MESSAGE FROM AN ELDER

Good day everyone. After taking a long break from writing and coming back, writing two posts back to back, this being my third, it felt good within my spirit to reconnect with my bloggers again. As I mentioned before, this year 2016 found me in another phase of my life, and this one felt as if I had been flung into the deepest part of the ocean, whereas before, with all my other experiences, it was the deepest part of the pool. I struggled and fought against the current of the water to come up for air, and for some reason, within the depths of my spirit, even though all is not well, I believe all is well. For now, I’m floating on top of the water. I have not seen the rescue ship, but I feel it coming. Where I was plunged in the depths of the ocean, where there was darkness and void, now that I am on top of the ocean, I can see the sun and it is bright. There is a quote that says “hope springs eternal,” and yes it does…

Several weeks ago, while visiting a particular town here in Nigeria, I had the opportunity to meet a prophet by happenstance. I met him along with a friend of mine who went purposely to visit him at his church. I had not gone into a church for a very long time, and as I stepped in, although it was just three of us at the time (church session had already ended), I felt like a multitude of people enveloped me into their arms and said “welcome Obara…”

For a moment, which was brief, my eyes became misty, because as I looked at the church and it’s set up, it reminded me of the days of when I was involved with Zion/Revival. This church is what is referred to here in Nigeria, as Cherubim and Seraphim Church or White Garment Church. All members wear white with waists banded with white cloth (or some with other colors), and bare feet. As I entered the church, my head was bare, so I was quickly given a white cloth to cover my head. I smiled inside, remembering when I did the same to people who would visit my Zion/Church years ago. Covering your head in these kinds of church is a show of respect.

As we sat down and I was introduced to the prophet, there was a feeling that rose inside of me that I can not even yet describe, for as I looked at the prophet I saw all the prophets of the bible within this one man. He did not look ordinary. He was tall, possibly 6’0″, extremely dark in complexion, the kind of black that when you look upon it you see beauty. His hair was white as snowflakes, and his eyes were silver that seemed to pierce through you. He had a mouthful of white teeth and when he smiled, it brightened the whole place, perhaps this was my imagination, but I figure if one should see this man coming in the dark of night, looking as how I describe, and dressed in all white as he did, one would believe this might be Jesus. He’s that extraordinary in his looks.

I am experienced enough to realize that perhaps because of his gift and who he was as the prophet of the town, all that he impacted within his spirit as a spiritualist radiated outward magnificently. He did not seem as he belonged in this world and for a moment I became fascinated with him. But I said nothing.

His command of English was not too much, but he could speak Pidgin-English (“broken” English). My friend who had known this man for a very long time and had told me of extraordinary things that he had performed, began a conversation with him, to which they eventually included me. All the while he spoke, even when speaking to my friend, his eyes never left me at all. It was as if we had met before in a world that was different from this one, and we were both trying to place where we had met. Without saying anything, him or I, we knew that we were comrades, colleagues, or bredrins from another place within time and space.

He asked me, “where are you from?” And I told him that I was Jamaican, but I live in America, and of course as with any Jamaican referring to Jamaica, his response was, ‘Okayyyy, Bob Marley.” We all laughed.

He then told me to get up and sit back down. I did as he said, understanding why he told me to do so. His spirit was searching my own. There was something about me that he didn’t yet grasp, and I knew that it was all those who walked with me that he saw. He then said in Pidgin, “you dey come from same line as me.” He smiled (lighting up the room) and I smiled in return, shyly holding my head down. I did not go to this person for prophecy, I just followed my friend who happened to be in his town and decided to stop and greet him. But immediately, this elder connected with me.

Now people let me explain what this post is about and why I am writing this. Every step that we take in our lives is ordered by our destiny, which has been written. There are no coincidences in life. At times when you meet people, go through an experience, find yourself in certain situations, good or bad, all of this has been encoded into your life path, unbeknownst to you. Look at everyone that you meet and first ask yourself, why did I meet this person? What is it that this person brought into my life? Be observant at all times. Be present in your life because every individual, from the youngest to the oldest, has something to teach you, has something to impart, that perhaps can take you to the next phase of your life.

As I sat in that church, in front of this extraordinary looking man, I was brought back to the times when life was rough and I and my children were all on our own, and it was Zion/Revival that I ran to (jump Poco, fasted and prayed) to rise me out of the situation that had taken me at that time. It felt as if I had come back full circle, and that it wasn’t by happenstance that I sat before this man, because all of a sudden he stood up. He told me to get up and he removed his rope from his waist, put it around my own waist, used it and pulled me to him, face to face. He tied the rope at his back with me attached to him, while he began a very powerful prayer in Yoruba language over my head.

As he did so, I felt a wave of comfort within me that I had not felt for a very long time. Since this year, I had been a victim of malevolent forces attacking me. This is not something that is new to my life, one cannot be who I am and not have gone or go through these things, because people who I look after, or people who are my clients or students, whatever challenges they face, because I am seen as their protector, those challenges will also face me.

As the man prayed for me, he then released me and told me that God in heaven was pleased with my work here on earth. He told me that there is nothing that I am guilty of and that no weapon that has been formed against me or my children will ever prosper. As I said before, I believe I was directed to where I went that day and to meet this special person. There is nothing that happened that day that I left out of this post, but as simple as it seemed, it was what sparked me or possibly gave me the lift to begin writing again.

Who does not want to know that God is pleased with them?

I know what he spoke was the truth and I believe my ori (head) lead me to him for that message. He will never know that I have written about him, he will never know that I have introduced him to the world through this blog, but his spirit will know, and I thank him for the message that he gave me.

People, always, as I said before be present in your life. Listen well to people who speak to you or if you find yourself in unfamiliar circumstances, be calm and see what is there within that situation that belongs to you and hold it, pray on it, and ask God for the wisdom to understand it.

This is my message to you today.

Obara Meji

Ohun tó kọjú sí ẹnìkan, ẹ̀hìn ló kọ sí ẹlòmíràn, bí ìlù gángan. /
What faces someone, backs another, like the talking drum. …..Yoruba Proverb!

[Act wisely; don’t sacrifice the future for the present]

Ibi tí à ńlọ là ńwò, a kìí wo ibi táa ti ṣubú. /
One ought to focus on where one is going, not where one had fallen……Yoruba Proverb!