Some days ago, on my way to work, I heard a very shocking, seemingly trivial but heartfelt confession. “My tummy is too flat, this dress will show how flat it is and people won’t be expecting that…” In Africa, this would be every woman’s dream, as the likelihood to develop an ‘eba, amala and pounded yam’ induced-pot-belly from early childhood is very high.
I remember the teachings of Miss Ufuoma, my primary 2 teacher, or is it primary three now? I am really getting old (yea right, I’m not even middle aged yet!)
Anyway, Miss Ufuoma taught us the classes of food, and the diseases caused by deficiency of these foods. There was a big poster on the wall of our classroom with a boy with a football sized belly caused by kwashiokor… That poster was a constant reminder that we were not to eat too much carb, and anyone who had a slight pot belly was called ‘kwashiokor!’
Now even with the modern trends, many women actually pray for ‘pot bellies’- the married ones that is. The ‘pot’ belly I am talking about is the adorable ’9 month old blessing that women call their greatest bundle of joy. I’m sure you get the point but if you don’t, ask your mother. When a lady gets married, the next thing everyone starts observing is her tummy. People keep looking below her belt to see if there is a bulge. Now the lady in question has an adorably flat tummy that would make even Kate Moss go green with envy. Now the thing is, she wishes she had an actual pot belly and does everything she can to mask it rather than show it off. Crazy? Not exactly. The lady is married, and everyone has been expecting her tummy to bulge. I overheard her confessing that she wished she had an actual pot belly, so people won’t stare so much with sinister looks on their faces when they looked at her tummy.
It’s painful when a woman dangles between hope and anxiety, it’s like taking two steps forward and one step back. Hope propels one in the direction of goals; anxiety does nothing but pull people back. That is easy for me to say, I wasn’t in her shoes. I didn’t say anything that day, I wish I did. I wish I told her to hold on, that all things work together for her good. I wish I told her that her miracle is on the way and she will soon be carrying her ‘esteemed’ pot belly. But I just sat there tongue tied.
I can’t boast of knowing the anxiety of ‘expecting’ mothers, but I do know that all things work together for good, and if we keep believing all that we hope for will come to us. A very renowned lady in our church who we fondly called ‘Anty Julie’ has been married for relatively 25 years with no children and she just took in…talk about a modern day Sarah!
This isn’t just dedicated to those seeking babies; it is dedicated to all who have long waited the fruition of their expectations. We all have something that we have all been waiting for, hoping for and praying for. What is your ‘pot belly’? Keep feeding your faith with confession and positive expectation, place a picture of what you expect in front of you and look at it every morning in thanksgiving.
Lift your head up, your expectation is around the corner, I can feel it!
Wife, Mother, Author, TV Presenter and People Developer; TOMI SULE-EMMANUEL is a creative mix of passion, purpose and odd genius. She and her husband are both based in Randburg – South Africa, from where they are passionately affecting lives globally, everyday! Check out her blog, www.tomisule.com
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