With Love from Abeokuta

I first visited Abeokuta in my much younger years, 1989 or so. It was a family vacation with my siblings, cousins, an uncle and an aunty. Aunty Yewande took us for this trip. We went via Lagos from Port Harcourt, it was a trip I would not forget in years. There was the fun part, the part of being spoiled and the tears.

I recall eating garden eggs from Maami – my Yoruba Grandma’s garden, playing with her scrabble the wrong way, climbing or rather being carried up Olumo rock and I sure remember how she begged Aunty Yewande to let me off eating Eko. That was one of my traumatic growing up episodes. Somewhere in my head, I had wrongly believed that moimoi and Eko tasted just the same way. It was to my horror that my taste buds screamed differently. I decided that I would not eat Eko.

That’s when my ordeal began, Aunty decided otherwise, so while I cried and Maami begged, the others finished their dinner, went off to brush their teeth, have devotion and I, I was looking at the Eko through tears.
I don’t know which prevailed, though I greatly suspect it was Maami’s plea for me. The Eko did not get eaten by me, I got to leave the dining table.

Three years ago, I went back to Abeokuta to celebrate Maami’s 90th birthday, everything was just as I remembered. Elated doesn’t quite express my feelings. It was good to be there. Over years I had grown used to seeing Maami when she came to visit us, her Port Harcourt family and speaking with her over the phone every now and then. Being back in Abeokuta for a few days was a joyful surprise.

Last month I went back to Abeokuta to say goodbye to Maami, a couple of weeks shy of her 93rd birthday she passed. It hurt, somewhere in my head, I had thought she would be around for a long time. Reality has said otherwise. My first thought when I heard the news was no more calls from Maami on 10th September. There would be no reminder from her of whose I am, no prayer from her, it hurt.

The house is still as it was in my younger days, the flowers still drape the fence, cream is still the colours of the walls. It does seem smaller though but then at thirty-five it would be.

Part of my smile memories come from Abeokuta, it was one of my first trips within Nigeria that I recall vividly. From Abeokuta love was sure, that’s why we have Grandmas.

© 12th September 2018

The Standard: It Can Be Seen

Now when they saw… and perceived… they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. Acts 4:13

Sometimes I notice immediately I begin to pick up mannerisms from people. Other times it hits me after someone point it out how I now sound like so and so. Funny, in some cases I would note that I have been around them a couple of hours.

The words iron sharpenth iron and a companion of the wise, take on flesh in me. I am who I associate with in every sphere of life. I realise that truly what goes on earth is but a dim shadow of the spiritual.

I know as I continually look unto God and into His perfect word, my countenance changes and eventually I would be just as He is. Moses face glowed after 40 days and nights with Him.

In all, who we are, is refined or roughened by our associations. The very first Christians were so titled not because of who they had always been, but due who they had become. Who they had become from associating with God in biblical parlance: abiding in Him

If we say we are Christ like, what does the world see in us? Do they see His boldness? Do they see His compassion? Do they see His singleness of mind? Do our life style and choices cause men to take knowledge that we are with Jesus?
God’s standard has not changed, nor will it ever change. For by our fruits we shall be known. So let’s abide in His Word, in the place of prayer, of fasting and surrender. Not chiefly that man may see no! But that He may be glorified and exalted.

That we may live as true sons of our Father ‘Abba’

© 30th September, 2014

Relationships: place of knowing

A phone rang.
Heeled foot steps hurried from one end of the office to another.
Then came the mutter: why are our phones sounding alike? And I thought no, sit your butt down on your seat and the phones would not sound alike.

There is a knowing which comes from relationships which takes away every bit of similarity. In that place of familiarity you never mistaken one for another. You simply know. Though there might be similar traits, you always know how to discern that who you are familiar with from all others.

Thus, a saying which goes – there are truly no identical twins save to those who don’t know them. So it is with hearing God’s voice and being able to distinguish it from every other voice speaking. In the place of fellowship we get to God to the point where His voice would not be mistaken for another’s. Nor would another’s be mistaken for His.

Then again how my mind wanders from daily occurrence to the things that guide me. So now I remind myself – to know and know lies solely in the place of relationships and fellowship.

© 22 April , 2014.

Respect

Recently in my Bible School, my class ran into the sin of disrespect to our teacher. At the end of the misadventure both parties were sober. Truly I never really got round to understanding what action did constitute the disrespectful behaviour, but I did know somehow we had sinned.

I  mused over it and did pray about it, asking for God’s help and tutelage on the concept of respect. Over the years I had demanded of my friends that though they may not like each other (since I was the connecting factor) they must respect each other even if it killed them, I searched my mind for the authority by which I had thus demanded and couldn’t come up with an. One thing was certain it made for a better working relationship.

Stumbling over 1 Peter 2:17 was quite a joy and wonder to me. Joy because it was scriptural, and I had worked on it all these while and wonder because I have read the passage so many a time and had never truly seen it.

I did get round to apologising for being disrespectful to my teacher to God, and to forging a good teacher – student relationship (by being respectful always), while resolving not to be disrespectful to anyone –older or younger than me irrespective of if I liked them or not, understand them or not.

For my mother usually said as I grew up: ‘respect is a two way thing – you can disrespect a younger person, just as you can disrespect an older person’. Respect to all men is one of the numerous revealed wills in the Bible.

Respect everyone, and love your Christian brothers and sisters, Fear God and respect the king. 1 Peter 2:17

© Itse Tosan 19th January 2012

Choosing My Priorities

In the midst of making my 24hours work always to the maximum: meeting deadlines, eating when I will, getting some bit of rest least my body breaks down, I’ve come to realize it is soo easy to lose sight of those things that really matter: relationships. Of all the treasures I’ve been blessed with, none compares with the people in my life. Family: nuclear and extended, friends, colleagues etc.

Then I realised that if am to treat my relationships the way the pull and pressures of time for other activities demands, I might wake up one day to wonder who the strangers around me are. To give them their right position in my life, demands just as much time and deliberate choosing on my part. It means me choosing to place my priorities in the right order on a daily basis.

The same principle applies to the way we relate with God, have we been able to place Him in the right position amongst our priorities? It is easy to say He is number 1 in our lives. Just as it is easy to say we love our family and friends. Do our actions align with these words we find easy to say (In my world, amongst the people I live and interact with this is a general thing, I know there are exceptional cases where people do not have God as their first, nor love their family or friends!)

I def do not want to fall into the group of people who never have time ( I usually sheepishly retort in my head…we all have the same amount of time daily, only those who die before the days up don’t)…so I must work, really work. We have been enjoined to seek the kingdom of God first and His righteousness. To seek those things entails we know the person at the centre of it all: God.

The word seek is an active word. It is a deliberate action. Same for maintained my priorities as i say they are ordered. So you are all welcome to join me do same.

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need. Matthew 6:33 (NLT)

Unpublished work of Itsetosan 15th August, 2011