PLEASE, DO NOT FAINT!
PLEASE, DO NOT FAINT.
On hearing the news that the building he had invested millions of dollars in had collapsed, Mr. Shab fainted. It took the effort of his personal assistant and his driver to get him revived and to the hospital in good time, where he was admitted and put under observation. As soon as Mrs. Shab was contacted she held up all her meetings and immediately rushed to the hospital. When Mr. Shab caught a glimpse of his wife, a smile touched his lips and he sighed in relief. But he was too weak to talk. And he kept drifting in and out of sleep because of the sedatives that had been given to him.
Mrs. Shab called her oldest daughter, told her what had happened and asked her to pack an overnight bag and bring it to the hospital where she intended to spend the night beside her husband. It was a private room at a hospital in the city and arrangements were made for an extra bed to be set up in the room.
Shortly after, Bambi, Mrs. Shab’s daughter, is shown into the room by a nurse. As soon as she sees her father’s helpless frame on the bed she gasps and then stammering, she looks her mother square in the eye and asks: “How bad is this, maami?” Mrs. Shab opens her arms wide and gathers her daughter into a very tight embrace. Then as she lets go, she manages a smile. (Never underestimate the power of a hug, an embrace.) “Bambi,” she begins, “everything will be fine. Your dad will be back on his feet in a short while because he was brought in here before any damage occurred. But you must know that he has just lost a lot of money. He invested quite a bit in that property that recently collapsed.” She grabbed Bambi and covered her mouth just in time before she screamed. “No way, maami! Haaa!” mumbled Bambi “Ssshhhhh” goes Mrs. Shab. “Please do not wake your dad or upset him further.” “Haaaa! maami!, how can you even be calm at a time like this? Why are you always so calm? My wedding is in six months!” And Bambi begins to sob, her face in her hands. “What will we do? Are we cancelling, are we postponing are we calling it off? Haaa!! What am I even saying?” whispers Bambi.
Mrs. Shab takes her daughter by the hand and leads her to sit down on the extra bed and while holding and slowly massaging her daughter’s hand she smiles again and says, “What has happened is a real tragedy, people have died, money has been lost, breadwinners and sources of livelihood are gone for so many.” “And before you say anything, I do not trivialize what your dad has lost but he will be up and about in no time and will make even better yielding investments again.” “But maami”, interjects Bambi, “how can you be so sure of this? How? ” “Word on the street is that a lot of money has gone down the drain. No wonder daddy even fainted”, Bambi sighs as tears begin to roll down her cheeks. She is utterly dejected. Mrs. Shab carries on, “What has happened is enough to send anyone into shock. Your dad is truly blessed. He will get back on his feet.” “Maami, you just keep saying that!” Bambi raises her voice a bit. “Bam” her mum says, “if we all fret and cry and lament it will not change anything. King David said “I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.” (Psalms 27: 13 AMP) “Maami, which king David is that? In the bible? But maami, what does that even have to do with anything?”Mrs. Shab turns her daughter to face her and says, “That was real life too and we are expected to learn from it.” “Bambi, have you not learnt anything from me?”” You have always known my reality to be the bible. There is way too much trouble, hurt and pain in this world to have any other reality.” “If we all faint along with your dad, what next?” “Our condition right now is indeed a desperately, deplorable and hopeless one unless we do as David suggested and believe that we will see Gods goodness here. Even Jesus told us this: “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;” Luke 18: 1 KJV. As long as we can pray we will not lose heart and be discouraged. Join me Bambi and let us pray our family out of this mess. The wedding will hold. You must not faint now but pray the wedding to hold. Your dad will get back up. Even if it takes a while we must not stop praying.
The Shab’s prayed their way out of the calamity and the mess in which they found themselves. It was not easy because there were days when they wanted to give up but they kept praying and did not faint.
In this their day and season of adversity, Mrs. Shab did not faint. Her strength had been built up over the years as she prayed, fasted and studied the word of God. We too can be like Mrs. Shab. As long as we can pray, let us pray and not faint. Let us believe to see the promises of God in this land of the living and let us not faint. And even when things do not happen as we expect them to let us build our strength by studying the bible.
PLEASE DO NOT FAINT.
OLUYINKA EGO-MARTINS©