There is more to you than your body!

I had just had a fulfilling time walking for charity earlier in the day, but alas the rain came down heavy on us and my hair was drenched. I had tonged my natural hair a week earlier and had to go back to the saloon again to have it washed and tonged. As I walk into the saloon, I see a woman who I had just seen last week. She had come to fix a beautiful weave and all of us had looked at her with great admiration, so I couldn't help but ask why she was back a week later? I got bored and wanted something new she responded coyly……

Like a lot of women, I am also quite invested in my appearance. My mum and I tease ourselves that we take health and beauty very seriously and we put ‘our money where our interest is’. But recently I have had a few encounters that have made me realize that there is so much more to us than our bodies…

Encounter 1: I was compelled to go to a ‘gentlemen’s’ club by a friend who wanted to proof to me that it was just mindless entertainment. I say I was compelled, but truthfully I was curious to see what went on there and I wanted to know what happens in the mind of a man that gives him a natural affinity for feminine nakedness.

When we entered, I was initially overwhelmed by all the display of flesh clad scantily (or not clad at all) in provocative lingerie, ready to seduce and probably satisfy their clients. I watched with interest; the artistic performances of some of the more skilled dancers and pretended that I was watching a scene from the movie burlesque being re-enacted in front of me.

Then it got quite interesting when my Male friend was offered one of the service arrays; a lap dance. This was supposed to be the highlight of our visit. I watched with interest as the lady performed her routine and allowed him to fully explore all her outer and inner parts. In my mind I thought; my friend was about to pay through his nose for rummaging a woman’s body this way! I was surprised to find out that after such a violating performance, he gave her one thousand naira(less than 10 dollars) and she squealed in delight and gratitude!

By this time, you must know that I am a novice, and my friend confirmed that this was one of the best clubs in town, so that means this was one of the higher paid girls! My accountant brain went to work calculating how many people the lady has to allow rummage her in a night to earn a decent living, that when my heart really sunk……………

Encounter 2: This one is a bit more sensitive because it shook my heart and challenged my calling to empower women. In the midst of a counseling exercise, I met this nice looking young lady. She had decided she was tired of her life. She was lured to Lagos by friends who told her that it was where she would make it big. She decided to take a chance because she was one of nine children of retired parents in the south of Nigeria.

She came expecting the good life but was introduced to prostitution and drugs. In a short while, she had become addicted and it tortured her because she had a good Christian foundation, and had even been a University student before. She wanted out because she had found out that she was not earning as much money as she thought she could with her body and the little she earned she spent on drugs.

I was shaken because she said; I did it because I wanted to help my family back home and now I have nothing to show for it and my body is tired………………

Whilst I am still contemplating how I can set up a rehabilitation center ( or partner with one, please let me know if you share my burden) I have suddenly realized that though our bodies give us tenancy on the earth and as such we should take care of it, but there is so much more to us than our bodies.

God has given us an incredible mind and the capacity to shape our world by what we can produce by harnessing its power. The good book says; as a man thinks in his heart, so he is. We have been given an ability to choose who or what influences our minds and what choices and decisions we make as a result of this.

One of the choices I have made as a result of these encounters is to open my mind to the possibilities that God has in store for me, and not let anything, any information or anyone limit my possibilities, because there is so much more on the inside of us that we haven’t yet explored……………

Love and Peace

            Tale

N.B: I think this would bless someone you know, so be kind and share…………..