When Life Knocks You Down

1. Survived on 25k Ugandan shillings for the whole month. 

2. Food ran out. For nearly two weeks, just on soup and a cup of black tea daily. All I had was sugar and g.nuts. 

3. I told myself that Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. And he did not die. All I needed was to get through two weeks until pay day. At least I had gas, g.nuts to make soup and sugar for black tea. And I had water. I wouldn’t die. My situation wasn’t so alarming looking at it from that angle. 

(Written on July 30, 2022).

I was looking for a story to edit for my blog when I landed on the above sketch, which I wrote a year ago about what I was going through. 

Reading it made me stop and ponder for a minute. Life was really cumbersome at that time. 

A few days ago was Thanksgiving Day in America; so landing on that sketch, I decided to write about gratitude. The only issue was that the above sketch was too deep. I didn’t want to be that vulnerable, and bear my soul to the public. Therefore I decided that I would spice it all up, use a casual approach and give a general overview by barely scratching the surface. 

However, as I started writing tonight, I remembered why I started this blog in the first place: I wanted to be real and vulnerable with my readers. And for this very reason, I chose to be anonymous from the very beginning. This way, I could share honestly about my real life experiences, without fear of being judged. 

So just like that, I refused to edit the sketch and posted it as it is. How was 25,000 Ugandan shillings enough for a month? Surely if anyone has a reason to be grateful this year, then it should be me. I am so grateful to God that I can now afford to have anything that I want. God has blessed me with the resources to live the kind of life I have always dreamt of. 

What do I want you to take home from this? Two things. First, no matter how hard your life is, never stop believing. Have faith that all will change for the better. It could be in a week, a few months, _or a year like me; but always trust in God’s perfect timing. When the time is right, God will make it happen. (Isaiah 60:22)

Lastly, never forget your past. I usually write down these things so that I never forget. I want to always remember that all I have is because of God and that without Him, I am nothing. 

Looking back at the hard times in my life helps me to be full of gratitude and praise to The Lord my God. 

Conclusively, it keeps me humble. True, I can have more, but I could also have less. God doesn’t owe me anything. Therefore, humility is key. Because the more we get, the greater the temptation to act like mini-gods. 

May I never forget where I came from, even when my bank account starts overflowing with money.

The End!

Write to the editor: echoesovercoffee@gmail.com