Let the Mango Ripen...
I’m not sure anyone gets as excited as I do when its mango
season… YAyyy!!!
They’ve got a variety of mangoes in Benue(they don’t
call them food basket of the nation for nothing)… I have no idea what their
true ‘biological’ names are but in
these parts, mangoes share names with humans ‘Julie, Peter, John, Brooklyn, Alphonsos.
There’s Kerosene mango and a couple of others I just love to eat.
In March, the trees are heavily pregnant with green mangoes,
and I can’t wait for the rains to turn them yellow and give me the pleasure I so
much desire. The green mangoes doesn’t stop some people though, those eager to
make money, spend time and energy using sticks to bring them to the ground, and
then they proceed in boiling the mangoes to ripen them for sale… It isn't safe buying mangoes at these time, you're left with a sour taste in your mouth and a tummy ache for days.
We’ve got mango trees in my house, and i get pissed off whenever i see any of the staff plucking the unripe mangoes… why wouldn't they just let the poor things ripen
and enjoy it like it’s meant to be. If i can wait, anyone else should be able to.
source |
There is no
satisfaction in eating green mangoes for me.
Then comes the first rains, and more rain and yayy, the
mangoes hanging turns yellow, no one is struggling to pluck anymore, they just
dropped, and everywhere you turn, mango sellers have genuine ripe mangoes
you can comfortably buy knowing you’re not being deceived. Even when they don't drop, it's easier to get them down from the trees when they're ripe.
I was in my room early one morning and I heard thudding
sounds, I peeked out of my window and smiled at the sight, the mangoes the staff
struggled to pluck weeks earlier were dropping with no prompting. Yellow
succulent looking mangoes covered the ground. All we had to do was bend down and
pick them up into buckets. No stress, no wahala, and i mused at the wonders of God.
"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven..." Ecclesiastes 3:1
"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven..." Ecclesiastes 3:1
No one understands the way God works… But we know He works
in times and seasons. When we force a thing to happen before its season, we
don’t enjoy the fullness of it, we miss out on a lot, we have a sour taste in
our mouth and our teeth is set on edge. We labor for it, and end up not getting
the best, because we refuse to wait for the right time.
Everyone has a time and season for certain things… you can’t
rush God; you can’t demand to produce mango fruits of your life during the
harmathan season, before the rains. The mango tree looks idle as we all drive
pass it or relax under it for shade from the sun in the harmathan season, but
inside, deep within it, it’s working, preparing, putting things in shape for
it’s season of greatness and productivity. I love this quote "A man is not idle because he is
absorbed in thought. There is a visible labor and there is an invisible
labor." Victor Hugo
As humans, just because we don’t see a person blossoming and
doing well in his business doesn’t mean he’s lazy and clueless or a write off.
The fact that he is not in season doesn’t mean he’s useless… the fact that
there’s a delay in living your dream doesn’t mean you’re expected to seat lazing
around. Get at the invisible labor, ignore the voice of judgment from those around, educate
yourself, build yourself up in areas related to your dreams, focus on
positivity, make yourself ready for the day when your fruit is visible and ripe
enough to start falling off without struggle.
Prepare yourself for your season while you wait... No one cuts down a mango tree because it is out of season. Don't bring your life to a halt because you don't see immediate results. There's a season, and who knows, it may just be around the corner for you.
At low times, prepare yourself for your harvest and refuse to skip God’s time table. There's a reason he makes things happen in seasons... to ensure we prepare ourselves well enough for what we are called out to do.
At low times, prepare yourself for your harvest and refuse to skip God’s time table. There's a reason he makes things happen in seasons... to ensure we prepare ourselves well enough for what we are called out to do.
what a lovely post...it really resonated with me, first because even though i am not a mango fan, my mum makes the best mango juice in Nigeria, it s like ice cream ..honest :)...but also because i am at that season in my life ..desperate for a change and having no one to make that change come to pass except the lord...bless you!
ReplyDeleteThanks Inyamu. I have been blessed and enriched again.
ReplyDeleteGOD bless you.
Oh my God. I am SCREEEEAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNGGGGGG!
ReplyDeleteThis message is just God-sent to me. God bless you real good.
In order words, Its so not fair how mangoes get to rot and waste away in Benue, just becos they have much more than they can consume, and we get to pay 20 naira for one in Lagos. I miss Benue for this.
hayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy...wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww...God sent U
ReplyDeletecrazeedella
Thanks iNyamu, for this post; truly inspiring. May your fountain always remain fresh...
ReplyDelete