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[teodroseIII]

Update: Wednesday, July 7th, 2021 – I wrote this article below the bolded paragraphs while I was still homeless five years ago. I am revisiting this article and sharing for two reasons. Though only God knows what is coming next, trust me I am no prophet, in my heart I feel as though humanity is about to enter into very dark times in the very near future. But I’m not here to fearmonger because I have faith that God’s providence will win out in the end.

Whatever tribulations await us, I share this article today as a testimony that all hardships lead to blessings eventually. I pray in ways I’ve never prayed before that we, the suffering super majority of humanity, stop focusing on our differences and fighting over divisions and instead rally around our common humanity because that is the only way we can be renewed. For everyone who is reading this, I love you because you too are my brother and sister. May God bless you and may our children grow up with peace, solidarity and love.

Let me circle back to the power that our names have on us. Not too long ago, my cousin went to Ethiopia to do research on our family’s genealogy. Way before I found out the results of his endeavor, my hero of heroes has always been Atse Tewodros II, the emperor of Ethiopia during the 1800’s who, through sheer will and determination, united Ethiopia into one nation. Before Atse Tewodros’s reign, Ethiopia was in an era known as Zemene Mesafin—the age of princes. Ethiopia was fractured by endless tribes as prince after prince who sought the throne for the sake of self-aggrandizement and self-enrichment. Ethiopia was nothing more than a balkanized entity, a procession of royals impoverishing the country as they nurtured themselves at the cost of the people—sounds familiar doesn’t it?

Tewodros, who before he became emperor was named Kassa Hailu, grew up in this fractured environment. Life circumstances intervened and he too, like the two Joseph’s in the bible, became an outcast and refugee in his own country. He sought protection in a monastery and in the process his faith in God grew in abundance but so did his hatred against injustice. It takes a dance with tribulation to know and understand the plight of those who are fated to a life of hardship....continued...

READ FULL ARTICLE AT: https://ghionjournal.com/my-love-and-legacy/