Botlhale

The sayings of the wise tend to outlast generations upon generations over time, that is true. The Watchman is not a mysterious figure, whose taken on a life of a monk or a guru as you would imagine, nor does he stay in a far-far away place hidden from the masses. He stays in an ordinary rural setting along the mountains, north of the countryside. This experience and heritage has since nurtured his expertise in relation to this specific mountain called Spirituality.

On this particular trip, I found him in a joyful mood as we made our ascent up the great mountain, a subtle testament to the saying that ‘Joy comes in the morning’’. We enjoyed our now custom tradition of mountain food, followed by the singing of hymns up until we made our way to the peak top. Today neither of us were bold nor brave, but rather the manifestation of a youthful wish coming true, to sit and listen while a wise man spoke.

And so it went;

Ho roriswe rato lena, le re kopansteng hammoho,

Lehe re ka arohana, pelo tsona di teane,

Sefela ~142

 

All glory be to God’s love, which binds us till today,

Even if we were to separate, our hearts remain unified.

Hymn~142

Do not dwell on the days where life is difficult, do not dwell on it. Never be so conceited and full of pride to think that your suffering is yours alone, it is not. There are people who are persistently asking the Lord Almighty in prayer for forgiveness, mercy and pardon, who do you suppose that these people are expected to forgive, pardon and show mercy to? if not to you who is going through a tough time. So then, be wise and allow people to help you whenever you are in need, find favour from the Lord by helping others when the opportunity arises, but most importantly, remember that your suffering is just another opportunity for people to get closer to God, embrace it.

You have to tell the truth, or atleast be capable of it. Even though the nature of love is to be unconditional, there is no love without the truth. So then be wise and understand that you cannot begin prayer without confession and you cannot confess without honesty. Is it not the Son of Man who reminded you that He is the Truth, the Way and the Light? hence why I say atleast be capable of it.

Your parents have always reminded you to be careful of the friends that you keep, so honour your mother and father and protect your peace. When setting standards or find yourself evaluating all the things you will never settle for, hold dearly to the task that you were given to by the Son of Man when he says the following; find out what this means, “I require mercy, not sacrifice”.

The privilege of forgiveness can only be enjoyed by the one who is able to apologise when they are wrong. You should never place you hope in a person who finds it difficult to say sorry, people like that are not the ideal candidates for raising children with.

Stay away from a person who is afraid of commitment, because even the land on which such people look to build a house on? Detests them. This is because many years will pass without that house ever being completed, how unfortunate for that piece of land.

Worst of them all is a person who cannot speak the truth. They are the type of people who find solace in playing the victim and say things like ‘so long as God loves me, I’m fine’. They glorify their insecurities by re-wording them into expectations the next person should meet. Sadly, these are the type of people who tell you the truth by lying to themselves.

Do not set your heart to find the ideal in anything within this world. Be wise and disciplined enough not to yearn for things that are out of reach, there is wisdom in knowing when and where to stop, understanding when and where it is enough, contentment is the elixir of life.

In the many ways that God blesses you, make it a habit to say thank you. In the many ways that you succeed in life, do not forget where you came from. It is good to be friendly and kind to people from all walks of life, but never forget what your parents and grandparents had to go through in order for you to have such freedoms. History has a subtle way of repeating itself, the signs are hidden in language and culture shocks.

It is true, God punishes the sins of the parents through their children. It is then wise to make peace and forgive your parents because soon enough you will need their advice. 

It is far more difficult to like a person than to love them, love has no conditions. Conditions tend to change from time to time, so a long-term relationship based on the ‘right’ conditions has no foundation.

We find it good that a child speaks of a soul mate or a person whom they may joyfully call ‘the one’. It is good so long as the child remains a child, but once you are an adult we no longer speak of good but now say you are naïve. However, since we all have an inner child within us and fall victim to naïve sentiment, hold on to this: Look at how God shows up for you in your life even though you and your ways are not perfect. If you can find a person whom you are genuinely capable of providing the same grace that God gives to you, commit to such an individual and see where it takes you. I say that because wisdom and understanding teach us that a person can lie to everyone, but how unfortunate is the one who lies to themselves, especially about their intentions.

You have been taught that prayer is the most important spiritual tool, so it benefits the user of such a tool to read the manual. There will be days when you cannot find the words nor the ‘feeling’ to genuinely pray, in such a situation sing a hymn of praise and worship, sometimes your own words are not needed, just you.

The Son of Man teaches you that the God we serve is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, he is the God of the living and not of the dead. Since Abraham and his sons are physically dead but continue to live on, do not judge your fellow brothers and sisters who use traditional methods to find spiritual meaning. What is it to you, if God finds it worthy that a person who is spiritually gifted calls on their ancestors, so that he/she can together with those who have passed on pray and worship the Lord Almighty in spirit?

Be wise and remember His word which says that what we as humans value greatly, He as God greatly detests…

I’m referring to pride.

 

Monghadi, letsoho la hao a le tshware letsoho la ka,

Mahlo a hao a nchebe ka metlha.

Taba tsa hao ke tsa mosa, ke tsa pako,

Ke tsa kgalemo, di loketse ho ntemosa.

Sefela~8

Father, hold onto my hand with yours,

May your eyes always rest on me,

Your ways and words are full of mercy and restoration,

They are suited to keep me steadfast.

Hymn~8

This is just a leaf from my tree, a glimpse of the life that sustains me.