Seeing Afresh

We were in the middle of a lockdown in April because of COVID-19 here in Uganda. It was an interesting season of isolation where you could not drive anywhere, as in you have car, it has fuel but you gotta leave it if you don’t have a sticker that allows you passage. And when you do decide to stroll out because the walls are closing in on you or you need groceries or you just need time to yourself, 6:59pm had better find you steps away from your home.

Or you will suddenly become Usain Bolt because if 7pm on the dot finds you outside, you had better pray you don’t happen upon a soldier because you will get what we Ugandans lovingly call, ”Kiboko” aka sticks on whatever part of your body they do decide to land.

So imagine my distress when my sister comes to my room at 6:40pm that she needs to go to the hospital because she was not feeling well. I was like my goodness, wwwwaaaatttt??!! Mind you, the clinic is just 10 mins away but you have to pass by the military checkpoint. So we bundle up in the car as our caretaker gives advice of which ‘panyas’ aka shortcuts to take that will bypass the checkpoint. We prayed the whole journey. And finally we reached there after what seemed like hours of fear and the clinic was closed. Time check: 6:50pm.

New Specs

We had to think on our feet on where next to go whose distance was within an 8min drive. We realized a hospital not far from our home which we had bypassed because it was not under our insurance package was the only option. So back the same route we went and arrived 2mins to the deadline. Long story short, we got the treatment needed and God sent an angel who made sure we were attended to and comfortable. She even spent time talking to us, encouraging us and praying for us. It made me realize that I need to see life with a new pair of eyes or is it a new perspective?

It’s true when they say, ”every cloud has a silver lining.” In the midst of the chaos bred by an unseen contagion, I saw the hearts of man, the pure hearts of man. I saw the kindness of a stranger in a hospital who helped get my sister settled in. I saw the selflessness of a waitress who helped me carry cups of tea a distance because my sister told me in no uncertain terms that she was hungry.

I saw the consideration of a restaurant owner in allowing me to go with her crockery and return them later that day. I saw through a pandemic to the beautiful souls of people who surround us and I purposed then and there to always see. Let’s ‘see’ together to the hidden treasures of this world. Because that’s who we are. This is me!

#ThisisMe

#BeAuthenticallyYou

#MyStoryMyBrand