So 2015 is
here, I must admit it kind of crept in. I still have some 'To do in 2014'
undone, some goals yet to be achieved and some dreams still hard to pin down,
but we move on.
One should
be excited about the cross-over night especially when you chose your activity
for the night. I chose to spend mine at church but I wasn't too excited; I did
say my thank you's to Him who owns my soul but at a point it felt like a drag;
I was forcing the gratitude out as I had flashes of many things that could have
been but didn't.
The invited minister got up and started talking about
me kind of; burdened heart, weary body, dashed hopes, bounced checks....he was
just peeping into my heart and talking. Then he quoted Habakuk "Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though
the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls, yet
I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation......" oh! peace flowed through me. Then I offered praises from my heart, telling
God though I wanted the fig trees to blossom but still I'll praise him....it
felt good eventually. It's hard to praise God when your Christmas check bounced.
You see, my
Christmas check was returned. Arrrr! My heart almost stopped beating, I've made
plans. This period isn't just about the holidays, I have more financial
commitments this period, some good works and some goodies for myself. I had
been obsessed about 'aso-odun' for a while. I wanted a teal lace with
bright-in-your-eyes yellow accessories, matching gele and maybe a 'bad' shoe to
die for. My buddy and I had made plans
when to hit Balogun, buy the lace, buy neck and ear pieces with a matching
gele. It was going to be a bright Christmas until the check was returned.
But then, I
consoled myself it would clear before the new year. I had called the account
owner and he apologized telling me to represent the check. Then Christmas came
and left, I fought the bad feeling that would come with that experience, I
could execute every other plans but for the aso-odun. So I told myself, you are
a big girl now, forget aso-odun. My friends and I had fun and was even at Agodi
Parks and Resort Garden (That place is bliss, you should visit!)
Presenting
the check after Christmas holidays, I was fully assured I'll have money to blow
around. I would console myself with a big pot of goat pepper soup on the 1st
day of the 2015, boil ripe plantain, pop wine and blast music. Then cook a pot
of rice for hubby's abokis; Abdullahi, Sanni and their friends. So imagine my
despair when I got the bad news as a bank notification, the check didn't clear
the second time.
If I was
White one would have seen the colour drain out of my face. My heart was sinking
fast and before it got to my feet, I had to sit, then lie down. This time, I
did the right thing between the issuer and myself; I ended our contract
abruptly.
If the check
was just about pepper soup, I can head to any 'mama ope' and buy me a steaming
hot bowl of well spiced pepper soup, but my birthday would be in another 5 days
and I had made plans too; host 30 friends, do some acoustic worship, dine,
merry, take pictures, have fun. That would cost money too but the check was
returned.
So, while in
church, my mind was going to stay on that silly check. It was hard to
concentrate but I won, if He won't withhold his son from us, would he not
freely provide pepper soup and boiled plantain?
So today is
1st of another 365. I'm home, I didn't make plans to go out, so I'm watching TV, popped wine,
ate rice, stayed on twitter, revised goals, got angry, got excited, danced to
songs without drums....and would maybe buy me that steaming hot goat meat
pepper-soup later in the evening if the desire doesn't fizzle out.
It's the
beginning of a fresh start, nothing would spoil the day for me.
Awon
onigbese jatijati!
