Through my African Eyes: If You Have Swum in Oceans, You Cannot Sink in Ponds

12-01-2021

By Stephen Apollo

One of my favorite Pan-Africans Prof Patrick Lumumba, was once asked for his opinion concerning a certain political situation in my country, Kenya. Prof. Lumumba responded that, the situation was not new to the country and as a matter of fact, the country had successfully dealt with more serious challenges before. To show that the challenge at hand was not insurmountable and that we had been there before, he ingeniously said, “If we have swum in oceans, we cannot sink in ponds.”

Sometimes in life, it helps to reminisce past victories in order to gain more courage to face current challenges. If you can remember the kind of hurdles you have overcome and the hardships you have gone through out your life, you may not tremble at your present unpleasant situations. If you can only remember the fortitude through which you have faced tremendous difficulties in your entire life, you can draw much inspiration to face your prevailing valleys and mountains. I believe this is what the young David had in mind, when he was trying to convince King Saul to let him face Goliath; “But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God (1 Samuel 17:34-36 ESV, emphasis is mine).

No matter what you are going though now, no matter the pain, no matter the challenge, no matter the hurdle, no matter the valley, no matter the mountain; you can still make it. You are well able to overcome thought it all. Just remember how God has taken you through in the past and do not forget that, If you have swum in oceans you cannot sink in ponds.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema from Unsplash