The Bible is rampant with a lot of comical and sometimes absurd (respectfully) stories. Like who sleeps long enough to let a woman shave his seven thick dreadlocks to moro moro and then wakes up thinking he is still a man. Or pours water as fuel before starting a fire. But then it lit.
And here’s the chief of them all: who just looks back and turns into a pillar of salt. Some Igbo men say the salt we use in cooking was even gotten from her body. Igbo kwenu!!!
But here’s the story. God is about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and he sends Lot and his family in less than 24 hours to save them from the rain of fire that was coming. On a side note, if I was God, I would just give them fire umbrellas for the time the fire was falling. But thank God I’m not God. I’m Phire D (no pun intended).
So, the angels told them to run and not look back, even if they forgot something. And they did. Well, almost.
Yoruba men say she forgot her jewellery and just remembered it. Our Hausa brothers say she forgot her kunu drinks and wanted to bring some for the family. What we sha know for now is that Lot’s wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt.
There are two things I think happened as I ruminate on this.
First, God didn’t tell them what would happen if they looked back. So maybe she thought it was a suggestion for their own good. Not an instruction that was absolute. Turned out it was, a fact I remember every time I eat the food that this mama put woman cooks (coughs in excess salt).
But then again anybody ever wondered why she really looked back? I mean, we all have hypotheses but seriously. This woman was asked to move out from her home of years in just 24 hours. The shock of it all, the “am I really doing this” thoughts, the uncertainty of what’s next (Lot wasn’t even sure where he was going) etcetera was going on at that moment. Before you start arguing, remember that Lot’s daughters left their fiancées back home and because of the shock of it all, they ended up sleeping with their father after getting him drunk.
On that day, let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve his possessions. Likewise, let no one in the field return for anything he has left behind. Remember Lot’s wife! - Luke 17 vs 31-32
Sometimes when leaving a phase of our lives to another phase, it’s hard to move on. It could be a break up (see The Recipe for The Perfect Break Up), or a new job, a relocation, leaving home, or taking a big step in general.
Let me add at this point, that probably the intention of God was not in the action but in the mindset behind the look. The look wasn’t probably a goodbye look, but a longing, nostalgic look. Something of wanting the past back.
And this is the kicker: things will never be the same again. No matter how hard you try to recreate the scenario or situation, getting back with the same person or persons, it will never be the same. And that’s just the way it is.
So don’t injure yourself trying to travel back in the past. It’s dangerous and will not even work.
On to the next one like Jay-Z said. The best way to predict the future is to create it.
Let the past go. Welcome to the future!!!
This is wonderful Phire🥺❤️