supplication
praying at all seasons in the Spirit…
So
you can see that Jesus was not just grieving and weeping without any reason, or
just being overly emotional, He was strengthening his emotions and praying the
perfect will of God for that situation! and setting up the atmosphere for a
miracle!
Then
v. 41 Jesus starts vocalizing his words audibly in prayer
v.43
after praying Jesus commands the outcome he wants from the situation; Lazarus
come forth!
So after you've groaned in the spirit, prayed in tongues, then probably poured out the hurt through crying and weeping; pray in English or in your understandable dialect what you want God to do.
Then decree and declare in faith exactly what you want as the outcome for that situation; if it is peace, speak peace to your heart,speak healing, speak miracles into being by faith!
God is faithful, you will see healing and a miracle in your situation!
So
I hope this is able to help you if you are dealing with grief, sadness, loss,
depression, suicidal thoughts. You are not alone. Jesus Christ the captain of
our faith was like us in every way. He felt like we felt and this is how he
dealt with the situation:
·
He groaned/prayed in the spirit
·
He prayed
·
He commanded the outcome he wanted from the situation; Lazarus come forth!
And
God is able to both bless your emotions and actually change the situation
giving you those negative emotions. Isn’t God good? You can activate the power
of God in your life and see miracles in your situation by emulating our Lord
and savior. I encourage you today, study John 11 preferably the King James version, allow the Holy Spirit to minister to you comfort through his word. I didn't even get to explain the preceding scriptures; so many helpful words, and God's word is spirit and life John 6:63. Studying of the word produces healing to our emotions. take time today and bask in God's love through worship, praying in the spirit, praying and speaking to your situation.
Philippians
4:7
And
the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts
and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Instead
of building walls around your heart, allow peace to guard your heart.
Saturday, 21 March 2015
Feeling You Not
He said I love you so much
But she ain't feeling it
She said I miss you so much
But he ain't feeling it
This is a story all about how
The difference between then and now
Can cause the same words spoken
That once made the heart jump, become weary.
Tuesday, 17 March 2015
Transparent thoughts 01
06:30pm, Tue 17-03-2015
I am writing this letter... been long I did this.
Exams in a bit, and there is the general elections coming, I'm recovering. This semester has been very challenging. Fallen really sick like three times. I've been trying so hard to keep up. And then the circumstances re the sickness, weakness, is stalling my resolves. I'm genuinely concerned about drawing, electrical, PRE, CHE, and ENS. I need you Lord. More than ever. I will make it. I don't want no F or D and just very few Cs in my 200l. And I havent been keeping up with fellowship. Lord i need your help. Few good things been happening tho. Like this enactus thang, Truppr run, and stuff u kno. Last mechanical ela tomorrow. Wow. I need to get back on my grind . Mosquitoes here! Dang! Ok. I need to read. Ttyl.�
Friday, 16 January 2015
Pinafore in The Morning, Hijab in The Evening. A Story in Between The Daily Duality of Roles. By Uche Emordi
I had finished with my secondary school education and in the brief lull between that time and entering the university, I had the opportunity to work in my mum’s school, a nursery and primary school in Port Harcourt, Rivers State Nigeria; Truth Life and Way International School (TLWIS) and I jumped at the opportunity to do it because, for one I love children.
My mum had just started the school a few years ago and from the name of the school, you would guess it was owned by very dedicated Christians. Yes it was. It would be what you can refer to as your average 'Christian school'. But if you think that it would stop the neighbors who were Muslims from enrolling, you are wrong.
Our Muslim neighbors had many children because they were mostly polygamous families. Most of them had just recently moved from different parts of Northern Nigeria and were infact natives (hausas mostly). So one day, their mums came over in their groups to register their children and to be honest; my mum was a tad surprised. Surprised because in this part of the world, religion almost always generated some sort of 'tension,' 'suspicion' or simply put, 'discomfort' when it was polarized into Christianity and Islam. And the idea of a 'Christian school' was one where Christian Religious Studies ( C.R.S) was a basic and compulsory part of the curriculum, asides other compulsory Christian activities like; Bible study groups, daily general devotions, and so on. And what with the many general stereotypes about hausa parents being 'anathermic' to any kind of formal education for their kids; my mum told them plainly that it was a Christian owned school, which offered Christian Religious Studies, explaining more so they had the opportunity to back down if they had any reservations. To this the mothers replied that they were already aware, and had no problems whatsoever with the fact, and to a large extent it was much more about how the school was going to be accommodating.
Having a large number of Muslim kids (I tell you, they were a lot!) in the school when I joined them, was very adventurous for me. They were almost half the population!
So on this day, I got two classes; Basic 3, my own class, and Basic 2 because their teacher wasn’t available.
That morning, I came to school, at about 8 a.m. I didn’t attend the daily morning assembly they always had; teachers and students because, why, I was the proprietress’ child! I taught those two classes and made it through that day, however stressful I must say, combining the lessons for two classes! So at the end of the day, we were to pray and close as was the school’s custom. Everybody sang the ‘’now the day is over’’ song and then I told a child to pray. When we finally were to say 'grace', a very popular Christian litany from the bible, only the children with Christian parents and those in the lower class, Basic two, were saying it. Then Aisha from my own class; Basic 3, gave the other Muslims in the lower class saying ‘the grace’ this stern look and they stopped. I later asked Aisha why she did that and she told me that, they had told them at home to stop saying ‘grace’.
The next day, I was to take them, the both classes on C.R.S and it was going to be a challenge for me as I thought of my lesson plan. With the tense atmosphere the day before, I didn’t want a class where half the students were not participating because they were thinking that somehow, I was trying to proselytize.
So that day, I let all of them know this before the class; “C.R.S is part of your curriculum and you will be graded in it in your tests and exams. So you need to pay attention and participate in the class.”
I wrote down the words; 'Psalms 23' on the board and was going to write the full text when everybody in my class chorused; “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…’’ up until the end! EVERYBODY inclusive, up until the end of the text! I had even mixed up a part but they didn’t miss a word. Boy I was surprised, because after the previous day I was going to try to be ‘diplomatic’ but the Muslim kids shouted that bible passage through at the top of their voices without me even telling them to. That was about how all my C.R.S classes went. The whole class always participated and they looked forward to the classes because they really loved the Bible stories that I told tell them and Aisha personally told me that. That evening, as we were about closing I told the class to say Psalms 23. They all did. The thing about Psalm 23 is that, this is the part of the bible that part of 'the Grace' is gotten from….everybody said that part too! Even the Muslim kids, and Aisha!
Now, before you start thinking that I tried to manipulate and play on these little children's impressions and sensibilities, you need to know that I had the utmost respect for these children and their convictions and didn't try to force anything on them because I always put myself in their shoes. So I asked Abdul one day to tell me a little about himself and what he did after school. We closed by 3 p.m everyday, so he would go home and use another hour to prepare, and trek to the mosque close by (most of them stayed close by) for Koranic school. They were going there to learn too! They would do another 4 to 6, after the first 8 to 3. He told me they had different classes much like a formal setting with a teacher, but the only subjects they did was; Arabic, Maths, and Islamic studies ( that is as much as I can remember now). That basically meant that they went to school twice everyday. Their active hours of learning were from dawn, at about 8 a.m. till dusk at about 6 p.m.
From the little ones to the eldest, they made their commute everyday to the mosque, after school in their groups with their light blue clothes, the girls wore a hijab over it and I sometimes met them on the road. They would greet me warmly and call out very loudly; “Uncle Uche! Uncle Uche! Uncle Uche!” 'uncle' more as a title of endearment and respect; no matter how far I was, to get my attention. Whenever anyone of them was naughty outside school, the others would report it to me the following day. That was how close we got after a while.
Now some of these children in my class had just relocated from the Northern part of Nigeria, where they hadn't much exposure to education so, it was kind of a challenge for them, English; written and oral. They were communicating in their mother tongue at times and even the basic math was a problem. They even had problems writing down test answers. Their background in these subjects were very poor. I was doing so much of inspirational and motivational talks at first. I began giving them lots of exercises, and organized after school lessons for them. I taught them English language everyday, and afterawhile, I banned any usage of hausa in communicating, as far as they were in school. It worked magic! In the space of one term, they all had very much improved in Maths and English; Aisha especially, I was personally on her case! and the teacher student bond had gotten stronger. Maybe I really was an 'uncle'…and I was only eighteen!
When I was ready to leave the school; it was sad and all, but I had to move on to Uni; I did a lot of thinking. My relationship with these children and their parents, and infact my experience for the few months I had stayed busted all the myths and stereotypes I had about people, religion and tribe. First, I saw that Christian and Muslim relationships can absolutely thrive, blossom and be successful if we all could be more tolerant, less suspicious and more accommodating. Then I realized that more Nigerian parents are realizing the enormous benefits of formal education and are keying into it. Aisha wants to become a teacher, Zainab wants to become a doctor; and her mum once came to school and told my mum, the proprietress that when she had told her that she was saving for her to be a doctor; Zainab squealed for joy and hugged her. These children had big dreams and aspirations and their parents knew quite well that education was the sure path and were determined to give them one at whatever costs. I just only wish that the children remain open minded, perceptive, continue to pursue their dreams and aspirations, realizing the enormous benefits of formal education and eventually choose their own paths in life.
Written by Uche Emordi @emordi_u on Twitter
Owning a home should not make you lose sleep Land for sale in Lagos, Abuja, Nigeria and Dubai property recommendations and insider real Estate gist.
Friday, 9 January 2015
2015 is The Year You Take Your Power Back
Isaiah 52:
1) "Awake! Awake!
Put on your strength...
Put on your beautiful garments...
2) Shake yourself from the dust, arise;
... Lose yourself from the bonds on your neck..."
This scripture is like my favourite for this year yet!
I was amazed that the subject of the scripture is the second person singular.
Just look at God laying emphasis on just YOU! and YOURSELF!
Could it be that all along it was all about you, but you kept thinking it was all about them? The government, the system, the teachers, the school, the environment etc..
DO NOT EVER OUTSOURCE THE POWER OVER YOUR LIFE TO PEOPLE OR CIRCUMSTANCES...
God has put so much strength in you to rise above adversities and challenges
ONE OF THE GREATEST MIRACLES YOU WILL EVER EXPERIENCE IS SELF REALIZATION!
You don't know what God has put in you! It's huge! That's why He's demanding so much.
This is the year you take your power back!!
From the people who hurt you, who didn't help you, who mistreated you, who forsook you, talked down on you, ignored you!
Maybe you've been underestimating yourself...
They don't have the power nor the responsibility over your life or future
Stop blaming and giving them such power.
2015 will be tougher than 2014 But you gotta Take your power back!
If you wanna succeed in 2015, You gotta Desire, you gotta Will, you gotta Act!
YOU, YOURSELF stop waiting for them everytime!
All I'm saying;
IT'D BE REALLY NICE IF THEY HELPED, BUT I'M NOT GONNA BE STUCK IF THEY DON'T! Simple.
Because eventually your life will be what you ( not they) made of it.
You can, you will, you must succeed in all your endeavors in 2015! It's in you. Let's go!
Friday, 22 August 2014
A Virus And The Silent Contemplations Of A Doctor ( Reality and Surreality )
 |
| Late Doctor Ameyo Adadevoh |
As I stomped my feet on the dusty Monrovian ground, my heart
was pounding like a ten ton truck was hitting it repeatedly. It was very hot;
over forty degrees. The entire colour was washed from my face and I felt weak
in that instant. And then, there was this nudging headache…. I wondered whether
this was how death felt like, but death was more of a numb feeling right?
I couldn’t get these macabre thoughts off my mind and there
was a good reason so; I was on a suicide mission this time around! Death was
inevitable, the question was when?
Being a health worker and travelling to various parts of
Africa the past few years, especially the most challenging areas had made me
see life in a whole different perspective… the joy it brings when you are
literally giving a soul a chance to live again…to encounter people with
different problems and still smiling and best of all to offer a helping hand…life
was not just about me and it felt so gratifying. But now that life was closing
in on me.
This mission was a suicide mission because we had heard of
the team that went before us, led by Dr Bradley in another region. He had
tested positive for the EVD the Ebola virus and died within few days. We were
another team, and we were coming into a region with confirmed reported cases of
EVD already. Dr Bradley was one of the doctors I looked up to and I hoped to
meet him someday and soon enough…now it seemed I was getting my wish…I might get
to meet him after all in the most unlikely of places; the grave!
Did I spend all those years in school to end up like this?
I remembered taking the Hippocratic Oath; the oath
physicians and physician assistants took to show "utmost respect for human
life from its beginning." I was so excited, I crammed all of the
words and I tell you, there were so many of them!
Then my mind flashed back to my high school class mate; he
barely made it out of college. He dropped out because he couldn't just do it.
He went on to become a musician and all over the place people were shouting his
name; Temple! Temple! He was travelling about everywhere and in several music
videos...I was here...
I was not regretting my job or my work but did the world know
my name? My story? Or even care? Did anybody know how painful this was going to
be for my family? All these thoughts began rushing so fast and I suddenly
caught myself with a “breathe” command. I had been through this conversation with
my wife several times; it took us weeks of making up our minds and her finally
deciding to let me do what I always wanted to do. I chose this! I couldn’t be
mad now.
My wife, I could just picture her beautiful face had to come
to terms with the certain possibility that she was going to lose me. It broke
my heart when I remembered how bitterly she cried on countless days. Her hair
was a mess, her eyes her bloodshot red! She wasn’t sleeping, eating or even
talking to me. She would withdraw and even abandon our six year old son
sometimes. Some days she gave me the fortitude to go on and reminded me of the possibility
of a miracle that could preserve me. The possibility did exist, but the
environment we were going into was very challenging, very hot and at the
germane stages of the outbreak of the virus, there were no vaccines developed yet,
little resources deployed, few volunteers available, enough to match the
outbreak, it was like the world was dealing with a new beast and we were put in
the front line.
That day I finally left. Could remember it vividly. It was
some minutes past 4 a.m. My wife was able to catch some sleep. So I decided I’d
just steal out of the house and go catch my flight. I could not stand the
emotional goodbye. I might change my mind. Looking down at her beautiful face
as she lay in serenity; I kissed her and silently whispered to my son; my work
here on earth is probably done!
The End
This post is dedicated to families dealing with the loss of a
loved one who was some way involved in the fight against the Ebola virus as a
health worker or doctor.
Rest in Peace Dr Ameyo Adadevoh. Her work ethic, passion
commitment and drive helped us contain the first case of Ebola in the country
(Nideria), as she unknowingly treated and contracted the virus and died of it.
But her tireless efforts saved us of more casualties.
“Unknown to Dr Ameyo Adadevoh , Patrick Sawyer was already
terminally symptomatic with EVD. Mr. Sawyer, on admission denied having been in
contact with any person with EVD at home, in any hospital or at any burial.
So,
on 21 July, Mr. Sawyer was being managed for Malaria. He had tested positive
for Malaria parasites.
But, once she struck
upon the possibility that Mr. Sawyer was EVD-positive, she immediately
isolated/quarantined the patient, commenced barrier nursing and simultaneously
contacted the Lagos State Government & the Federal Health. It required
someone with Dr Ameyo Adadevoh 's capabilities to firewall
Mr. Sawyer & limit the contamination that he would have inflicted. For
that, she paid with her life. She refused for him to be let out of the hospital
in spite of intense pressure from him and from outside.
At risk to her own
life, she knew she had to keep Patrick Sawyer in or the nation was doomed. She
paid the price.
Because of the circumstances of her passing, there may be no
grave to memorialize Dr Ameyo Adadevoh” culled from tweets by @omojuwa on
twitter
We should never forget such a beautiful soul.
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