Greetings!
A month ago, we woke up to the sad news of the death of a very committed member of our church. It was heartbreaking because the man was in his 50s, still considered youthful, with young children. Although I wasn’t very close to him, I knew him well. He was always active in church and happened to be my brother's boss at the office, where my brother works whenever he’s free. The man used to come to my house often to look for my brother, and since we knew each other from church, we would chat and exchange pleasantries. By the way, my brother doesn't attend the same church as us; he fellowships in another church outside the city. So when the news of his death came, I felt deeply for my brother because his boss was gone.
Last week Saturday was the burial ceremony, and since he was still a youth, as culture demands, the burial ground wasn’t a place for celebration but for mourning. I wasn’t able to attend the burial, but it was inevitable for my brother. So, around 11:00 a.m., he(my brother) dressed in a black outfit and told me he was going for the burial. I wished him well, and he left.
Not even two hours later, I saw him coming down from a bike.
"Is the burial over?" I asked, surprised, as I hadn’t expected him to return so quickly. I thought he would stay longer with his colleagues at the ceremony, helping out.
"Yes, there was no delay," he replied and walked past me into the house.
"It's well," was all I could say as I felt a wave of grief.
About 30 minutes later, my brother came out of the house with his bag and said he was leaving for church. As I mentioned earlier, he fellowships in a church outside the city and usually travels there on Saturday, a day before Sunday services.
When he left, and I was done working, I returned to the house and found a plastic bottle of Coca-Cola, a biscuit, and some groundnuts tied in a nylon bag.
That was the refreshment he had been served at the burial, but he didn’t feel like eating it, so he left it for me. I was starving, so I wanted to dive right in, but then I paused, thinking about the fact that this food came from a very sad burial event....of a man I knew
"But there’s no crime in eating this," I reasoned with myself. I picked it up, but my conscience started battling with conflicting thoughts. I just stood there, waiting for my mind to settle. Before I knew it, I had opened the Coca-Cola and taken a gulp—a clear sign that my conscience had come to a conclusion. So, I went ahead and ate everything without further hesitation.
May the soul of the departed rest in peace. Amen.
If it were to be you, would you have taken the drink, biscuit and groundnut??
Thanks for reading.
Photo used is mine