Ephemeral

 So, I'm interning at a place along Lamingo road which, if you know Jos, is on the way to JUTH (Jos University Teaching Hospital). Yesterday, it struck me that everyday since I've been here, I hear sirens from ambulances transporting people to be buried, how do I know that? The ambulances are always coming from JUTH. And it hit me yesterday, as I watched another ambulance drive by, with the family and/or loved ones of the deceased person driving behind the ambulance, why I notice this everyday. Because in January this year, I was one of such people, escorting the body of my friend from the hospital to be laid to rest. This is December and I still feel horrible, I still remember how awful it felt to watch that coffin reach the ground. 

Do I know where I'm headed with this rambling? No, but stay with me. I just thought to share that life's flitting. Everyday, I look at ambulances carrying people, one day people will watch an ambulance drive past and it'll be me, at least my body, inside. I pray that we all are ready when it's our turn. 

And then I think of the people who love this person that's being buried, how terrible it is for them, I know this personally because it's been terrible for me too. One thing I've discovered is that the craziest thing about losing someone you love, is the thought of having to go the rest of your life without their physical presence, that if God gives you 50, 60, 70 or 80 more years on Earth, you'd live those years without them.... I've heard it gets better with time, and I really hope it does. 

So, I pray for all of us who are grieving the loss of someone we love, that God comforts each heart as only He can and that He gives us the strength to carry on.

Probably the last thing I'm going to talk about is this: unfortunately, and as much as we wish this is not the case, loss and grief will happen to each one of us, some earlier than others, but it will happen. It's natural, because we all have people we love. And our response to such loss will be as different as we all are. So please when you see someone grieving from the loss of someone they love, don't belittle their grief! Losing someone you love is hard, probably one of the hardest things we'll ever have to go through, so let them mourn. We all really need to be considerate of people's sorrow. 

I remember hearing something that really annoyed me a couple of years ago. Someone else who I love died at the time and someone told me that I should "let the dead bury their dead". I remember thinking what an unfeeling thing it was to say. Now, I'm a Christian too, I know that we know that the dead in Christ will rise again and we'll all be together with Him in glory but until that day, I'm still going to be feeling the loss of this person, and I didn't understand how telling me "let the dead bury their dead" was relevant to my pain. Unfortunately, we Christians mask a lot of rubbish under the guise of being "spiritual"

Anyways, I pray that we all remember to be sensitive to people's pain because like it or not, one day grief will come knocking at your door and you see this thing called karma, it's real oh! Galatians 6:7 says "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." (KJV), so let's not sow insensitivity because that's exactly what we'll reap. 

May God always help us!

Love, 

Achenyo.