Kweku’s Korner
By Dr. Kweku Akyirefi Amoasi
Kweku Akyirefi Amoasi, formerly known as Ramel Smith
Amid chaos, destruction, and uncertainty where do you turn where do you go? We watch the news and its devastation and trauma. Planes are crashing regularly in the not-so-friendly skies. Our brothers in California are pounded by fires and floods. Extreme weather in Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina have seen extreme winds in the forms of hurricanes and tornadoes. The Midwest and eastern states have been hit by arctic weather and polar vortexes. After Mother Nature has shown her fury, we are hit with domestic hostility between warring political parties that both sit under the stripes and stars. Politicians are as much at war with each other as they are with the rest of the world. And, when we say war with the world, America has strained relationships with allies such as Canada and Mexico and bigger conflicts with China, Ukraine, Israel, and South Africa. Lastly, inflation and disease have seen eggs fly off the supermarket stores faster than toilet tissue paper in the beginning days of the pandemic despite them costing between five and twenty dollars for a dozen. Oh, we didn’t even mention the personal losses of jobs, health, and lives of our friends and loved ones.
In the Holy Scriptures, there is a scripture in II Corinthians 4:8-9 that reads: “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” This is what gets my emotional equilibrium restored. Why? It reminds us that trouble will come, and it will be a formidable opponent; however, there is always a chance. There is always hope. Kelly Price has a song entitled “Healing,” and that is what I let rest on my ears. In her melodic cry, she beseeches a power greater than herself and admits to creating some of her own problems but being so broken with pain and misery she beseeches the Lord to not fix her immediate situation, per se, but to heal her soul. It reminds me of Psalms 51 when David asked the Lord to create within him a clean heart and to renew a right spirit. When tests and trials come, we may fall, but we must get up.
The first step in overcoming a problem is recognizing that you want to overcome the situation. Once we put our minds to a specific goal, we become more powerful. After we commit to that vision, we work on the things that we can control fully. We want to exert all our energy on which we have the power to change with our hands. Next, choose to influence the people, places, and things in your inner circle that can help alleviate the
pain and burden. Finally, remember the serenity prayer. You’ve just shown the courage to change the things you could, next pray for the strength to deal with the issues you cannot change. With strength and courage, you can tackle the problems of the world.