JUST ONE GET-TAA-WAY

 

I was thinking this morning.... With a bonus holiday given to us last Thursday, I decided to go out for an evening fitness walk. As I did, I observed young men and women hanging out just by my estate reminding me of my late teenage years.

It was the year 1988, and I had returned home for my end of semester break. Feeling like university big boys, my brothers and our friends would meet up to hang out in the neighbourhood every evening. Occasionally, we would challenge ourselves to approach and chat up with any young lady who caught our fancy. There were these two beautiful Igbo girls living adjacent to our compound. Their brother, a Yankee returnee, had a Lamborghini Pontiac, making the girls believe all young men in the neighbourhood were beneath them.

The few times the girls would come out to take a walk, we would observe them from a distance desiring to be their friend. We were generally good boys learning to fish is calm waters. Amongst us, I had the least courage and with near-zero interest in girls. One day, after much hyping and encouragement, I agreed to the prodding of the boys to approach the sisters. As I got close to them, with fear paralysing me, I said, 'Hello! Can I talk to you?' The younger of the girls looked at me and with a very stern tone and rich Igbo accent, she barked 'get-taa-way.'

I froze where I stood and didn't know what to do. My friends laughed out loud, worsening my predicament. That instant, it was like my brain switched to reset mode, and I learnt lessons I would never have learnt in the university. I learnt that there is a time and season for everything. Just one 'get-taa-way' made me realise that it was time to study and get a degree and not be interested in girls.

Sometimes, to make progress, we must unlearn certain things and remove clutters and distractions from our lives. We all need a 'get-taa-way' (a rebuke) to keep us focused. Just one embarrassing get-taa-way can save you a lifetime of regrets. If, like me, you've been stirred up to make the wrong move, one get-taa-way is all you need. Do not despise rebuke or chastisement, it could be what you need to reset your brain (Hebrews 12:5).

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy Sunday!

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey