Okay, I’m here to tell you a story and subsequently, the moral of the story. Considering the title of this write up, I’m sure you are picturing one of those stories in which the tortoise is always cunning and in trouble due to his disobedience. Well, you’re not totally wrong, but you are wrong. You’re not totally wrong because the main character tried to be cunning and eventually got into some kind of trouble, but you’re wrong because the main character in this story is no Tortoise but Me. Yes oh, I am the one who got me into trouble, and this is how it went down...
I come from a home where we are not allowed to visit friends except our parents know the name, address and parents of the person whom we are going to visit. So, technically the only person I’m allowed to visit is this Childhood friend of mine named Nia. Nia is more than a childhood friend, She is a sister, She is blood. So, right from time, any time I wanted to go anywhere else I would just tell my parents i was going to visit Nia (of course, with Nia’s knowledge), and that does it. (TAAAH!!! Don’t look at me like that joor, I’m sure I am not the only guilty one).
About 6 months back I found out that the Nia’s little sister Kailey was battling with a very deadly disease, Leukaemia. It was really sad and everyone kept putting kailey in their prayers, hoping for a miracle. Nia, being the only sibling Kailey had, was responsible for taking care of her. Nia was under a lot of stress as her parents couldn’t stay at home always, they had to work, if for nothing else but to provide more money for Kailey’s treatment. Kailey resigned from work to be able to take care of her sister. It was a struggle to keep Kailey alive especially since Kailey was in constant pain. We needed a miracle, we knew it, and we kept praying for one, we never stopped. I wasn’t so much a part of the struggle because I was away in school most of the time, I only saw her anytime I came home for holiday.
So as usual, during my most recent holiday, I planned to go visit the family on a certain day of the week, but i could not go through with my plan because school came calling, and so plans changed. I went to school and got back the same day with the intention to see her the next day, but she told me she was going to be busy running errands for her Mum, then i changed plan yet again. This time, I decided to go see my sweetheart (I know you want to know about him, but I won’t tell you. At least not yet, just know that he is a darling), so as usual i told my parents i was going to see Nia, only this time Nia knew not about my plan, I just didn’t want to disturb her, she had other things handle. And they let me go, i went out and Got back , nothing happened, nobody found out and I was glad. Little did i know that not ‘disturbing’ Nia, was going to be my undoing.
Two days later,It was Christmas, but it didn’t seem like it in my house. We just cooked, went nowhere and had no visitors, it seemed like a day perfect for meditation. And the day seemed to be going pretty well until I heard my mom call my name in a way that could only mean I was in trouble, but I was confident that i had done nothing wrong. So, i casually stood up and strolled down the lobby to her room. I walked in to see her give me the trouble stare and then she asked, “I thought you said you went to Nia’s place, 2 days ago?” my heart skipped a beat, actually three beats. “how did she find out?” was what was running through my mind, and as if to answer my question she went on, “Nia just called to ask after you, and she mentioned that she had not seen you since you got back, where did you go to?” I was about to think of my cover up lie when my sister walked in to tell her that she had visitors, so my mum had to leave and attend to them, but she left only after she made it clear that she wasn’t done with me.
I immediately called Nia, to ask her what happened, and she told me that she was just calling to wish my mum a merry Christmas and she casually mentioned that she had not seen me, by the time she knew what was happening, she couldn’t cover up for me anymore. I knew then that i was in real trouble, told her i would get back to her later and cut the call. Now, I went to my corner of lies and mischief for aid, hoping to come up with something brilliant enough to get me out of trouble and the only thing I could come up with was that I didn’t meet her at home because she was running errands and so I ceased the opportunity to stay with her sick sister and left before she came home. I knew the lie wasn’t good enough, but it was the best I could conjure up at the time. So I waited for my mum to be done with her visitors so that I could add the extra topping to my meal of lies.
The visitors seemed to take forever, making the waiting period more uncomforting by the hour. A lot of thoughts/voices ran through my head, telling me how my plans would not work, but I let the one convincing me that it would work take control. But there was this one voice that left me baffled, “you shouldn’t do this” He said, “you are better than this, what would it cost you to tell the truth? Besides don’t you think telling this lie would mean taking advantage of the sick girl?”. I knew that was the voice of truth, the holy spirit, I knew that telling the truth was the best option, but I was still torn in between, saving myself from trouble by lying and staying in trouble, but doing the right thing. This battle of the mind continued until I slept off on my bed, still waiting for the visitors to leave.
I woke up the next morning, and the first thing that popped into my head was “you are in trouble”, and the battle started afresh. I couldn’t leave my room for about an hour for fear of being questioned by my mother. Eventually, I put together my fear stricken nerves (what African parents do to you...), and went out to say good morning. I went to her room, went down on my knees, as is the tradition, and said Good Morning. To my surprise, she greeted me normally, gave me normal pat on the back accompanied by the usual morning prayers which always includes prayer for a good husband. Still surprised but trying not to show it, I got up and was on my way out of the room when she called me back, (Sigh!!!! I knew it was too good to be true) and said “did you really go to Nia’s place? The deciding moment was here, the moment i had planned for and had been patiently waiting for. I opened my mouth to answer but I found myself saying “No, I didn’t. I went to see another friend of mine”. I felt a little bit of relief, but I still was unsure of what was to come. She looked up from the bible she was studying and said “you should have told me, I wouldn’t have stopped you, you have come of age and should be able to go where you want as long as we have the necessary details of your whereabouts. Lying is what I would not condone and it mustn’t happen again, okay?”, “yes, Ma” I replied and apologised. She permitted me to leave the room, and went back to her Bible study. I left the room wondering “what just happened?”. I got myself out just by telling the truth, it wasn’t so bad after all. I felt a peace that I could not explain, and I thought about the contrast of how unsettled I usually feel after a lie, this is where the moral of the story comes in. I obeyed the Holyspirit and it payed off.
Two days later, Kailey died. It was painful, I was Sad, And I Cried. It was really heart wrenching to lose such a Gem. And while I was thinking of all the times I spent with her during her life time, something struck me that filled my heart with relief. I was going to lie that I was with her two days ago, and I’m thankful that I did not. It occurred to me that I would have felt horrible, in addition to the sadness that already flooded my heart. I would not have been able to forgive myself, if I had gone ahead to lie, using Kaylie as a pawn in my game. It is bad enough that I feel bad that I wasn’t able to see her before she died; lying with her name would have created guilt in my heart that I would have had to live with for a life time.
Basically all I am trying to say is this; I am happy I heeded the nudging of the holy spirit to tell the truth, He saw what I could not see, and tried to help me avert a life time of guilt. This might not seem so grievous to you, but I’m sure you’d prefer to have the peace I have in my heart right now instead of the nagging feeling of guilt that would have been the result of trying to save my face. In this case, Obedience was truly better than sacrifice as I would have had to sacrifice the feeling of unexplainable peace even amidst the sadness and pain for the loss of a little sister. It pays to listen, God cares.
'Dewe
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