Are You Okay?????
Are you Okay??????
And there it was, the video footage of a little girl praying earnestly and asking the question “Are you okay God”? To myself and many others, it was both cute and heartwarming, but to the little girl in question, she was certainly not trying to be cute, it was an earnest prayer. She had a genuine concern that God may not be okay, or perhaps, he just needed to be checked on. I cannot blame her for asking that innocent and yet powerful question. With all that’s going on in the world at the moment, this just might be the right question to ask, and what better person to ask than a child.
As a young girl, I was socialized not to question God, and in so doing, I adopted this image of a superior being who ought to be feared (in every wrong way). My communication with him was “serious”. Most time, I approached him carefully because I needed help. As an adult, I have learnt that it’s okay to ask Him ANY question, not just that, it’s okay to do so boldly and sincerely as long as one is not being arrogant. He already knows what we are thinking anyway, so we might as well ask.
I choose to draw a parallel from this little girl’s honest question to God and relate it to our human and mortal existence. It must be tough if the only time someone approaches you is when they need something. It must be lonely if most don’t have any interest in you except what you can give them. Regardless of how confident or resilient an individual might be, the truth remains that no individual has everything under control 100% of the time. We all have those 1% (or higher) vulnerable moments when a simple check in is all we need. As we listen to and watch the political and economic chips fall down all around us, let’s do our part to help rebuild our world. … And it can start with a simple “are you okay”? If anyone is brave enough to trust you with an honest response, do all you can to make them feel better.
If you have neighbors, family members, friends you haven’t seen in a while, friends you see every day, strangers, or even your bosses, take a minute to ask “are you okay”? You will never know the impact of that seemingly simple question. And while at it, let’s not forget to check in with our children. They too are having to deal with a whole lot more than they are equipped to handle.
So I ask again, “ARE YOU OKAY”?
