THE INTERCESSION

Once I paid I my dad a visit; something which was very unlikely of me considering the kind of relationship I have had with my dad (we weren't the best of pals). We sat out in his porch to chat and after a very long awkward silence, I think he said something about things/plans he has for me. My immediate response was "what kind of plan at all can you have for me? You've never done or given me 'anything' so how could you possibly say you have plans for me?" And by "anything", I was emphatically referring to things that have/had to do with finance, which he clearly understood. I could see the portrait of disappointed colorfully drawn on his face. My words didn't come out any good to his ears. Maybe that was one of the reasons why we never truly got along; I was that one son of his who doesn't care at all about the emotions of his father.

 
He gave me a regretting look that lasted 2 or 3 seconds and then he slowly starred away while shaking his head. Initially, I felt no remorse whatsoever over what I said, but as the silence grew more and more intense and the look of disappointment, sadness and any other such word increasingly showed on his face, a part of me begun to feel sorry and wished I could have had a chance to take back what I said. "But it's already been said, nothing can be done about it. After all, it's the truth". I said to myself.

When my dad finally broke the silence to talk in response to what I said earlier (which obviously caused that long silence), he said with his face down, "so you think I have done nothing for you? And you also think I am doing nothing for you?" "Yakubu", he continued, "I may not be doing anything financially for you at the moment but do you know how many times I pray for you, do you know how many times I wake up in the night just to pray to God for you, for your success and your progress, for your health, strength and knowledge? I don't need to be telling you this but you made me to. I pray for you son, I pray for you always and that is more than any money I can give you". 

Those words didn't really mean anything to me until I got home and sat down to recollect and ponder on what my dad told me, word for word and all the emotions they came with. I realized how far I have come even with all the challenges. I realized how life has been made easy for me even when I knew in certain situations I didn't deserve some merits. While reminiscing on previous occurrences in my life, I identified some opportunities that came my way which were entirely "God" and not anything to do with my strengths or abilities, countless number of times I succeeded where and when I knew deep down me had nothing to do with my efforts.

I, in the end came to the conclusion that what my dad said was true; I may not have been getting anything financially from him but his prayers for me are worth more than any amount of money he may ever give me. I am sharing this with you all my friends, to remind you of the value of our parents regardless of certain mistakes they might have done and or any grudge(s) we may be holding against them. They are our parents and they truly love us even if they rarely say or show it. Let's love and respect them, and above all, watch the words we use towards them. This is my little story and I hope and pray it makes a positive impact in someone's life. May the good Lord guide and protect us and most importantly protect our parents for us. And for those who have lost their parents, may The Almighty bless their souls. 

The writer's name is Yaqoub Hassan 

After reading this all I could think of was a quote from Marlene Dietrich "A king, realizing his incompetence, can either delegate or abdicate his duties. A father can do neither. If only sons could see the paradox, they would understand the dilemma".   

I am Rasgony TheAlpha