Treasure Chest
I cried through Eyza Anga’s Service of Songs and the Funeral Service not to mention the number of times I cried when I heard of her passing, but something phenomenal happened to me as I sat there listening to people speak about the quality of life she lived.
It is amazing because I had heard so much about her and her sisters before I eventually met them and the day I eventually did, there was something about her that even from a distance made me admire and want to be like her. It finally clicked when I heard people talk about the life she lived and poured out on everyone she came across.
One of the tributes particularly caught my attention. The woman said Eyza had sent her a message thanking her for always being there for them since they were little girls as not everyone could keep up and for no fault of theirs because life is happening to everyone.
Wow! It clicked again.
It is clear that a lot of times, we hold onto things and refuse to let go because of unhealthy expectations.
He shouldn’t have done that to me. She shouldn’t have said that to me. They shouldn’t have abandoned me… then one day becomes one month, one month becomes one year, and what once was a loving friendship becomes outdated.
Expectations.
Eyza’s favorite scripture was/is Romans 12:18 (NIV), “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
Again, something clicked.
It reminded me of Proverbs 17:9 (NLT) which says, “Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.”
Not sure who or what hurt you. You probably do not even talk about it. Many people look like they have it all together on the outside, but they have inside them buried treasure chests that should be filled with treasures, instead, you will find hurt, pain, anger, rage and dashed hopes in there; but there is such a freedom, light, life and rejuvenation that comes when you let go and walk in love. We lose so much and hurt ourselves when we refuse to forgive, and when we refuse to let go. It goes as far as to blind our perspectives and the way we see life. Yes my darling, it is that deep.
Well, I have decided to take the high road as our darling Eyza did. I have decided to:
Love Loud. Be authentic. Forgive. Let Go. Trust God. Not Man.
Stop being entitled to life and time.
Be grateful for every day, every talent, opportunity, and every relationship I have.
Fear God, run from evil.
We need to remember that we will give account for the life we spend on this side of eternity. You should too.
Someone said that when you procrastinate, it is like telling the Author of time that you deserve another shot at life to do the things that you can do today, tomorrow.
Stop wasting moments. Stop leaving words unsaid and deeds undone.
Only God knows tomorrow, and as much as we believe for long life, no matter how long you live, the earth is not permanent.
So forgive now.
Start living your dreams now because even the life we have now is a gift, not an entitlement.
Call your folks, hang out with your siblings and your friends now.
At the end of the day, that grudge you are holding onto is just that — a grudge. It is inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. Give people their flowers while they are still here.
Ask yourself this question, “in a year from now, will the decision I want to make to stay unforgiving matter?” If it will not, please jump and pass. We need to learn to move past negative experiences quickly and genuinely. If we did not have the power to, I would not have asked it of us.
Let go and stop carrying dead weight around.
We always heard the words ‘live with eternity in view’ when we were growing up and there is no better time to do that than now.
You see this thing called offense, run from it. Refuse to toy with it. It takes from you more than you are willing to let go of, just like sin.
What are you waiting for? Pick up your phone and start dialing…
Take that treasure chest that is supposed to be filled with treasures, and start unpacking the hurt, pain, anger, and rage. You will cry, and you will remember, it will be a painful process. God whispered to my heart one time I was trying to be all macho about an extremely painful experience, “Vanessa, the thing about hurt is that you cannot simply go around it, you have to go through it to heal truly, but when I heal, I heal completely”.
Allow Him to heal you. It all starts with you.
Revamp your treasure chest because I want you to glow truly and to get rid of all that dead weight. Like Hebrews 12:1 says, Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.
Let us keep our eyes on Jesus always remembering that we are running a race and that dead weight will slow us down. So, get rid of that weight and run!
On your marks!
Get set!!
Go!!!
~ Vanessa Iyang
……………………….
Where are our Bible scholars? It seems our previous TRIVIA still sits without a winner!
