“What else do we learn from there?” I prodded my son as he shared the lessons from the reading.
“Follow who have the lamp” he tossed in another lesson
“Who has the lamp or light?” I furrowed my brows
“You ask too many questions for a 5-year old” he shot back in exasperation.
Pause! I know, I know. I have this queer habit of starting a story from the middle and expecting you to grasp it. My writer friend KVC says I tether readers on edge and take them on a ride. I apologise. Blame my head since that is the way it is wired.
Now let’s backtrack.
It was our morning devotion and he was leading. His study was taken from Matthew 25 on the parables of the virgins and talents. I passed onto him the practice I learnt from my mother which is read a block, stop and explain before moving on. So he was explaining the parable of the ten virgins. A story centered around the Asian and African cultural practice of friends waiting to escort a bride to her marital home after the event.
partying and waiting for the groom’s arrival
Meanwhile, I taught him to always presume his audience are 5-year olds who know nothing about his subject. This came after I learnt he has imbibed my weakness – presuming everyone knows what we know. Which means he usually has to break it down into bits for me.
Consequently, he shared the following lessons:
- Always be ready
- Be smart
- Follow who have the lamp
My 5-year old head was confused. “Are we talking lamp or oil here, uncle?”
“What is a lamp without oil. Isn’t it the oil that gives it light? he shot back. Then wanted to shame me by saying I ask too many questions for my age. To which I swiftly responded that he needed to have seen his 5-year old self. He was a terror with the questions. So much so that at a stage I had to shout “you talk too much” and without missing a beat he fired back “I like talking”
His nickname was ‘Prof’. A name which some still call him to date as he harassed anyone who cared with questions. Yet, this same person was now shaming my 5-year old self for my curiosity.
“What is a lamp without oil” he fired back
Eventually he gave up and asked me to share. I said to him:
“The story is also about the dangers of delayed answers”
“Explain” he muttered
“If the bridegroom arrived earlier to his own party, would they have fallen asleep or their finished?”
He shook his head. Staring at me that way of how does this woman always deviate from the norm?
So I expanded it:
In life, some things are outside our circles of control while others are within our control. The things outside our control does not define us. My assignment was to show up and celebrate with my friend at her wedding. The bridegroom’s was to show up on time.
How then did it become my fault that the groom was delayed?
If I had excused myself when the groom was running late, and gone home, will you still tell this story and cast me as a foolish unprepared woman?
None of that narrative would have happened if the groom [which was outside my control] showed up early.
Even the Bible recognises the dangers of delayed answers. Proverbs 13:12 is the classic scripture on how hope deferred makes the heart sick.
Psalm 125:3 speaks about the danger inherent in delays: the righteous might put their hands to iniquity if help does not come speedily
And so in life, we must learn to pray for ease on our journeys and early answers to prayers. This is key as those whose grooms showed up on schedule or even ahead of schedule, find it easy to castigate the other set.
This lesson is even pertinent as this week, I have been in spaces where the conversations centered around delays in waiting with time and chance happening to us all
Like one man stated: The teenage bride who prides herself on marrying as a virgin may not be able to repeat that boast if she marries at 35″
Another remarked” I married a very young girl because younger girls are said to be fertile. Yet, we waited 20 years to have a child and then, I already had 2 children outside”
“The Genz who become millionaires in $$ today while still living in their parents home, look at their parents who had no access to the internet in their days and boast of how easy it is to make money”
In conclusion, the story of the 10 virgins has been retold for centuries from a single perspective, heaping blame on the girls.
Where else in life, do you require a mindset shift today?
#FaithfulAndWise #biblestories #timeandchance
#circleofcontrol
#TrimYourLamps
#SpiritualReadiness
#ParableOfTheVirgins
#WaitingOnTheBridegroom
#OilOfFaith
#KeepYourLightShining
#MorningDevotion
#WisdomAndPreparation
#KingdomLesson
2 responses
Breaking tables again Sis?
Ha ha ha! Isn’t it time we start standing on our own feet? Tottering against these tables all our lives has affected so many mindsets.
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