Holding on a Little Bit Longer

I was travelling to Cote d’Ivoire on Emirates on a Sunday and the stated time for
check in was 9am – 11am for a 1:55pm flight. I usually want to check in early to
avoid long queues and also to relax. I planned to leave the house at 9am, but
eventually left around 9:15am, as I was waiting for a friend to deliver something to
me before my trip. By 10am, we were at the airport, and I asked my wife to stay in
the car for a short, with our boys, for me to ascertain whether the check-in counter
was open. I had not printed my e-ticket, so wanted to find out if they would check
accept the reference code. Check-in hadn’t commenced.

We decided to drive to the Accra Mall, to print at the Busy Internet centre at the
Mall. The attendant on duty indicated that they wouldn’t start till after 12noon.
“Can you please just do me a favour and print something from my email? I am
travelling and need my ticket,” I pleaded. He told us he couldn’t even log into the
system till after 12. Time was about 10:20 am. Upon enquiry, we were told that the
Busy Internet centre in Nkrumah Circle was open; they started working from 6am, the
attendant told us. We drove through 37 (none of the Internet Cafes were open this
early on Sunday) and to the Busy Internet centre at Circle. Things went on smoothly
and I got the e-ticket printed. We drove back to the Kotoka International Airport,
and I said good bye to Vivian and the boys. I got to the departure lounge and
quickly got my luggage checked by the Customs.

I looked for the Emirates counter, and couldn’t find it. The information on the
screen stated the departure time for the flight, without indicating the check –in
counter number. I was getting worried as it was after 11am now, the time stated on
the ticket for checking-in was over. I saw a guy enquiring from one of the airport
officials and drew closer.

“Emirates will start checking in from 12 noon,” he said.

I stood in the open space by my luggage, not knowing where the check-in would take
place. Soon it was 11:45am and my feet were hurting. Some people who were standing
by me decided to go sit down, on one extreme end of the departure lounge. I figured
that if check-in would start anytime, the time I had stood there would be best
appreciated if I held on a bit longer. I was proven right, as a few minutes after 12
noon, the Emirates staff started setting up the counter; I was second in the queue
to check in.

Rev Richard Kwarteng Siaw of International Charismatic Church once told us that he
would never give up on his faith as a Christian. His reason? The path he had covered
was longer than the path ahead of him; he said he had fasted too much, prayed too
much, contended with too many demons, suffered too much, to let all that investment
go waste.

I took my Christian faith more seriously around 1989, when I was in Form three in
Ghana National College. I became active in the Scripture Union then. Before then, we
used the Scripture Union as an avenue to escape the eyes of the seniors. It was
tough being an SU member; apart from being held to the highest standards of
behaviour by both your tutors and colleague students, sometimes you have to bear
the brunt of jokes from your mates who thought you were colo (old fashioned) and not
enjoying the highlife that youth deserved. A few laughed at you to your face.
Similar experiences were encountered among friends at home.

Fast-track many years and I started finding that many of these friends who used to
ridicule us have come to the saving grace of Christ, and some have become pastors.
Then came Facebook, and connections with old friends, some I hadn’t met or
interacted with in close to 20 years, were possible. Then the pleasant surprises
started: status updates about Christ, Christianity, holy living. A lot of those who
used to tease us about our faith in secondary school had now come to a saving
knowledge of Christ. The question I put to myself was: what if I had listened to
them and lost my faith, only to find out later in life that what they push me to
reject has become their treasure? It is akin to a girl rejecting the proposal of a
young man on the advice of her friend only to discover that that same ‘best friend’
of hers has married the rejected proposer! Don’t laugh: it has happened many times.

In my first book, Excursions in My Mind, I wrote about getting an email from an old
friend from Ghana National, many years after school, asking me about how to grow up
in his Christian faith, as he had decided to take God seriously. The question I
asked myself then was: “What if I had given up?”

Sometimes, as I found out in my airport check-in experience, it takes just a bit
more of holding on, to read our vision, to get to our promised land. The race is not
for the swift, but victory belongs to the person who keeps on in the race. My friend
Sandy Nartey puts it this way: “The race is not for the swift, but you must be in
the race.”

Christ’s second coming is now closer than it was yesterday. The distance to your
dream is closer than it was before your last step forward. If you would just hold
on, and keep going...remember, even the ant reaches its destination, as long as it
keeps moving.

Action Exercise

As we move into the new year (2012), is there a dream you had for 2011 that has not
materialised? Don’t give up on it. Are you struggling with your faith and about to
call it quits? Remember the journey so far – will you give it all up? The prize
could be just within reach. Remain in the race, and plod on.

Qoutes

Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal. My strength lies solely in my
tenacity.
Louis Pasteur

If you are going through hell, keep going.
Winston Churchill

Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go.
William Feather

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have
kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.
Dale Carnegie

Never give up on what you really want to do. The person with big dreams is more
powerful than one with all the facts.
Anonymous

When the world says, ‘Give up,’ Hope whispers, ‘Try it one more time.’
Anonymous

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is
more important than fear.
Ambrose Redmoon

A ship in port is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.
Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper

When there is no wind … ROW!
Latin Proverb

Fall down seven times, get up eight.
Japanese Proverb

Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take
the first step.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have
kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.
Dale Carnegie

Never Give Up! Never, never, never, never give up. Never!
Winston Churchill



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Source: Nana Awere Damoah

Author, Tales from Different Tails/Through the Gates of Thought / Excursions In My
Mind
Contributing Author, African Roar
Author Page on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Nana-Awere-Damoah/e/B003NJ3E7Q
Website: www.nanadamoah.com
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/nanaaweredamoah