I am lost until I find you by Chuma Okonkwo

I am lost until I find you by Chuma Okonkwo


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You're welcome to CHUMA's blog: Debts from Yuletide wrecking homes and lives.

You're welcome to CHUMA's blog: Debts from Yuletide wrecking homes and lives.: I noted in one of my previous blogs that “ Every New Year’s Eve comes with a thoughtful reminiscence of how the concluding year has run ...

Debts from Yuletide wrecking homes and lives.

I noted in one of my previous blogs that “Every New Year’s Eve comes with a thoughtful reminiscence of how the concluding year has run thus far.” Just like the New Year’s Eve, January is dubbed a month for deep reflection, when we recollect our past experiences, bewail our disappointments, applaud our accomplishments and await the incoming year. Today is specially such a day I put up two heads like the Janus (the Roman god shown with two faces and for which January is named). Just like Janus with two faces in opposite direction; one looking back to the departed year and the other looking forward to the incoming year, as I became older than I was today, I took a lonely walk down the memory lane,  looking back to the years gone by and my eyes fixed on the uncertain years ahead. In my sub-consciousness, as I walk through the hallucinatory, but surreal, images of my life journey thus far, I ended up in my usual wild and crazy imagination. My wild imagination brought me alive to something I detest talking about or better put, I speak less about. If there is anything at all I don’t talk about then it is debt. May be it is because I hate being indebted (owing money) to someone.

I’m not sure if anyone has noticed how debts incurred during the Yuletide have been wrecking many homes and lives in Nigeria. It seems unwise to me that something so prevailing in our society is left unnoticed. Debt can be a killer when it becomes a spree.  It can divide homes and break marriages. It can lead to hopelessness and even suicide. Every year Christmas comes with much responsibilities burdened on how shoulders and expectations in high spirits. But the tip of the iceberg is that most people live in the delusion of having a perfect Christmas and thus would jump on the bandwagon trying to put up what can only be described in the mind as perfect (because there is no perfect Christmas) Christmas. In this delusive mindset most people end up racking up debts. Some employees will take overdrafts in the hopes of paying back quickly in January. But January, named after a deity with two heads, comes with its problems. You never know the hand it deals out to you.

Cases have been reported where ladies took recourse to payday loans offered by mercenary colleagues in order to shop for classy foreign women hairs. And some men went on a spree of hiring flashy cars with which to impress during the season, at the messy of car lending agents who make car borrowing seem easy and delightful, but sour in January when the reality of debts hit. Those who do not take on any of the former or latter, but fancy foods always have readily available supermarkets or stores manned by sharks who provide ridiculous discounts just to get them shopping, but at their peril. The truth is that people are being drowned and girdled in debts under our nose with no attention being paid to the creepy issues. It is only when someone commits suicide or dies in what is always tagged a-mysterious-way that people show concerns.

A question of interest might be what is my concern in this? I am really concerned because the older generations are passing on to the younger generations a demented lifestyle and debt service to grapple with, which will not fail to create more poverty. I am concerned because the younger generations in adopting this demented lifestyle and delusion create more ripple and damaging effects on the generations to follow than their predecessors. I am also concerned because what is meant to be a season of joy and peace and thus produce such afterwards is producing depression, family break-ups, and even suicide given the amassed pressure from the piled up debts.

Now that I have gained my full consciousness, I can say thank you for the birthday wishes!!!



Image credit: http://markhamiltonconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/international-debt-crisis.jpg

Reflection on today’s gospel 8

Today’s Feast of the Epiphany of our Lord Jesus Christ dates back to the ancient Christianity. It is one of the oldest Christian feasts and has been celebrated inter alia. One striking thing about this feast is that it comes with a grand portrayal of Christ’s revelations to mankind, which is captured in the name Theophany- the revelation of God to man. Today marks the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas.

Today’s feast as shown in today’s gospel is a revelation of God’s mystery blanketed in the tale of the three wise men. It is a mystery because we barely know about their real identity. We only know them, as we have been told, as Magi from the east. But a deeper careful thought on this mystery reveals that the Magi were not just ordinary wise men from the east; they were harbingers heralding God’s important message to Mankind through the guidance of the star; the message we are being told today- that Christ has come for everyone. This message grandly portrays the divinity of Christ to mankind, which was revealed in the three gifts the Magi presented to Christ- the gifts of gold, incense and myrrh. We have seen the message unraveled today that Christ is our Saviour in whom we seek our salvation.

But what is surprising is why Christ should come for everyone, even for the people who are not interested in him. It is all part of that unarguable truth that God is a universal God. He cares for everyone irrespective of your sex or sexual orientation, the colour of your skin or hair, your language or accent, and above all whoever you are. That is why God gives everyone equal opportunity to look for him, but what makes the difference is the effort we put in looking for him. As was revealed in the today’s gospel, a little effort would have made a difference in the lives of King Herold and his cohorts; that little effort would have changed their lives; and they would have seen the greatest King of peace and love. But they made the wrong choice!

This is a call for us to resurrect our eagerness to look for God and follow him. As was exemplified by the Magi- by leaving their comfort zones- we should emulate their courage and steadfastness. It does not come by a fluke, but rather it requires great efforts to be pleased about the enormous value of finding Christ. If you do not find him, you have found nothing in life!