My Promo-Mentors Writing Challenge

sibiya (36)in #promomentors-challenge • 7 years ago (edited)

Dear friends, I'm only two weeks old on this platform and I'd like to acquaint you with my entry into @futurethinker's writing challenge. I'm really excited to be doing this; many thanks to you @futurethinker and @promo-mentors for this one!

"Love is the River of God. It carries all living things upon it compassion and perfection. It shows itself everyday, but how many of us know it to be so? Consider the following riddle."

If you were to teach a fish, a duck, a rattlesnake about water, which would find the concept most difficult?

Most people would hurriedly say the rattlesnake because it uses water the least. However, the fish has the hardest time understanding the concept of water. Why do you suppose? Yes, because it lives within the water itself. The fish is completely immersed in the very environment of which one is trying to make it aware.

The duck, on the other hand, has the most experience with the variety of water. It lives in two worlds, in water and out of it. The duck meets creatures that live only in the water, only on land, and both in water and on land. It swims on water, letting it make a comparison of the above and below.

From the air, it can see the tracings of the wind upon the lake. Also, it knows the look of rainfall upon a mirror surface, and the return and sending of the sun’s golden sheen. The duck, in short, has a broad range of experience with water. So the duck would catch the concept of water faster than either the rattlesnake or the fish.

Life also offers a broad approach so each and every one of us, just like the duck may see and experience life’s many sides. An experience I had three years ago is the dearest and touching story my heart finds memorable and unforgettable! It may give you valuable insights on compassion, love and forgiveness or on life day by day.

HOT TEA

Sometimes around may, 2015 in Johannesburg, a friend of mine had just rounded up her university education. The family invited me over for a get-together in a restaurant. On getting to the restaurant, the waitress asked if we wanted foods and drinks, everyone got their orders but I decided on a glass of ice water in place of a drink (little did I know it was going to be helpful later on: read on). We enjoyed the meal cooked at the table.

Later, we all requested for tea. The waitress brought a tray with six cups of hot tea for the party. Suddenly, She tripped. The scalding tea splashed on my back. Screaming in pain, I jumped forward. My green silk dress offered little protection. My friend’s sister Bathabile, seated beside me, seized the glass of ice water and threw it on my back trying to neutralize the hotness.

"The scene passed in slow motion for me. The shocked waitress stood, transfixed in time, a look of horror frozen on her face. The waitress’s heart ached for me."

And my heart ached for the waitress too.

I assured her I was OK, not wanting her to feel bad or worry about losing her job even though I was really feeling pain inside of me. The young woman accompanied me to the washroom, crying for the pain she’d caused. My heart opened wide to her.

A quick check at the nearby clinic revealed only minor burns. The instinctive action of my Bathabile had kept the hot tea from doing serious damage. Many people said, “Sue her!” but I rejected the advice, because I saw the accident wasn’t intentional and love in the face of the kind waitress.

The restaurant sent free meal tickets. It also enclosed waiver forms, freeing it of liability. Without a second’s hesitation, I signed and returned the papers.

A year later, on the 2nd of August, 2016 I went back to the restaurant again. A cook remembered me. “Aren’t you the lady who had the hot tea poured down your back?” the cook remarked how amazed the staff had been about how well I took the accident. I was in awe. I was humbled and surprised they could remember me.

The first instinct many people have today in the face of a real or imagined injury is to file a lawsuit. It may be necessary to protect one’s own property, but as often soon is the case, a lawsuit is an excuse to steal another property even though they may clearly be at fault. Why is it so? Could it be that love is missing in the society?

"I believe Love is the why behind a miraculous healing a gift of protection from danger, or a gift of communication with loved ones who are dying or having passed on. Love is a healer; the teacher; the helper; the friend; and yes, the lover of Soul. God’s River of love makes its appearance in everyday life, as in my hot-tea story above. Yet it shows up in a multitude of other forms."