𝗠𝘆 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 – 𝟮𝟳 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟬

With the COVID-19 pandemic reaching a peak, we have become more impatient because we have not volunteered for this, nor have we asked for it. Alas, it is here. We, however, do not have to accept it, but just be aware of its presence by adhering to social distancing and hygiene practices. It means that we must not conceal the fears and uncertainty brought on by the pandemic.

Have you noticed the increasing number of posts by people calling for the lockdown to end? The government is accused of lies etc. Really? Welcome to the new normal; we are in uncertain times. The whole world (including third world countries) is dealing with a pandemic that nobody understands. All economies are affected, some admittedly more adverse than others.

We do have one certainty, and that is the fact that God is not bound by time. COVID-19 has a ‘shelf life’ like all the other viruses from the previous centuries. So, this too shall pass. To say the pandemic has uprooted our lives is an understatement. Before the lockdown, most of us were used to partitioning our time to strike a balance between work, studies, hobbies, etc. The world is not going back to ‘business as usual’ any time soon. So, what do we do in the meantime?

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, we all complained that we had no time or were out of time. Maybe now is the time to take stock. Perhaps we should not go any further until we have accomplished this. How can we achieve this? We can start by uniting in the fight against a common enemy known as COVID-19.

Let us take heart in the fact that according to 2 Chronicles 16:9, "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”

A Man's Got To Have a Code (Poem)

𝗔 𝗺𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲

(𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙥 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧-𝙗𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚)

𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚊 𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛

𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚠𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚐!

𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚍𝚘 𝙸 𝚋𝚎𝚐𝚒𝚗

𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚌𝚛𝚒𝚋𝚎 𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐?

𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚍𝚘 𝙸 𝚋𝚎𝚐𝚒𝚗

𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚖𝚢 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐?

𝙼𝚛 𝚖𝚊𝚗, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚍

𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚖𝚢 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔,

𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝'𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚙𝚞𝚝

𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚔𝚗𝚒𝚏𝚎!

𝙽𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐’𝚜 𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛

𝚊𝚜 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔

- 𝚊 𝚖𝚊𝚗'𝚜 𝚐𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚊 𝚌𝚘𝚍𝚎!

𝚄𝚗𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚊 𝚌𝚘𝚍𝚎

𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎,

𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚊𝚠 𝚊𝚗 𝚞𝚗𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚐𝚒𝚏𝚝,

𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚛𝚒𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚝 𝚊𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝

𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚋𝚞𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜

- 𝚊 𝚖𝚊𝚗'𝚜 𝚐𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚊 𝚌𝚘𝚍𝚎!

𝙸 𝚠𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚘𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚔𝚎 𝚖𝚎,

𝙸 𝚠𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚜𝚕𝚒𝚙 𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚖𝚋𝚕𝚎

𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝’𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚎!

𝙴𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚋𝚛𝚞𝚒𝚜𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚋𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚎𝚍,

𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙸 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞!

𝙸 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚟𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜

𝚍𝚛𝚢 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚘𝚠𝚗

- 𝚊 𝚖𝚊𝚗'𝚜 𝚐𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚊 𝚌𝚘𝚍𝚎!

© 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟬 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝘄𝘆𝗻 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄

My Lockdown Journal - 14 July 2020

Most of us get frustrated when life gets in the way. Nothing wrong with that, it's just that we all want to do the simplest things in life, but are blocked by people, a lack of resources, or by situations beyond our control. Maybe you have also encountered that when you set your goals on something, it almost always get blocked on some level. It is, therefore, no surprise that the Bible tells us in so many ways that the bigger our goals are, the bigger our opposition will be. Scripture tells us to press on, and that our best is yet to come.

What I have learned was that if you dearly want something, there is still a way to get what you want; it is called purpose and passion. When I was in grade nine (1983), our career guidance teacher asked us to share what careers we wanted to pursue. Everyone was excited and shared dreams of becoming a doctor, teacher, entrepreneur, etc. When it was my turn, I shared my dream of becoming a writer, the teacher laughed, followed by the rest of the class. I was shocked that a teacher would react like that. My teacher reminded me that we were living in apartheid, South Africa. He said Coloureds don’t become writers because the doors to publishing are shut for people of colour. He said I would make a good clerk or teacher. I felt a strange burning sensation on the inside. It wasn't pain or cramps, but a passion to become a published writer. At that moment I knew that nothing and nobody was going to assassinate my dream. 

Walking home that day, I told myself that just because I’ve experienced resistance didn’t mean I had to give up. I knew I had something in me that was worth pursuing. Somehow I knew that the colour of my skin couldn’t keep me from reaching my dreams and aspirations. I think one of the best things about being a kid, is that there is no dream that’s too big. The journey thereafter wasn’t moonlight and roses; it was hard work. Today I am a published writer and freelance journalist. One of my stories about the #FeesMustFall protests was featured on CNN.

I am sure that many dreams are being realised during this lockdown period. For a writer or creative person, the free time as a result of COVID-19 is a gift on a platter. 

It only takes one person to make a difference in the life of another

My wife, Sharon Liberty, wrote this beautiful and poignant piece about a primary school teacher that impacted her life:

"It only takes one person to make a difference in the life of another, and in my case, it was my primary school teacher. A great teacher not only inspires, but shapes the character, calibre, and future of a child.

I'm eternally grateful for Mr Schuster who helped me after I've developed a bad stutter problem in primary school. I became withdrawn and kept to myself. Because of this, Mr Schuster had me do my reading and oral presentations privately; not in front of the class. One day after several reading sessions, he gave me this piece of advice: “Stand in front of the mirror, take a deep breath and talk to yourself. Ask yourself questions, answer yourself, and also start reading out loud.”

I took his advice and did this exercise every day until high school. When I have reached standard 7, I overcame my stuttering problem! It really changed my life because I went from being shy and insecure to a more confident person.

Thank you, Mr Schuster, I'm forever grateful to you for changing my life. I'm firm in my belief that a teacher lives on through the memories of his or her learners. It not only proves that good teaching is forever, but that the teacher is immortal." - Sharon Liberty

#GetOverIt
#BrokennessToBreakthrough