Cricket Mama Don Fail: My Battle With a Bedside Lamp

 

I was thinking this morning.... I checked into one of the big hotels in Lagos this past week. By the bed was a basic bedside lamp, nothing unusual. At bedtime, I wanted to put off the light by trying the switches but none turned it off. I ran my fingers through the lamp holder looking for a switch, but nothing. I walked to the master switch at the entrance of the room. I tried each of them but no luck. I tried every single switch in the room but the bedside lamps didn't go off.

As I was getting frustrated, I forced a smile while recalling the pidgin proverb that says, “Na cricket mama tell im children say, no matter how ground strong reach, dem no go sleep outside.” I was determined to figure this out. I went back to the lamp, stared at it for another minute but still couldn't figure out how to turn it off. Finally, I decided to power down the whole room so I could sleep. Cricket mama don disappoint im pikin. Dem sleep outside.

The next morning, I called room service to send someone up. I told the technician to please show me how to switch off the lamp. He simply pointed to the lamp and said, “Just pull down this rope.” Wow! For the first time, I noticed a tiny thread attached to the lamp. How was it possible that I didn’t see it during the five minutes I spent searching the previous night?

The answer was simple: I wasn’t looking for a thread; I was looking for a switch.

It is like the iconic FEDEX logo. Many people never notice the hidden arrow in the design because they are not looking for it. But once you see it, you can never unsee it. It is also similar to deciding to buy a particular brand of car. Suddenly, you begin to notice that same brand everywhere.

Life is often like that. We sometimes miss opportunities, solutions, lessons, and even people because our minds are fixed on a particular expectation. What we seek shapes what we see. Keep an open mind; solutions do not always come in familiar forms. Frustration often blinds us to simple answers. Perspective can determine perception. Psalms 119:18 says “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.”

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy Sunday!

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey