I seek for God’s forgiveness
for my shortcomings,
and impiety.
At the same time,
I thank God and offer Him praises,
for His blessings and mercies on me,
in spite of my inadequacies,
shortsightedness, and even blindness.
My mind calls it shortsightedness
because all the years of my life until now,
I never got it
that being able to go to work,
and coming back home
freely without restrictions and fear;
I never got it
that it was all due to the sheer favour of God.
My mind calls it blindness
because all the years of my life until now,
I didn’t see
that being able to freely mingle
at work with colleagues,
on the streets as I hustled and bustled,
at home with family and friends;
I didn’t see
that as I went about life
with the rest of humanity
without restrictions and fear,
with no need for social distancing;
I didn’t see
that it was all due to the great mercies of God.
My mind calls it shortsightedness
because all the years of my life until now,
I never noticed
that being able to freely
leave home and undertake
my official engagements, business,
trade, vocation, and family events;
and then return home safe and sound;
I never noticed
that it was all due to the endless grace of God.
My mind calls it shortsightedness
because all the years of my life until now,
I did not fathom,
that being able to freely
go to the house of God
whether it be church, mosque or temple,
to praise, worship and pray,
and later hug, and shake hands
with fellow worshipers
was a privilege;
I did not fathom,
that it was all due
to the fullness of the love of God.
It is truly shortsightedness
because all the years of my life until now,
it never occurred to my mind
that being able to talk freely
with strangers in public spaces,
public buses, cabs, motorcycles,
trains, and planes;
without having to cover the mouth and nose;
it never occurred to my mind,
that it was all due
to the great faithfulness of God.
My mind therefore seeks
for God’s forgiveness
because of taking Him for granted
so much that He had
to remind me, and others like me,
that He is God.
By sending a being,
that we can’t see
but He can;
a being that has
confined humanity to lonely territories;
a being that has reduced communication
to a mere online link;
after shaking the powerful
and weakening the vulnerable.
He had to remind me, and others like me,
that the reason why we freely
live, mingle and hustle
is because He allows it.
At the same time,
my mind is full of gratitude to God
who in Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV) said,
“Do not be anxious about anything,
but in every situation,
by prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God.
And the peace of God,
which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds
in Christ Jesus”.
My mind therefore,
falls on its knees,
despite its brokenness, wander,
fear, shortsightedness and blindness,
to pray that God’s faithfulness
appears to me, and others like me, again.
But my mind has no doubt
that His goodness, like the dawn,
will break again.
My mind has no doubt
that His mercies, will rise
in my heart again.
My mind has no doubt
that He will allow His endless grace
to flow from His Father’s heart to mine, again.
But above all, Great is His faithfulness;
He will return me, and others like me,
back to the good days
of liberty, joy and happiness.
