Chika Jonah Writes

Category: Uncategorized

  • A thousand reasons you shouldn’t forgive that person

    That same face

    That same voice

    That same aura

    That Egocentric look

    That exterior

    You see once they are before you.

    Or maybe

    The coldness

    The anger

    The pain

    The aftermath

    The consequences

    The evil

    The infliction

    Is more than enough reason why you shouldn’t forgive that person.

    But there’s one reason enough for you to forgive and let go.

    And that is what today’s word about?

    Stay with me…

    I remember all those emotions swell in my heart when ever I thought of how they hurt me, be it family, friends or anyone at all. And believe me it wasn’t as cool as I make it sound.

    But I also remember how I couldn’t stay in the same room with them. How I hated the mere mention if their names, or how I avoided them like a plague , to avoid story that touches the heart. How I also wanted nothing to do with them ever again in my life.

    Was i doing myself any good? Maybe Yes.

    Maybe I was protecting my self from any future pain and betrayal.

    Also Maybe No.

    I may have been protecting my self but I was also destroying my heart. All those anger, pent up frustration, hatred, stored on the inside burning and ruining the chances of my heart ever been at peace or the thought that change could happen.

    All because I couldn’t forgive.

    I thought I was protecting myself but instead I was destroying myself.

    What changed? you may ask

    One thing. That one reason changed everything. And I’m telling you now.

    “Can you boldly and confidently say that you have never hurt anyone?”

    The answer to that question is that one reason enough for you to let go.

    You’ve definitely hurt someone and yet you we’re forgiven. And even if you weren’t, can you stand to look into the mind of that person and see the hatred they feel for you. I bet you can’t.

    Whoever said forgiveness is easy is a total liar.
    Forgiveness isn’t easy.
    Its one of the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
    But it can be done.

    You can’t just wake up and decide to forgive that person. It doesn’t happen that way.
    But in time it can happen.

    Time heals. Time is an illusion and with time brings chances and opportunities. To think. To embrace. To feel. To reconcile. Be it our thoughts, our actions, and reactions.

    Talk to God. God is everything. There’s this scripture I love so much. It has commanded results for me.

    Proverbs 21:1
    The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.

    Gods heart is a heart of love. A heart of peace. He can change everything. Its in his hands. If you choose to, if you talk to him about it, then he can heal your heart and restore its beauty. Bringing in peace.

    You don’t forgive because the other person deserves it. You forgive because you deserve it.

    Forgiveness doesn’t mean you trust.
    Forgiveness doesn’t mean you loosen your boundaries.
    It simply means letting go and letting God in.

    Are you finding it hard to forgive? Has this post helped in anyway? Share your thoughts in the comment

  • How I left NYSC with a whooping sum of money

    This post is the answer to majority of the questions I got from the last post “How in Gods name did I make such an amount during NYSC?

    So sit tight and ride along with me.

    After my hunger experience which I shared with y’all in my last post I made a decision never to go hungry.

    And for that to happen I needed money.

    I went from company to company, I had nothing but zeal and desire. No experience no relations no connections. Just me in an unknown state.

    After days of searching I walked into a construction company far from my house and told them I was a copper and I needed a job.

    I was fortunate enough to meet the Owner of the business. He asked me a lot of questions about myself. Which I answered with a smile on my face.

    Y’all know my smile is contagious laughs

    He then went further to ask me, since I was a copper how was I going to properly deliver here. I replied that I only go to my PPA three times a week during the morning hours so by 12 noon I should be at work and the remaining days I’d also resume at the usual time.

    I left with the “we’ll get back to you” statement which made me feel less hopeful.

    I still went to a mall that day but they said they were full.

    The next morning I woke up with a phone call “Come to work now!”. And the call ended.

    “Are you kidding me, what kind of person gives someone a job on the phone and asks the person to resume immediately the call ends”. I complained. Obviously irritated.

    I rushed out. I can’t remember if I even had my bath that morning haha. I just wanted to find out if it was real or just a prank.

    I went and lo and behold it was real.

    I had a job.

    But…

    I never knew it was going to be a very stressful one with…of course, a lot of benefits.

    Salary was Ten thousand naira monthly as a copper. Then I was to be given 500 everyday for lunch. And some days I and my colleaque were provided with lunch and much more to eat. My boss was Igbo but the northerners were very hospitable.

    I know you’re wondering how it came to a whooping sum of three hundred thousand naira with bills to pay, transport and feeding.

    Let me indulge you

    I was receiving NYSC allowance of Nineteen thousand, eight hundred niara. Also my salary was Ten thousand niara. For the remaining ten months I never touched my salary and my allowance. So how did I survive?

    On my 500 daily lunch money and tips.

    I worked under the scorching sun supervising general merchandise. I spent time climbing trucks counting goods. I was always inside the warehouse during offloading and onloading of goods. And if the laborers weren’t around. I did their job and mine. It was gruesome, hard and unimaginable.

    No one believed I’ll do the work of a man. But I did it perfectly well. Clients saw this and constantly blessed me. My boss saw this and blessed me once in a while, even though he could be very annoying hahaha Aren’t all bosses that way?

    At the end of each day I left work with nothing less than One thousand five hundred, that is if few clients come in. Most days it was between three to five thousand. And it was that money I lived on. It was more than enough and I even had extra change. Do the maths.

    I enjoyed myself. There’s nothing sweeter than spending money you worked hard for. So I spent it well. Food was excess. I fed my student once a week. I never lacked my basic amenities. Helped in church. Had fun once in a while since I was a private person. Cooked to my hearts content. I was constantly sending bags of yam and fish to Portharcourt. Life was okay. I saved almost everything I could.

    If there’s anything to take home from this story its;

    Have multiple streams of income

    If I had only depended on allowance I would have left NYSC with nothing. And how would I have survived at home while job hunting?

    Word of mouth

    Word of mouth is still the most effective form of marketing. Understand your potential and spread the word.

    Save to start up, don’t borrow

    Save. If you don’t know how to. Learn. Its not as difficult as it seems. Work with a savings calendar. Have an achievable goal. Fix the duration. Fix the amount. No amount is too small. Hundred naira every day for one year can get you two bags of rice for Christmas. One thousand naira every day for a year can get you half plot of land in some cities. Don’t underestimate the power of 1.

    Writing this story and reliving its memiries now, has inspired me to rekindle that work fire I once had. Because its clear I’ve lost it. I seriously want to ignite that hustling spirit in me once again and build the kind of life I truly desire.

    How was NYSC for you? Are you still serving? what are your thoughts on this post? What have you decided to do positively from now on? What lessons did you learn? Share them in the comments below

  • Oh my God! Am I experiencing symptoms of the corona virus?

    I peeled the ginger quickly and when I was done I threw it inside my mouth fiercely. My face cringed as it’s mint taste went through my throat. But I didn’t care. I was going to fight this.


    I peeled another one and another one and kept eating them till my throat burnt. That was when I rushed to get a cup of water. I opened the fridge to get a bottle of water when I heard her voice again in my head

    “Chika, what if it’s Corona Virus. Remember, one of the symptoms is waist pain”. She said.

    “Oh God! Please I promise you I will not sin again”, I cried, “From today I’ll do everything your word said. Everything. I’ll be a good girl. Just take away this pain or what ever this is”. I prayed. Silently freaking out.

    I closed the fridge abruptly and ran to the kitchen and quickly put on the gas, filled the kettle with water and allowed it to boil.

    “No no no! It’s not possible. I can’t have the virus. There are other major symptoms like dry throat, cough and less breathing. Waist pain is nothing”. I thought to myself.

    I turned off the gas and poured the hot water into the cup. I poured it into my mouth and screamed the minute it hit my tongue “Shit!” I threw the cup.

    “Enough. I no do again. I can’t suffer myself again. Let the coronavirus come”. I said. Obviously, tired of all the nonsense I’ve been doing.

    I burnt my tongue for the second time because of some ridiculous notion that I had corona virus. laughs

    I know you’re laughing at me and you’re free to do so but there’s something I want you to understand.

    Everyone at some point in their life have prayed the same prayer I prayed.

    You walk boldly into doing the wrong thing, something totally against your faith and morality. And when it goes sour you start fidgeting asking God to spare you one more time.

    A guy hides drugs in his room and the day he realizes he forgot to lock his room, he becomes frightened and starts praying to God so that his parents wouldn’t enter his room by chance and see the drugs because he knows the repacautions he would face.

    Then why do drugs in the first place?

    A girl has sex with a guy and when she doesn’t see her monthly period in due time she starts shaking and prays to God to save her and make her period come and that if he does, she would never talk to any man, she’ll never have sex before marriage. She’ll never visit any man. Trying to bargain with God.

    When the bitter truth is even if God does something, she’d still go back to doing what she promised she wouldn’t. After all God is a merciful God. Totally misusing his mercies and grace.

    God is not a God of Trade by batter.

    The fact is we can’t count how many times we’ve tried bargaining with God on silly things when we notice that our wrong doing is about to blow up right in front of our faces.

    That’s not right.

    God doesn’t show up only when you are about to die. He shows up everyday. He is there while you’re sleeping, eating, driving and working.

    So why show up only when you’re on the brink of death? Why show up when you feel like? Why come to him when it’s too late? When you should have been at his feet from the very beginning.

    Call him now.
    Don’t bargain. Just serve him.

    P/s – I later found out the cause of my waist pain which had nothing to do with the virus or anything health-related. I was absolutely fine the next day. Now I’m ashamed of all the rubbish I did to myself in the name of coronavirus. *laughs* Be wise guys.

    How do you feel after reading this post? Share your thoughts with me in the comments section. Don’t leave without doing that.