THE SAD STORY OF MERCY

I joined Steemit in October 2017, about 3 months ago, and since then I’ve really learnt a lot and still learning from the cup of knowledge from the brains behind the articles I read each and every blessed day. Through steemit I’ve been enlightened about blockchain, cryptocurrencies, I get motivated every day to do more, get to learn more about the word of God, learn more about lifestyles that improve health status, etc. I must say there is no social media platform to be part of other than steemit.

Two days ago, I went to see my Senior High School mate called Prince Acquah, whom before my visit I was still convincing to join this amazing platform to tell him more about how good and beneficial steemit has been to me. He has been writing good and quality contents on his blog so I believe he will make impart here on steemit.

A selfie of me (right) with Prince Acquah

I told him my improvements so far since I joined steemit and the rewards that come along with it. Though as a newbie it’s not easy to get enough visibility for your post but with the enormous support from the awesome people across the globe I’ve had the chance to interact with, and the whole members of #teamGhana I am making progress. I believe I will get to their level and even go higher as every now and then they are also improving. With the believe I have that the very best proof that something can be done is that someone else has already done it, I believe strongly that the sky is my limit and thus, I will eventually get to the top where I will also offer helping hand to people by contributing in one way or the other to continue the legacy that has been started by steemians.

Prince was really excited about the good news I had brought to him so he asked me to help him register and not waste time. Though I had told him about steemit on whatsapp as you can see from the screenshots below, he had some doubt until I went there. I then helped him to sign up and told him to let me know if his account get approved so that I will direct him as to what next to do.

The pictures above are screenshots of my whatsapp chat with him.

After signing up for Prince, his kid brother by name Felix returned from school. He greeted us and I told him how fast he has grown into a big boy. We had a chitchat after which he went inside his room to change his uniform. He then joined us in the living room. From the look on his face he seemed worried so I asked him if something was bothering him. Initially he hesitated but upon pressing on, he told us what had happened in school. What Felix told us really touched my heart and think I should share it to the rest of the world for us to derive and learn lessons from it. This is what he told us:

There is this girl called Mercy Assafuah who joined my class five weeks ago. The first day she officially came to school she came late. There is this teacher called Mrs. Tetteh who is known for always punishing latecomers. She forgave her since it was her first day in school. The next day, Mercy again came late. Mrs. Tetteh forgave her this time also. The following day which was Wednesday, Mercy reported late to school but was not lucky and hence was punished this time round. The subsequent days for her first week in school were no different. She reported late and did not escape the punishment of Mrs. Tetteh.

This continued for three week. Mercy reported late and was always punished for being a habitual latecomer. However, the whole of the fourth week, she never stepped foot in school. We all thought she had stopped school for good because the punishment became unbearable for her. Because she was new in the class and none of us knew where she stayed, we never bothered to go to her house to find out why she was not coming.

Felix continued:

Today, to our outmost surprise, Mercy was the very first person in our class to report to school. She came earlier than any one of us and had even swept the class alone. This afternoon Mrs. Tetteh was going to the various classes making announcement. When she came to our class and had made her announcement she saw Mercy. She then told the class that she (Mrs. Tetteh) punishing her has changed Mercy’s habit of coming to school late. She was happy about Mercy’s change. She went on to tell the class how punishing students change and make them better. When she had said all that and was about leaving, Mercy raised her hand and asked if she could give her the permission to say something.
Mrs. Tetteh gave her the go ahead to speak. Mercy got up on her feet and told us her story that brought down tears to our eyes.

At this point Felix paused for some time and continued.

She said, “I was brought up by a single parent, my mother, with no brother or sister. Four weeks ago my mother was sick and was hospitalized. Not having any sibling, I had to prepare food every morning and pass by the hospital to give her food so that my mother will have something to eat before I come to school. Since last week her condition was deteriorating so I had to spend more time at the hospital and that is why I couldn’t come to school the whole of last week. Unfortunately, my one and only parent passed away just last week Thursday”.
At this point, tears were trickling down her cheeks. The teacher also could not hold on the tears that had welled up in her eyes. She tried to console Mercy who sobbed uncontrollably.

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I pondered over what Felix told us and I think there are lessons we could learn from it. For me what I learnt is that we shouldn’t be quick to judge or draw conclusions. We should always ask for reasons why people do what they do and we shouldn’t judge someone for what they do without knowing why they do that.

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What lessons can you also derive from Mercy’s story? Let me hear what you also think we can learn from her sad story in the comment section so that we improve upon our lives.

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