🌷 The beginning of anything is usually the hardest stage. Yet anything worth having — or worth keeping — requires sacrifice and a measure of self-denial.
🌼 I grew up around elderly people, and I was fortunate to meet one of the most honest old men I have ever known. Let me share this story.
🌻 Back in the village, we cultivated cocoyam ridges for elderly women. For every forty ridges, we were paid forty naira. It was a reasonable amount at the time — biscuits were two naira, and you could still buy a bottle of Coca-Cola for twenty naira.
🌺 One day, after finishing our work, we were paid one hundred and twenty naira each. And we all knew what could happen to your money if you gave it to your parents — especially your mother. You might have to explain why you needed money when there was food at home.
🌸 I gave her some of it anyway. With the rest, I bought biscuits and groundnuts and went to sit in our Ebete — our kindred meeting hall.
🌷 An elderly man walked in with his snuff bottle. We began to chat. I started asking questions:
Why is there no mansion in our kindred?
Why do we have to walk miles to another community before we can access a primary school — or even a church?
Why is this so? Why is that so?
🌼 He listened quietly. Then he said something that stayed with me:
“If the thought has come to your mind and refuses to leave, question how you can bring it to reality.”
🌻 At the time, I did not fully understand his answer. But as I grew older, I began to apply it. Later, I realized that God had spoken to me through him — just as it says in Epistle to the Colossians 3:23–24: whatever you set your mind to do, do it with all your heart, as working for the Lord and not for men.
🌺 The truth is, we can pray, fast, and dance in church. But until we take responsibility and begin to work out the visions God has planted in us, we may remain where we are.
🌸 It is often said that Nigeria is one of the most religious countries in the world, yet we still struggle with development and basic amenities. Meanwhile, China, often described as one of the least religious, stands among the fastest-growing economies. The issue is not religion itself. The challenge is shifting our responsibility to God instead of acting on what He has already empowered us to do.
🌷 The solution lies not only in affirmations or proclamations, but in intentional action toward the life we desire — and the life we deserve.
🌼 Do not wait until the end of life to enjoy a good life. Live well here on earth through service to humanity. And when your time comes, you will be glad you left your footprint behind.
🌻 God will not do for us what He has already given us the strength to accomplish. Pray — and then work it out.
I remain your friend and brother,
Maazi Onuora Obodoechi 🌺
Pen it down. 