I MISSED THE BUS

I got to the bus stop at my usual time, hoping to beat the morning traffic. My usual five minutes wait for the bus gradually stretched fifteen minutes now going on forty, I was already tired of the wait and standing and I was running late… did I say running late? When I’m still at the bus stop a few minutes to resumption time I’m so late it makes a mockery of my effort of waking up early.

As the waiting time increased even so the number of folks waiting on the bus did. Then in the distance one of the Yellow Hunchy is approaching the bus stop, rather than heave a sigh of relief, I’m hoping its empty so we can all get in. the Bus had barely stopped when the struggle to get in started, a struggle that had no regard for gender nor what folks were wearing. From the sight I was better off looking than get in the struggle, and yet not get in the bus. And those bus stop agbero just hop on the bus to collect their #50 without even coordinating the madness, “well that’s Lagos for you” they say.

A few of us who had become friends from using the same bus stop to work daily, went back took a seat and waited for the next bus after all we are already late. In a few minutes another came, with less struggle one of my friend’ was able to get the last seat hanging at the door of the bus, while I stood looking. She beckoned on me to come on, and the conductor asked me to come so she could lap me. Considering the long wait I had endured, I thought to take the offer, as I moved toward the Hunchy it started to move, I tried to double my pace yet it kept moving and they both were calling out to me to come, yet the driver wasn’t stopping, I was already tired from standing I didn’t have the strength to run. In a brief moment the driver stopped,

answered prayer I thought, approaching the bus; I had barely lifted my feet when the bus jerked and sped away, my feet slipped off and I hit my knee.

At that point it didn’t seem of any use trying to get on an attaché seat as I grabbed my knee in an effort to douse the pain, it was a sober walk back to the bus stop. The wait continued and somehow I began to beat myself up with my words wondering why I wasn’t fast enough to get on either of the buses, how I wasn’t smart to know when to stop attempting to enter the bus and avoid this pain, how my friend would get to work well ahead of me… and I kept my eyes in the direction of the bus that had disappeared out of sight…after a few moments of tongue lashing myself, I paused and then it hit me no matter how sorry I was for my action or inaction, the hunchy isn’t going to reverse, I had better turn my eyes to the direction where another’s going to come from. This time I took a sit at the bus stop and just waited it out. And in a few minutes another bus showed up and the few of us left entered and I got a comfortable front seat in front. Made my next connection and was walking to the office when I saw my friend who left some 15 minutes earlier walking in front of me, I tapped her, she turned around smiled, both of us expressing our shock at meeting, she told me how the bus had several stops and Tyre issues which resulted in a delay. Anyway, we laughed and took the walk to the office.

Despite our best efforts, plan, obstacles and worthy alliances to achieve our life’s goals and purpose per time, we will get there certainly not at same time, nor in the same company we started with and not with the same cheerleaders cheering us on. Just keep making the adjustments you need to, learning from the past but don’t get hung on it.  Don’t give up on YOU we will all get to our destinations and goals in spite of the challenges we face. Delay is not denial. Your Focus should be on God the giver of every good gift, that’s the direction from which your next blessing’s coming.