ENSURE YOU READ TILL THE END.
“Bisola, do you know you’re not getting any younger? When are we coming to eat wedding rice?”
The question came with laughter, but it landed like a stone.
She smiled politely, but her eyes dimmed for a second.
People never knew she cried herself to sleep most nights, praying that love would find her too.
Then there’s David, a married man whose wife has been trying to conceive for four years. Every family gathering comes with the same question,
“So when will you two give us a baby?”
He laughs awkwardly and says, “Soon by God’s grace.”
But only God knows the pain behind that forced smile.
And Tolu? She’s been job-hunting for months.
Each “Any job yet?” cuts deeper than the rejection emails.
She’s tired, but she still wakes up, dresses up, and tries again.
We say things jokingly, casually, without realizing how heavy they can sound to someone fighting silent battles.
Depression doesn’t always look like tears; sometimes, it’s the quiet friend who no longer picks calls,
the one who suddenly stops posting,
the one who’s always “fine” but fading inside.
Stop asking single friends why they’re not yet married.
Stop asking married couples without kids what they’re “waiting for.”
Stop asking people why they’ve gained weight or lost it, you don’t know their story.
Stop judging jobless people, some are doing all they can to survive.
Grace makes the difference.
It’s not your smartness that got you where you are, it’s God’s mercy.
So be humble. Be kind.
And don’t ever be happy about another person’s failure.
Behind every smile you see is a story you don’t know.
So, next time you want to speak, pause.
Choose empathy over curiosity.
Choose compassion over comparison.
Because sometimes, your silence can heal more than your words.
Temilade Alokan
Light Lamp
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