SANCTIFIED SUNDAY: HOLY FAMILY

Hello my dearly beloved readers, hope everyone is making good use of this festive season. Taking out time to have all the fun the other months of the year do not permit, going for different events, carrying out all the fun activities your body permits and most of all, taking time out to visit family and friends. Speaking of family, the sermon today was mind blowing and I thank God for our new priest who dishes out his sermons without prejudice, he doesn't care what you think, he is blunt and says it as it is. He gave a lovely sermon and I cannot wait to share it with you all.

For my outfit today, nothing major, I just decided to go native and rock the new purse my lovely friend got for me. You know when you have a lovely outfit in mind and your tailor just messes it up (please bear in mind that this is not finesse couture, this is some other tailor), yeah, that’s what happened with this dress but there’s nothing I can do, as cloth costs money and I have to wear it.

Sandals: TNL (Things Nigerians Love)

Purse: Dorothy Perkins

Bracelet: Forever 21

Wristwatch: Avon

Take home for today:

Whoever honors his father atones for sins and preserves himself from them, when he prays he is heard and whoever glorifies his mother is like one who lays up treasure. Whoever honors his father will be gladdened by his own children and he will have long life. For kindness to a father will not be forgotten and against your sins it will be credited to you. Excerpt from Sirach (or Ecclesiastes) 3:2-6, 12-14.

A lot of us go about our daily lives as we become adults getting sucked in that we no longer have time for ourselves let alone our parents and guardians who helped to make sure we had everything we needed and helped us to attain the heights we have reached. We forget them and always give the excuse “I don’t have time”. We forget to cater to their basic necessities. Some people even go as far as total neglect because their clergy person has told them that “your father/mother is the cause of your problems, he/she is a witch/wizard”. Now the question is, if this witch/wizard could not harm you when your bones were still frail and weak, when they had so much power over you, how do you think they would overcome you now that you are an adult? If your parents really wanted to hinder your progress, then why go through all that stress to train you in school, aid you in getting to a great level in life before they decided to bring you down. Does it make sense?

He went on to tell a story of an old lady he knew when he was a seminarian in Ondo abi Ogun state. This womans entire roof in her house was leaking except part of her passage and that is where she used to sleep. She was blind and had a bad leg. Her neighbors in the area used to help her out with washing and certain chores around the house. When he got to meet her, she told him about her family, she had 5 kids, 1 was a commissioner, 2 were in the UK and the last 2 were married with kids. Her neighbors and people around the village had tried to reach her kids severally but they would always give excuses. Finally the woman died and her children immediately renovated her house, brought in different animals, bought a very expensive casket and put up ads in the papers about their “wonderful mother, thanking God for a life well spent”. He said that while presiding over her funeral (the main priest in the community refused to be a party to it), he told the congregation that if anyone eats the food the children had to offer, they would die like the woman. The woman died wretched and abandoned by her kids.

That being said, although I have heard of some questionable parenting skills, what I took home today was that even though your parents can be quite a handful, troublesome or even downright evil, they are still your parents. Nobody is perfect, we have them as parents and there is nothing we can do about it. No matter how bad or evil you claim they are, you cannot repay evil with evil. You have no choice but to show them love.

This really moved me as I know that Life has a way of sucking you in and taking all the time on your hands but I decided today to make a better effort in communicating with my parents, even though I don’t get to see them, at least I should call them. Set a reminder on your phone today to call your parents every day. Sometimes it is not even our money or financial assistance they crave, just your communication, love and care.

Hope this touched you as much as it did me.

Have a blessed day guys.