Dawn

There is something beautiful about a sunrise. The way the light gradually eats away the darkness. The streaks of gold and blue licking away the black from the sky. The warmth replacing the cold, a Dawn, a new day. All our lives are like that, we have beautiful dawns. Wonderful times that come after challenges that we go through. These challenges are like dusk, and the harsh nights that follow. Let me explain them by means of a story.


A man was travelling with a heart full of anxiety. He left behind his wife who was pregnant and due to give birth at any day. Why did he leave? Well, his mother in law was gravely ill and he had to travel thousands of kilometers to meet her and help care for her. This was a time before the modern luxuries we have at our disposal today existed. Things that make it easier to travel quickly, send money, and communicate.


He had to wait for a bus that would only operate one day a week and would drag along a range of good, bad, smooth, bumpy and dusty roads. The only entertainment he had at his disposal were the distant cracking of songs that came from the bus radio. He couldn't listen to it though, cause of the cloud of worry that hung around him. His wife was in the good care of his daughters and some responsible relatives, but he must have worried about her, must have worried about his unborn baby.


After leaving the bus, he met a challenging part of his journey. He had to ride in a tiny canoe across a large lake, the only way to get to his mother in law's village. He combated sea sickness and the fear of large waves that felt like they would crush him in that tiny canoe. That little boat was well made so just rode over the waves that rose to intimidating heights!


 He arrived at the village, but was battered by crushing news. His mother in law had died a few days earlier. And there it was, a dusk. Warmth becoming cold, blue becoming black and light becoming darkness. The weight of this news loomed over him as he eventually took the canoe ride back across the lake, so much so that the waves didn't bother him that time around. Days passed as he waited for the next bus and more days passed as he was on his way back home. All he could think about was how he was going to tell his wife the heartbreaking news.


He arrived home only to find a surprise. The sound, smell and sight of a baby being in the house. Joy temporarily pushed aside the pain of the news he had brought home. He found everyone in good health too! So all was well. Another surprise met him. His wife had already received news of her mother's death. The burden he had carried with him left him just in time for another surprise. His baby, was a boy! His first born son! And as he held me in his arms, the darkness was cleaned away by light, black sky became blue and the warmth melted away the cold. A dawn once again, and it was beautiful!


That's how my story began, and I have more to share with you.


KP23