Favour Has Moved

Tuesday, 2nd July, 2024

‘Eni ke ni ti iwo ba ni pa la ti se iranlowo fun. Ohun naa le ni keji re toju re’ (whoever you have opportunity to help, that’s your neighbor, take care of him)

Proverbs 3:28  Do not say to your neighbor, “Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you”— when you already have it with you. ( This scripture is my propelling force whenever I’m weary of doing good)

I Met favour when she and her mom moved into one of the rooms in the church building within our compound. Didn’t know much about her but somehow, she became a friend of the family. After I studied her and realized she was a well mannered girl, I opened the door of our home to her. She’d come into the house and play with my children and I often give her whatever the Lord lays in my heart to give her and her mom. Whenever she’s with us, she also eats whatever my children eat. We sometimes pick her up on her way to school.

During the last mid term break, I had taken her and my children on a walk within our area. When we stopped by at a neighborhood store to pick one or two things, I also gave her the liberty to make her choice. But she’s such a wise child , she only picked what Folukemi picked. She and Folu are age mates but even when Folu is at school, Favour would always come around to play with the boys.

Then, sometime last week, I noticed I hadn’t seen her in days. Most times, we come really late from church and all but even at that, Favour would be outside sometimes to wave at us and welcome us back home. Then I was told by Delegate Femo, the church’s admin that they had moved to a better accommodation. Oh, it was a dual feeling of joy and sadness; joy that they’re in a better place now and sadness that I won’t be seeing her frequently again. 

Then, yesterday evening, there was a knock on our door. I was in the kitchen when Folorunsho came to inform me that Favour’s mom was at the door . So, I went to greet her and guess why this woman came ? In her words “I just came to say thank you” . Like I almost ‘teared up. It simply means she had taken note and appreciated my kind gestures towards her family . She also mentioned that Favour missed us terribly as well. 

Do you know why I’m sharing this here ? One, I’m grateful to God that I didn’t miss the opportunity to be a blessing and live a lasting impact in their lives. I never thought they’d be leaving the church premises really soon. I was only doing the bit I could as the Lord helped me. Imagine if I had delayed or procrastinated? We really don’t have forever to impact people’s lives, do all you can when you can. I know by God’s Grace that Favour and her mom will never forget my family for good in all their lives. 

Two, growing up, I wasn’t born with a silver spoon and we weren’t poor either . We were what you’d call an average family . And somehow , I mingled with both children from the rich to the wealthy class. We lived in a ‘face me , I face you two room apartment but I had friends living in flats , bungalows and even their own apartment back then. As a child , I knew those parents who welcomed me heartily to their homes and those who didn’t . Not because I was a spoiled child or ill mannered because trust me, my parents brought me up well but it was simply because of class. They didn’t need to verbalize it but there was a knowing through their expressions and demeanor. Even though we are all grown now, the memory still lingers. That’s why I made up my mind that I’ll never make any child feel the way I was made to feel growing up. I don’t do ‘age’ or class’, I do Christ and good conduct . No one has the privilege to choose which family to be born into. God does the placement as He wills. 

I remember reading Becoming, a book by Mitchelle Obama, where she shared an experience she had with a white family . She was to share a room with the white girl but her mom said her daughter will never share a room with a black lady. And that black later turned out to be the wife of the president of America later in life. So, that white mother successfully deprived her daughter of having a relationship with a future First Lady. No one knows tomorrow . That child that’s from the slum today can become a CEO tomorrow.

Let me coast home by sharing an experience I had with a Hausa/ Muslim family as a child. Halima and I attended the same primary school and I just loved Halima. I was fascinated by her long hair and beauty, plus she was also very intelligent. Her dad was an Airforce officer at the Airforce base, Ikeja. They lived at the officer’s mess. They could be classified as being of the upper class then. But guess what? I was always welcomed in their home. Despite the religious/ class differences, her mom always made me feel at home whenever I visited them. Recently we got talking I said to her “ thanks for making me feel welcomed in your home back then” Of course, there are several of my friends from rich homes that also made me feel loved and accepted at their homes but LimLim’s (as I fondly call her now ) stood out to me considering our differences in tribes and religion. Because sometimes the lack of acceptance of a child’s friend may not only be about wealth, culture and tradition are also determining factors for such rejections.

Please, whatever we do , let’s always remember that people never forget how we make them feel; either good or bad .