Grace to Grass

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Thompson could not believe that God could answer his prayers immediately after his three days of fasting and prayer. Three days ago, he completed his prayers and fasting, asking God to open doors of blessings and favour. He did that with a full amount of belief because he knew that God could change his situation.

Life has been so difficult for Thompson since he graduated from school six years ago. No good job opportunities came his way. He had applied for several jobs, yet none came to his favour, so he had no option but to teach in a private school and earn a paltry amount of money just for survival.

The following day after his prayers and fasting, he went to church for a mid-week service. He had eaten once and that was all for the day. He trekked a long distance to the church.

He got to church very early before other worshippers could arrive. He arranged the seats and dusted them. Soon one of the members arrived. The secretary of the church is also a lecturer at the university.

“How are you doing”? He asked
“I am very fine sir” Thompson replied
“That's so nice to hear”
“Thank you, sir”
“I'd love to see you after service, I have an important thing to discuss with you” the secretary said.
“No problem sir”. He responded.

Soon after, the church service began. All throughout the church service, Thompson could not focus on what was happening; rather, his mind was thinking of so many things. He became restless and prayed for the quick dismissal of the service.

The man was in his car outside the church gate waiting for him. Thompson opened the front door of the car and hopped in.

“Sorry to bother you, my brother”, the man began. “I have been noticing your commitment to this church and the things of God and to tell you that I am highly impressed”

“Thank you, sir”, Thompson responded with a smile.

There was a sudden pause after which the secretary continued
“I was thinking if you would like to go into the transportation business, like riding a tricycle or mini buses.”

Thompson didn't see that coming; the state hit him like a snowball. He wanted to tell him to repeat that again, but he heard him clearly.

“You know, in this country, there are no jobs, and many graduates are doing this for survival, and it's very lucrative”.

He didn't give Thompson the time for a response; he told him to go think about it and let him know within the week.

“No problem sir”

               *****

A week after Thompson went home with a brand new Keke Napep on a hire purchase. There was a financial turnaround for Thompson. He put the shame aside and rode the Keke in town, and in a year and six months, he was able to pay off and took ownership of the tricycle.

Money for feeding, accommodation and other bills was not a problem as he was able to provide for himself and his family. Every weekend, he would send money to his mom in the village, and he also supported his siblings and extended family members.

A year after he completed his hire purchase payment, Thompson began to feel bad about his source of living. He started to query why a graduate should be riding a Keke in town. He started feeling ashamed, and soon, an inferiority complex set in, and he began to develop a second thought.

“My mates are doing better than I, why would a graduate ride Keke, a job for low-class people?” he always says this to himself.

One day, he heard on the radio about a company that uses artificial intelligence to trade cryptocurrency markets and has a high return on investment. He was convinced by the juicy promises of the company.

Thompson then reasoned that he suffers a lot riding Keke in town and if he invests in this company, he could possibly make a huge amount of money and live large.

He sold off his Keke and invested more than half of the money. A month later, the company disappeared into thin air with other people's investments.

For over five years now, Thompson has yet to recover from such a silly mistake, and it has moved him from grace to Grass.