BEYOND OUR SORROWS
“There
are some of your graces which would never be discovered
if
it were not for your trials.”
C.
H. Spurgeon
To
survive calamities beyond human control, it takes God’s grace – His mercy. What
else can we call it?
Luck?
Co-incidence?
Whatever that is… Once we
survive, Life still goes on, right? So, what does it take to make Life worthy
of that Grace, Mercy, Luck, Coincidence, whatever that is?
On this Easter morning, I
came across the story of Kechi Okwuchi. At 16, she was a school student in
Nigeria. On 10th December,
2005, she and 60 of her schoolmates were on their way home for Christmas. The
Sololiso Airlines Flight-1145 had 109 passengers including five crew
members, Kechi and her 60 schoolmates. Due to a terrible turbulence, the
plane crashed while landing. Only two passengers survived… Kechi was one of
them!
Kechi, in a state of
coma, was airlifted, for immediate medical attention, to a hospital in Johannesburg,
South Africa, and, later, to a hospital in Houston, United States. With third-degree
burns all over her body, she was handed with only 30% chance of survival. Kechi
underwent over 100 reconstructive surgeries. And, she survived miraculously…
But, imagine the
devastating impact this tragedy would leave on Kechi’s body, mind and spirit!
That’s why I asked: What
does it take to make Life worthy of God’s grace or Mercy, once we survive such
tragedies?
Kechi graduated from a
university in Texas, securing a first-class degree, and standing first in her
class. She was the student-speaker in her college Commencement-ceremony. Since
then, she has been going around inspiring and motivating others to live life
with courage, gratitude and purpose. I learnt about her when I chanced upon these
videos, on this Easter morning:
We
all are presently passing through one of toughest phases of our lives –
Pandemic. You and I may have survived this calamity which was beyond our
control. But, some among us were not lucky enough, just as those107 passengers (including
her 60 schoolmates) on Kechi Okwuchi’s flight.
Well, now that we have
survived… What we do with this fresh lease of life is up to us. Kechi, who was
always fond of singing before the accident, found solace in singing her heart
out during her protracted battle for survival. Through it, she let her mind
divert from self-pity and sorrow to courage, gratitude and purpose…
Kechi had her family,
particularly her mother, beside her through her struggle... Was that not a part
of Grace?
A plane crash or a Pandemic…
As C. H. Spurgeon says, in Life, we would
not be able to discover some of our graces if it were not for
our trials.
GERALD D’CUNHA
Pic.: Liam Ortiz
Videos: 1. Got Talent Global 2 Talent Recap
Comments