For the past five years now, there is this woman who always comes to sweep our church compound. The woman teaches in the church primary school. This woman has taken it as a duty to come as early as 5 am in the morning everyday to keep the church compound clean. After that she goes home to prepare for school. She has been doing this without looking at anybody nor wanting a helping hand. She is so devoted to this work that everybody has known her to be the brain behind the cleanliness of the church auditorium. No one was paying her for this,she has been doing it willingly from the deepest part of her dear heart.
Sometimes, when she could not meet up sweeping early in the morning, she took her time doing it very late in the evening before going home since there is always an adequate and proper power supply.
Meanwhile, this church in quote is a very big church, it is a cathedral and head of the diocese, so a lot of people troop in and out of the church every minutes of the day both indigenes and people from afar who have come to do one thing or the other either in the church Secretariat or the church itself or even from the vicarage. And most of this people coming in and going out have known this woman for her dedication to the work of God.
This woman in quote is not a widow nor a beggar to say, she has a full family she is taking good care of, her husband and her children and yet brings out her time for this. She is a middle class woman, very jovial and welcoming. If she is a beggar or a widow, people would have said that it was the reason why she was doing those things but no, she can and do cater for her dear self and family,that is to tell you how mindful and devoted she is.
It has been five years and she was still doing the same thing every blessed day that passes by even on Sunday morning before going back home to prepare for church service. And after church service, she waits behind to pick wastes littered around the church premises by the church members, wastes like empty packs of biscuit dropped by the children, candy nylons, banana peels,crumbs of food and many of them as if though there was never a waste basket in the church compound but many of them were at different locations of the church premises for easy disposal of wastes but being neglected by this church members.
Whenever I set my eyes on this woman sweeping the church environment, I talk to myself asking myself when this woman normally have time of her own,I mean cooking for her family, eating, washing of clothes and dishes,keeping the house clean and still come out very early to do church work. I was thinking that her house would be a mess or unkept but it was the opposite.
The day I visited her house because she invited me over for a business, I shocked because everywhere was well tidied up, well cleaned and settings intact and so amazing accompanied by the sweet fragrance of her air refresher zooming out of the sitting room, it was so welcoming with adequate comfort. I respected this woman that very day and gave her the honour she deserves.
Some persons would have gotten tired after some months or a year of doing this free will work but she is a very faithful fellow and devoted to the work of God and what she does.
On Sunday last week, the church had a very special occasion and also a harvest Sunday, everybody was expected to bring one thing or the other as a token of appreciation to God for their lives and well-being. After the church service and it was time for selling of harvest items,one of the billionaire members of the church now requested to call forward the woman who has been sweeping the church compound singlehandedly for the past five years now without payment nor requesting for salary nor quitting. Immediately this billionaire young man stood and requested for this woman, everybody and soul has already known that God has remembered her finally. But what was the plan of this young man? What was actually in his mind? Everybody was so eager to see what would happen next as everyone as well wished to be this woman now because it's obvious that the calling was for a good reward and nothing else.
When this woman came out,the man firstly appreciated her for her great devotion to keeping the church environment clean even when having other things to do with her life,he encouraged her to keep on doing good as he has been seeing her doing those works whenever he comes to town and enter church. After that, lo and behold!, he gifted this woman four (4) feet high mattress, a deep freezer, some wrappers, foodstuffs and token of cash. There was a loud shout everywhere as the woman started shedding tears, it was tears of joy indeed.
https://genius.com/Celine-dion-the-greatest-reward-lyrics
Song lyrics
Amazing God has done amazing thing. Whenever I remember this event, it does nothing but putting a bold smile on my face.
Moral lesson here is that faithfulness pays off. Being faithful to the end pays in a bigger way.
Thank you very much for stopping by to read my post, stay inspired