Shalom stories

As women, we are bound to love in a manner that finds our lives on the edge, our backs against the wall. A young woman of love, peace, once lived, once saw all that the world could offer. She walked tall and firm with boldness and her shoulders up, walked with pride, revealing the feeling of being a virgin to her innermost. Everyone knew her for the fierce beauty that lay on her face, the love that ran deep into her heart.

Some of the reasons why people stop going to church I was told by many people that they stopped going to church because people at church hurt them at some point, so they left church all together. That’s why God tells us not to put our trust in man. I also have people who tell me that they don’t tithe and give offerings because the money will be used to buy pastors' expensive cars and suits, so they don’t want to make them "richer" than they are. According to them, the pastors are already stealing from the congregations, so they say they are too smart to be duped like that. But wait, are you giving or tithing to obey a man or God? Moving on... No, let’s park here for a flash. When you choose to buy a dress and it comes to your attention that your dress lady is duping you when it comes to the price and quality of the dresses she sells, do you stop wearing clothes all together or do you look for another dress?   Guard your heart with all diligence, because out of it ...

I was at the hospital today where I met an amazing nurse, Lorna. She and I have become good friends due to my now frequent visits to the hospital. Of all the nurses I have met and interacted with all my life (I think there are five of them), she tops the list. As we were chatting, I listened to her talk to me about her job, especially with the ongoing doctors’ strike, and I couldn’t help but admire her love for people. Sick people, I might add; she calls them her patients, and she went on and on about how she treats them, cleans them and nurses them completely until they are back. As soon as she said that, a sigh of relief washed over me because I knew she would take care of me, so I let her. When I got home, I was just drained. It’s been one hard month for me. Before it all started, I remember having this dread of hospitals, and I kept praying and asking God to not let me end up in a hospital for whatever reason. The more I prayed about it, the more the fear intensified. One time, on ...

I am not much of a tetchy or geeky chic, but I know a thing or two about computers. Take Microsoft Word, for example. I know that I can copy and paste stuff I don’t feel like writing all over again. I know I can cut stuff I don’t like in a document I’m working on. I also know that if I don’t like some new applications that I installed or get bored with them over time, I can restore everything back to its default settings by uninstalling them and get rid of them.

A few weeks ago, I had a not so "saved" moment. Someone pissed me off, and I was ready to cuss them out. I kept talking about the things about this person that irked me and went on and on and on about how unfair the person was. In my eyes, I was a saint who was justified in feeling what she felt and speaking the way she did. Instead of having peace and a lot of contentment for "speaking my mind," my heart was deeply heavy. I ignored the heaviness and continued to be nasty about the whole situation and continued to shift blame and that’s when I realized that the Pharisee in me was still alive and well. Fast track to the current situation... We go to church on Sundays or on any other day and speak in hushed tones as we ask why people in that church are not getting saved. We wonder why so and so is still not married, why the lead worshiper had to wear that dress with those shoes. Our greetings have turned to "praise the Lord, have you heard mama Nani was sent away...

Someone once said that if you want to know if a girl is really hurt, she is going to be silent and will outright ignore you. She will stop asking questions and will just leave you alone. You are not necessarily dead to her, though in some cases, you may be, but she will no longer make an effort to reach out to you.

Have you noticed those billboards that have questions like, “Is your life where you want it to be? Have you accomplished what you thought you would bring about or wished to have obtained by this time, this year?” I had these questions today, and I carried out that no, my life is not where I want it to be. No, I have not achieved what I wanted to have achieved by this point this year. I mean, I am still struggling with things I was meant to do in January, so I think asking me about achieving my January to October plans is pushing it... just saying. Do I get frustrated at times when things do not go my way? Yes, 100% Do I feel pressured by everyone’s expectations of me? You have no idea. I just smile, but in my head I am screaming, “Leave me alone.” I never thought I would see the day when suddenly almost everyone would be interested in finding out when I would get married and to whom. I meet my parents’ friends and most of them are like, “yes, call us now, we are ready.” Some touch my a...