Can These Bones Live? - Part 1

“And he said unto me, son of Adam, can these bones live? And I answered, O Adonai Yahuah, you know.Again he said unto me, prophesy unto these bones and say unto them, Oh ye dry bones hear the word of Yahuah. Thus says Adonai Yahuah unto these bones, behold I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live."

Ezekiel 37:3-5.

As I sat reminiscing about my awakening experience, the start of my spiritual enlightenment, I realised to my amazement that this "waking up" started long before I even became aware of it. As I sat in deep contemplation, it all started to make sense, and I recalled how it all began.

It was around summer of 1983, and I had just returned to my mother’s house after living in another city where I lived for 4 years. I had moved to Bristol at the age of 19 to find work after completing a secretarial course. Life in Bristol was challenging for a young woman of my age without family or friends to support me. I did manage to find work in temporary positions, but became unemployed for a long period, so I did some re-training and decided to join a friend in London. My plan was to visit my mum for a couple of weeks, and then move to London. Plans changed as my visit was extended due to dissuasion of friends from leaving. I very quickly found a temporary job as a clerk for the local authority at one of the offices located within walking distance of my mom’s house where I was staying. My mother was a strong community figure, and I soon became an active member of my black community. My sisters, who were also living with my mum, and I became very popular among the youth in our community, particularly among Rastafarian youth, and became absorbed in the culture and social life. I didn’t grow locks, but loved the music, going to dances, and had lots of Rasta friends both male and females. I learnt some of the Rastafarian dietery culture such as not eating pork, and their keen interest in reading the Bible and adherence to some biblical laws and principles. All this led to my interest in the Bible. I remember going to church as a child in Jamaica, but didn’t consider myself a Christian.

One day my two sisters and I were discussing why our Rasta friends refuses to eat pork, so we decided to search the Bible for evidence to support their reason for this and we found the dietary laws in Leviticus which clearly restricted the eating of swine flesh. We grew up with a respect for the Bible, so we made the decision to immediately stop eating pork. We used to love pork sausages for fry up breakfast on a Sunday so that was quite a sacrifice for us. As I continued to turn the pages of the Bible, I came to Exodus 20, the ten commandments, and read it through. When I came to the 4th commandment this grabbed my attention. It was about the 7th day being the day of worship which is Saturday and as I thought about it, I felt confused. This didn’t make sense as I had never heard of anyone worshipping on Saturdays. Sunday was the day people went to church. I put the Bible away, but this left me in a contemplative mood that day. However, I was resolute in my decision to stop eating pork and have never touched it again.

It was around autumn time 1983, and I was still staying with my mum temporarily and was sleeping on the living room floor as there was no room for me to sleep. One night I struggled to sleep, so I got up with the inspiration to write as I was getting some strong creative thoughts. I grabbed a piece of paper and got a pen and wrote the following:

“Situations arise in the lives of individuals, occurrences which illuminates supernatural forces within and around. I’m black, but as an individual I find the controversy of racial issues inconsequential. My complication originates from my inner being. I am an enigmatic form of physical substance existing on this planet, yet I feel I don’t belong here. My spirit is in turmoil, I’m like an alien paying earth a visit and experiencing the restrictions and difficulty in communication. I want to totally be absorbed in my spirit, but I am trapped by the force of worldly ambition – my need to be “somebody”. The desire for recognition battles with my need for the tranquillity and humility of peace. I feel the pull of nature, the divine sweetness of eternal living, a life which eliminates all materialistic obstacles. I am aware of the spiritual goal of humanity, but how do I achieve it? Perhaps I should be a Samaritan, to help others with selfless devotion, yet at the same time I need my freedom from commitments – I’m confused!”

After I finished writing I fell asleep. When I awoke the following morning and read what I had written I was even more confused – did I write that?

This was the beginning of the journey which led me to my Heavenly Father who was leading me to himself, but at the time I didn’t know it.