THE PERMISSIBLE DIMENSION OF STORMS.
The choice of this topic came to my mind as I was reflecting on some struggles of the past years. I realized how long I have pushed, the storms I have sailed through, and the challenges I have endured. While I recalled these, I was reminded that life is not in constant euphoria and that storms are needed for us to grow and appreciate life more. In my storms, I learned many lessons that I will forever treasure.
RoyalQuest Schools was not only established amidst a very turbulent period of my life, it experienced many storms at the beginning that made me doubt God’s will in its founding. I reminisce on these storms with nostalgia, and they are today, my greatest strength and biggest reference points when making significant choices in life.
After all the labour of erecting the one-story building of the school, after all the financial, psychological, emotional, and physical exhaustion, the last thing I expected was to hear that the building was affected by an explosion barely 6 months after. To imagine that a newly built house went down in 6 months was a different taste of pain. The roof, the doors and windows, the fences, the whole interiors, the burglary-proof, the ceilings, the furniture, and everything, except the skeletal frame of the building, were all in ruins. I never imagined this level of loss in my entire life. It was an experience that tested my faith, my patience, my strength, and my conviction, but not my confidence in God. I questioned a lot of things, but never a day did I doubt the divine mandate under which the school was instituted.
It happened on a Sunday morning. After hearing the devastating news and seeing some of the pictures of the ruins, I still went to church. I worshipped God like never before, participated in a bible quiz, and for the first time, I won a bible. That bible was so symbolic to me and it gave me the nudge and strength I needed to adjust my sail. I made some inscriptions of faith on it. How I didn’t cry or lament or lose sleep throughout this storm is still a wonder today. I kept reminding myself that before this building, I was living, and I could still live without it. The saying that, it is only death that has no solution, even though it’s an overused phrase, seemed so fitting to my thoughts and disposition.
I got back from church and saw the full videos of the explosion. Oh my God, the entire community was in shambles. The fire was still burning and the sky was saturated with black smoke. Dead bodies were carried from different corners of the area, and many buildings had literally vanished, including two schools in our estate. The tragedy was terrible!. I thought of such happening on a school day and my heart sank. I thought of the dead and the injured. I saw my blue school building standing out like nothing happened. My heart switched from grieve to gratitude and I immediately lifted my anchor of denial and got ready to sail forward.
That experience was a major storm battling my sail so I chose to polish my sailing skills and push forward, even when fear jolts. Roy T. Bennett was right when he said, “Some things can not be taught, they must be experienced. You never learn the most valuable lessons in life until you go through your journey. ” I experienced it, I learned from it and I have decided to share it and inspire someone.
This happened in March 2020. A few days later, the lockdown was announced. The renovations started during the period of the lockdown. Even though I was away and with all the restrictions of the lockdown, the building was completed before the lockdown was eased, and we resumed with other schools when school reopened. The way it happened is still a mystery to me.
Today, I ask myself, what if I gave up after this explosion? Could I have said it was God’s will for the school to close down? What happens to the hopes and aspirations? What of RoyalQuest pupils especially those presently under the scholarship scheme? And my blog page, the blog posts, and the books I published would all have been aborted. Is that how my children’s ministry would have been short-lived? All the experience I’ve gathered, the contacts, the exposure, the growth, and the joy I’ve experienced so far in that little space would all have been cut short and the school’s vision would have died a natural death.
Of all the lessons I learned in that experience, the greatest of them is the power of resilience in enduring pain until it becomes a gain and never to yield to the overwhelming might of storms. Above all, our definition of trust in God is relative to the type of storm endured and to whom more storm is given by God, more trust is expected.
I hope this story motivates someone, to understand the importance of storms, to permit it, feel it, endure it, risk it, sail through it, hold on to the passion that necessitated it and make the most use of it. Live life and fulfil your destiny, despite the obstructions on the way. Be glad you went through them, it’s more fulfilling than wishing you never tried.
May I remind every child and young adult that there are no shortcuts to success or living a dream or a goal. In the journey of life, you must pass through unpleasant and unexpected experiences and feel some painful moments. There is a lesson that only pain and failure can teach. Live to learn from your scars and learn to live with it. Nobody is immune to pain, but the permissible dimension of it and the need to come back better and happier is the message of this essay.
โ๏ธ Amala Ann Unachukwu
