I threw my eyes open when the power supply was restored.
Source
I could hear a song from the kitchen as I rose and when I listened carefully, I realized it was a popular worship song.
My mother was singing along, tapping her foot and bending her head from side to side as she did so. I was going to return to my bed when I remembered two things;
One, it was Easter - the commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Two, it was a Sunday morning and I had to prepare for church.
I groaned.
I had barely had any rest the day before as my mother and I were at the market getting foodstuff for the Easter celebration. From the market, I had moved along with her to the salon to have a quick hairdo and then we returned home to cook.
“Treasure,” I heard her call out softly. I went over to the kitchen to join her. “ It's Easter today. Wake your brother up, we're going to have devotion before going to church”
I went over to the room immediately. If there was anything I knew about my mom, it was that she didn't take devotion lightly.
As my brother and I walked over to the kitchen, I could hear that she resumed playing the worship song on her phone.
“So this is an actual song, I've never heard the verses before!” my brother exclaimed after greeting my mom.
“It's an Easter song,” she said smiling.
“And who sang it?” She shrugged.
“I don't remember now. I just know that it has blessed my life in unimaginable ways since the first time I heard it. And that was on an Easter day like today” She headed over to the parlour and we followed suit.
When we joined hands to begin devotion, my mom raised the chorus of that song again.
“Because he lives, I can face tomorrow
Because he lives, all fear is gone
Because I know he holds my future
My life is worth living just because he lives” Because He Lives
“Because Jesus is alive, we have hope” my mother began softly. “He was the one God sent to redeem us from the captivity of the devil and when he died, he died bearing our sins,”
She looked from my face to my brother's to see if we were both following her exhortation.
“You know sometimes I wonder what would have happened if Christ had not gone to the grave and what would equally happen if he did not resurrect”
I hadn't sat to think about all of those things so as she spoke, I turned the words over in my mind. What if Christ had not been resurrected? What would have become of me today?
“This is why Easter is the greatest event in the Christendom and we shouldn't take it lightly.”
Then she began to lead us in prayer.
“I really enjoyed today's devotion, mummy” My younger brother, Flourish, said immediately after we were done. The devotion was short and filled with Thanksgiving.
“Thank God you enjoyed it, today that you were not sleeping” I teased him. We all laughed.
“Both of you, It's Easter. Do you know what that means?” My mother asked us.
“The commemoration of Christ's resurrection?” I offered. She shook her head from side to side, indicating that I was wrong.
“It means there would be rice and chicken for us when we return from church” my younger brother offered. We fell into another round of uncontrollable laughter.
“No. It means that if you don't shower and get prepared for church in a few minutes, then you will not see a vehicle and you will sit outside when you eventually get to church”
My mother was correct. I hurried my brother into the shower and went back to meet my mom putting finishing touches to the food.
“You know that song has never had an impact on me like it has today,” I told her when she began humming the song again.
“The first time I heard this song, I just lost my job in Lagos and I was on a bus. It was an Easter Sunday like today” A faint smile came to her lips. “I bent my head in that bus and cried my heart out without a single prayer. At the end of that week, I got recommended for another job”
I could understand why my mother was severely touched by it now. After a while, I made to leave so I could prepare for church.
“Treasure,” my mom called just as I was leaving the kitchen. I turned to answer her.
“Soew Rose, that's the singer In case you want to download the song”
I smiled and thanked my mother. Searching out the singer on YouTube music and downloading the song immediately.