This is in response to an initiative of @ericvancewalton, to make us walk down memory lane and relive those moments long gone, keeping them alive for our future generations.
Here's the link
In a year from now you’ll have a legitimate memoir that you can pass along to future generations of your family. But what I really hope is it provides a valuable glimpse into your inner self.
How would you describe your faith journey?
My answer:
It is the first Crow of the Cock at dawn, I am roused from my slumber by subtle movements in the shadow-lit room, I peer through half-opened eyes to make out Grandma's silhouette in her usual sitting position, on her mud bed. I check the wrist watch given to me by Dad and its luminous dial read 3 am.
"Oh it's still too early to get up". I whisper in relief, rolling over to face away from her. But her faint mutterings would not let me get back to sleep, as they persisted.
This was her daily ritual and when I asked her why she always woke up to mutter to herself every 3 am;
"I pray!" Was her simple response.
"Pray? Pray to who? My voice echoed in curiosity. I wasn't dumb, I was seven and understood the concept of prayer to a large extent. Back In the City, before coming to live with Grandma, my family attended Church on Sundays. I would be in Sunday School with my sister while my my parents would be in the Main Church. I relished those Sunday school stories where I was taught about God, the creator, His supernatural deeds, His creation of heaven and the earth, then Adam and Eve, the first humans. The stories of how God parted the Red Sea for the Israelites to pass through, and how pharaoh drowned with his golden chariots, were some of my favourite bible stories. I saw God as a kind of 'James Bond', a powerful and enigmatic Diety who orchestrates events and thwarts the evil of the wicked.
And I knew how to pray a little... I was also taught in the church, so I knew prayer was talking to the Christian God but Grandma didn't go to church neither was she a Christian. So why would she pray and to whom would she be praying to?
Grandma was so amused.
"Of course I pray to my ancestors, my fore fathers, the gods of our land, (and she reeled out the names one after the other, about twenty of them), so you see, I pray for them to bless me, my children and grandchildren, for them to bless our farmlands and our community, to ward off evil"....."I wasn't listening anymore, I was puzzled. How could all these deities coexist in one small community as ours?
"..... But Grandma, The God that parted The Red Sea is not one of them, Is He? Lost, I had interrupted her because I understood that this Diety stayed in heaven.
It was obvious she was bewildered, by the look on her face, so I enlightened her a bit by sharing my Sunday School stories with her.
"Oh! Orisa, she exclaimed, "He is the God of all the gods and He is the creator of all that was created but we can only reach Him through the gods of our Land."
"Then Grandma, why don't you attend Church like Nnendi and Nnandi, if He's truly 'The Orisa?" I think this one really caught her off guard.
Two Sundays later, Grandma and I were on our way to Church, perhaps my innocent question had stirred something deep within her as she now saw the need to show reverence to the head of all gods, 'The Orisa'.
The 3 am ritual never ceased for Grandma and I also imbibed it as one of mine!
So I am a Christian, my faith has not waned nor dwindled since I was seven and there has not been any reason for me to change my stance. Life has been really really challenging, for the Christian and Non-Christian alike but I have found 'Orisa' to be faithful, through it all. I pray daily, for His manifold blessings in all facets of my life and He comes through for me, every time.
He remains faithful.
This is the faith that has kept me going, through seconds, minutes, hours, days, months and years, in my everyday, I am surer of His illuminance, more than the light of the Rising Sun.
This is my first time posting in Silver bloggers community, I hope to feel at home here, thanks to @ifarmgirl....😁
Thank you @ericvancewalton for this noble initiative...😊
I am @edith-4angelseu and thank you for stopping by my neighbourhood.