"I have a phobia for highrise buildings, crowded places and small enclosed spaces... My first thought usually is, how do I get out if there's a fire? I just watched my phobia play out in Grenfell Tower.
I was about 20/21 years old. I was home with my mother, my brother, my cousin and the house keeper, on what ended like any ordinary day and everyone went to bed. Between 1am and 2am, I was woken up by my mother barging into my room, screaming for me to "get up and get out", while yanking the sheets off me at the same time. I remember being dazed, reluctantly getting out of bed and wondering what was wrong with my mother.
Lo and behold... the room right next to mine was on fire. All I could think was fire, cars, fuel = major explosion. So I ran downstairs, grabbed the car keys and one by one, drove all the cars on the premises, to the end of the road.
The fire fighters surprised me... they showed up in record time, ready, fully equipped and started combating the fire for what seemed like eternity. Just before 5am, there was a heavy (out of nowhere kind of heavy) downpour of rain. The fire was finally put out.
I had gone to bed wearing a kaftan and socks. I contemplated taking off my panty before I went to bed, but luckily I kept them on. Standing outside the house at that moment, all I walked out of my home with were, those 3 items of clothing that I had on... they had not meant so much to me until that moment. All my clothes, bags, shoes, watch collection, passport, bank books, jewellery, everything... gone.
Standing in the rain, i went from crying, to chuckling, to being thankful for all our lives, to numbness, to every emotion possible. But after the release of the variety of emotions... life went on...it always goes on. Ever since then, my prayer has been that, may I never own any item that I can't walk away from or whose loss will shake me. I grew into a place where I never form emotional attachment to material things. I do what i need to do to acquire them, but i do not mourn the loss of any material thing. They come, they go... as long as there is life and good health, material things will always be replaced.
The tragedy of Grenfell tower in London, is not the building and it's certainly not the possessions lost in the fire... those can easily be replaced. The real tragedy is the lives that were unexpectedly cut short... what they would have given to lose everything, but have life. May the souls of the departed find peace and may their families find the grace and strength to bear the loss. I am thankful for the lives of the hundreds of people that made it out alive. They have another chance at life. By His grace, this turn of event will usher in a new season, new beginnings, new harvests and deeper meaning in their lives. 🙏🏽"
