BODA FEMI

 

 

BODA FEMI

Growing up, we had a few kinspersons stay with us. One of them was a paternal cousin, *Boda Femi, who used to come around everytime he was not on campus. He was at the polytechnic then. He had a lot of correspondence Bible courses he was taking in those days. He was always receiving mails for them. Usually, the packages came not only with materials he needed to read to pass the tests, but some extra Christian books and booklets too. It was in one of those materials that I read about how several years back in a certain country that I cannot remember its name, because it was forbidden to have the Bible in your possession, a woman plastered bread dough around her copy and baked it to hide it from authorities that came to check her house. I remember a birthday gift he gave my older sister too. It was the book, ‘The Great Controversy.’

We were obviously fond of Boda Femi and somehow we knew he loved the Lord (he still does). We were also fascinated by his Bible courses and he was just too glad to introduce us to them. We in turn introduced the course to our landlord’s children who were in the same age range with us. Lamp and Light and World Bible School were some of the courses. I was ten or eleven when I started Lamp and Light against the publishers’ rule to not touch the programme if you were under sixteen. But I couldn’t wait till I was sixteen, and the rest of us too, I was so hungry for the Word. I suppose they made the rule like that because they thought a child below sixteen may not understand the course content. But I bet I did, I always paid all the attention in the world to read through my materials and the accompanying Scriptures before taking the tests.

Looking back now, I remember I used to experience the enveloping presence of God anytime I was studying for my tests. I didn’t know it was called God’s presence then, but I knew it was something supercool, something beyond the natural, something from God. Years later, I didn’t have peace about my claiming to be old enough to take the course and I wrote them a letter to apologise. I hope the rule has changed now because it is not all U-16 children that cannot understand spiritual matters. World Bible School course and others did not have such restrictions.

I enjoyed taking those courses and the truth is they were part of the building blocks of my foundation in Christ.

Like I pointed earlier, we were fond of Boda Femi, we loved him and really respected him (we still do, though time and distance have separated us now), we were sometimes naughty to him too. The naughty we here were my younger sister, my younger brother and myself. For example, he was speaking 'too much' English one day, maybe because we angered him or something, I can’t remember, so I quickly made up a *senwele song for him which my younger siblings backed up. We sang, danced and laughed while he shook his head for us:

Call: Boda oloyinbo de

Response: Boda oloyinbo de

Call: O fe foyinbo fo wa lori

Response: O fe foyinbo fo wa lori

All: Nigba to wa n soyinbo nko o

Wa kawa naa loyinbo

Translation

Call: English speaking brother has come

Response: English speaking brother has come

Call: He wants to use English to scatter our heads

Response: He wants to use English to scatter our heads

All: And so what, you are speaking English?

Teach us to speak English too!

And he gave me two nicknames that I didn’t like then. He would call me ‘philosopher’ each time I made my knowing comments and ‘questionnaire’ when I asked him questions. Yes, I was really a questionnaire and I dare to say I am still one. I got that from my day. My dad could ask questions!

This cousin of ours influenced us without him knowing. If only he knew God sent him to our house to be a spur for us children to seek the Lord and not give up at a time when there was little or no encouragement from home to know and love the Lord.

Boda Femi Wuyi Akinlade, today, I have chosen to call you out publicly and celebrate you. Thank you for giving to the Lord. Thank you for being an example of a child of God to us. We were quite young, but you touched us so much without even knowing. Thank you so much. May you be found in the Lord our Father till the end. The Lord will strategically position people that will positively influence your children around them too. He will teach them by Himself.

*Boda is the Yorubalised version of ‘brother’

*Senwele is a traditional Yoruba musical genre

THE GPS AND DIRECTIONS

Some months back, I needed to go to a place I was not sure of the direction to take to get there. So, I punched the address on my GPS and left my garage. But my naughty GPS would not say anything to me about where I was going. I was worried and wondering why it was quiet. I pulled up somewhere to check if I mistakenly set it to mute. No. So what was the problem with that thing? Well, I resumed driving. By this time, I was already out of the community’s gate and just as I approached the end of the driveway and was still worrying my head about whether to make a right or left turn, the GPS spoke up. Really?! “So, why did you keep your mouth shut all this while?” I asked, rolling my eyes. Okay, I can’t remember if I rolled my eyes but I most likely did.

I was relieved it started talking at last and I continued my journey. I noticed that it was sometimes quiet and sometimes chatty. If I was on a route where there was no need for me to make a turn soon, it would be silent until I was like a half or a quarter mile away from where I had to turn. That went on and on. I therefore learnt to trust my GPS knowing that it would speak up when there was need to.

But you know something, that was a season in my life that I was at a crossroad. I needed direction about a lot of things and I needed it right there and then. I was constantly searching my spirit to see what the Lord would say, but it seemed like nothing was coming forth. Thus, I was in a way frustrated.

“Father You know I need to know what You are saying at this time. You know Your word says this and this and this and that. Please speak Lord.” I’d moan.

As I was driving and ruminating on how the GPS works, I realised God was speaking. He was teaching me about how He leads. The fact that He is silent does not mean He is not guiding. If you are on the right track and you do not need to turn to the right or to the left, He won’t say anything in that line. God’s guidance is one step at a time, one day at a time. We just have to trust Him that He will surely guide us to that beautiful end. Definitely He will speak at every junction, He will tell us where to turn to. He has promised that our teachers will no longer be hidden and that we will hear a voice from them at every crossroad to turn to the right or to the left (Isaiah 30:20b). Note that those teachers might be people God has placed around you to guide you aright in a difficult time.

I am learning to trust God one day at a time, to trust that He is guiding me even when it seems like He is silent. I know He is pleased with me and that it delights Him to lead me aright always. But you know, it is sometimes difficult to be still and just trust Him. I sometimes work myself up for nothing.

©2016, Ayobami Temitope Kehinde

Image Credit: http://electronics.toptenreviews.com/use-a-gps-to-talk-safely-while-driving.html