A VALUABLE LESSON LEARNED
Life is a journey, we meet different people at different times and in different places. Sometimes we get to know the people we meet and suddenly they become part of our lives, other times we get to only have them for a short period of time, but the impact they had on us within those times stays with us for life. There are also some that we wish we had never met because the injuries incurred from knowing them became scars that refused to heal. However, I wouldn't be talking about the scares in this post, I think I have quite a lot of them already lol. Instead, I will be talking about important lessons I have learned so far from some of the people I encountered shortly in life.
When I entered the higher institution, my mum would always ring in my ears the importance of joining a school fellowship early. According to her, it's better to be identified as a church boy (jew man) than a cult boy. But my school had just one fellowship then which I didn't join because it wasn't the kind of fellowship I anticipated. I ended up joining a church outside campus, it was more like a youth church that gave those school fellowship vibes. My parents weren't happy I joined that church for their personal religious reasons, but I insisted it was where I was comfortable.
To date, I'm glad I joined that church as a young teenager who was trying to gain direction in life. Moreso, I'm grateful for being mentored by the pastor of that church who by the way wasn't a very easygoing person despite the fact that he had youthful vibes. One Sunday he ordered me to kneel, raise my hand, and close my eyes at the front of the altar during the service because I didn't invite the given number of people to church. And there were different Sundays when he called me out for tons of praise and rewards. In fact, one of those times, a member of the church gifted him an envelope of money before the start of service. He hadn't opened it before he gifted it to me during the service.
There were several lessons I learned from him, especially how to lead and also follow. He would often listen and call me to his office and we would have very long conversations on how I should be excellent in the things I do. According to him, there's no room for failure, if I must do something I should do it the best way the first time. He was the first person to teach me how to harness my potential, turning it into a weapon that would profit me. Being an introvert, talking to people isn't always my thing, it’s easier to talk to a large congregation than to a single person staring at me in the eye but he taught me how to talk to people without fear of rejection. I owe my popularity in school to the lessons he taught me.
Image by Freepik
One time I was going to church for evangelism and was eating with my friends on the road, when we came back he was waiting for us and asked us a question that I can never forget; “who are you” None of us had answer to the question that day, but today I have the answer to it. He said to us; ”how would it look if you saw the governor walking on the streets anyhow and eating uncomfortably… the way you see yourself is the way the world sees you” ever since then, I have not eaten on the road, neither do I eat and litter the environment. When the news of his transfer came, I knew there was nothing more for me in that church, but I was grateful for every life skill I had acquired. He was a father figure I wish I had.
THIS IS MY RESPONSE TO HIVE LEARNER'S PROMPT FOR WEEK 97 EPISODE 3
Posted Using InLeo Alpha