During my late
father’s later days with us, he preached one message over and over again- “What
is your glass of water?” The message was a product of the experience he had. He
was to travel from Port Harcourt to Warri by the then NNPC owned Twin-Otter aircraft.
Like with everything NNPC, the flight times were never consistent. They had all
gotten used to this. Interestingly too, sometimes the flight even waited for
them.
However, on this
fateful day, while waiting in the lobby my father became thirsty and strode off
to look for where to get a glass of water or possibly buy. I want to believe
that along the way, he may have stopped to discuss some of the newspaper
headlines for that day (He liked Nigerian news). He got back to the tarmac some
minutes later and saw the flight taking off. He had been left behind! He told
us how he ran after the plane trying to stop them but they didn’t stop and
suddenly he realized that that was too much to ask for. He was surprised that
none of his colleagues came out to look for him (there were no cell phones
then).
He came back home that
afternoon feeling very down, and said to us “I had a picture of rapture today”.
He went on to say that the glass of water represents the attractions of the
world, the desires of the flesh, our ambitions, lust etc. So many times as Christians, we wait
in the lobby of life and believing that we know the timing of the eternal
Flight, we decide to go out in the world and meddle. At other times we are so
sure that the Flight will wait for us because of the days we have put in to
serving God, because of the fat offerings (or tips we usually give the Cabin
Crew) we give in church. Some of us have even been deluded to the point
of believing that our Pastors (my father’s colleagues) will come and look for
us if the Flight came.
In November 2012, I
had a close brush at the same experience. I was waiting at the NAF base to
board the 3.00pm flight to Bonny. At about 3.15p.m we were told that the flight
will be delayed. With this information I went out to try and get a cold can of
Malt drink. I took my time and even bought some biscuits with it. I came back
some minutes later to find only my luggage staring at my me. The dispatchers at
the front desk chorused, “Amara, you’ve been left behind”. I muttered ‘God
forbid!’ (for me, that was a very heavy phrase as it reminds me only of
rapture). They said, we mean the flight has left you. I tried to get defensive… “but you said the flight will be delayed”, they responded, “but we didn’t tell you for how
long it would be”. Trying to save me from my misery, one of them said, “hurry up and join them for the briefing” and as I picked my bags to go, another said… “but that is how rapture will be...o!”
All through the flight
to Bonny, I kept thinking about my cold can of Malt and my late father’s glass
of water.
What is it that you
have stepped out to buy? Is it water or Malt? Now, brothers and sisters,
about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2 for
you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the
night. 3 While people are saying,
“Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a
pregnant woman, and they will not escape.4But you, brothers and
sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.
(1 Thess. 5:1-4 NIV). Please don’t stay too long in the
market because you do not know when the Flight will leave.
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