Life-Lessons from my Mum.
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As you may or may not know, I love my mum very much. You might think "obviously, doh! isn't she your mum?" On the contrary, it isn't exactly because of who she is to me but the way I see her live her life and you'll understand in a minute.
The first few years of my life were not exactly spent with my mum. My mum was an air-hostess and had to be away most of the time. As a result, I spent most of my time with my father and my dearest aunt 'Aunty Deborah' who is also called my mum because of the role she played in my life. At the age of 4, my family moved to Tchad, Ndjamena however my mum could not stay for the entire length of the posting. Again, I ended up with my father, another aunt and sometimes the gateman and his wife when no one was home so I learned different things like eating grasshoppers (yeah...yeah I know). I returned to Nigeria at the age of 6-7 and stayed with my mum for about three to four years before boarding school (that is another story entirely). I once told my mum that if she had passed on in the earlier years of my life, I would never have remembered her. Thank God I got the chance to learn some of the most important lessons.
Here are some of the life lessons from my Mum.
1. Put God first. It is easy to say "don't I already know that?" How many times do you let God know you're on your way to work or Uni? How often do you put him at the beginning of your plans? Every time I tell mum I want to take a trip. I already know the answer "Have you told your Father?" if you didn't know better you'd think my Father is a phone call away. oh well...
2. Love your neighbour as yourself: Mum loves too much. It is hard to know her relationship with people because everyone is her brother, friend, daughter... I am not in Nigeria at the moment but I know when my Mum is not in church by the friends who keep me posted. She is everyone's mum too. ("how can you say you love God and you hate your brother?"- 1John 2:10) spreading God's love means loving your neighbour just as much as you love yourself. It is not easy but it is possible.
3. Tithing: I could have added this point to putting God first but I felt the need to emphasise it. I hear a lot of young people say "you don't work so how do you pay your tithe?" Yes I do not work however, I am supposed to give God ten percent of my earnings. Growing up, when 'uncle' gave you 1000 naira, before we were allowed to rejoice, mum would remind us of the 100 naira that belonged to God. She didn't do it for us, but she reminded us to do it so we got used to it. Till date, everytime I am given money, I still remember that one-tenth of it belongs to God. When you teach your children how to give in their little, when they grow up and earn more, they'll find it easier to do it because giving has become a part of them. ("Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he would not depart from it" -Proverbs 22:6).
4. Patience: I really hate to admit that I agree with my mum on this point. (Mum please don't allow your head swell with pride o). My father used to say my mum could live with the devil because of how patient she is. I am not a very patient person; I like getting things done and getting rid of unwanted people as soon as possible. Patience is a virtue. I always thank God because I am not Jesus Christ... Imagine his job; interceding every single day for us. That job must require some patience or don't you think so?
5. Prayer: Ever heard the song "prayer is the master key?" Prayer is indeed a master key. I wish I could share some stories of how prayers have helped change things for mum but what else would you possibly do when your plane's engines stop working 40,000ft in the air? I'll let you answer that. (p.s if you ever talk to my mum and while talking to her, you see her mumble smth to herself... best believe she is off in prayer land).
I could add a thousand lessons from Mum but I'm sure you get the point. Our love for God should be evident in our lifestyle. We are not perfect but every day, we should wake up with the consciousness of striving towards perfection. So on that note, remember....
Put God first. Not in Just in words.
Show love always.
Pay your tithe (don't be among the people who feel it is ok to rob God), Be patient with God and people; God's 'no' is not a denial... He is only preparing you for something greater. Be patient with people. Yes, people can be annoying aren't you annoying too?
Pray always, at all times, no matter how you feel.
Special thanks to Mum for being the inspiration behind this post. Thanks for living an exemplary life. I love you dearly.
Have a fabulous rest-of -the week!
Love,
Pee.
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