Waterloo

In the year 1815, a most historical thing happened in Waterloo, Belgium. The French army under the command of Napoleon, fought against the English under the command of the Duke of Wellington- and the French lost miserably. The battle of Waterloo went down in history as the humiliation of all humiliations. It was so bad, that the French to date (200 years on), do not commemorate it as a part of their history. I share this with a lot of tenderness because I have French relatives. lol. Anyway, the French attributed their failure to Napoleon’s ill health…they even seemingly blamed God because it had rained the day before and the mud supposedly affected the way they fought. Excuses…excuses….one after another in quick succession!

When I first heard this story I thought to myself, ‘well what’s the big deal? I mean, people win and lose battles all the time’. But as I go through life and face my own battles I must admit that I have experienced my Waterloo’s- situations that have left me so beaten and deflated, so defeated and humiliated, that I just wanted to bury my head in the sand and act as though none of it ever happened.

The proverbial Waterloo is a place that breeds and nurtures fear. Fear that if people pay close attention, if they look deep into the recesses of your heart they will see that you are not as great a person as they think you are. They will realize that you are not as strong and brave as you have made them think. They will see the truth for what it is; that many times you walk around feeling like a fraud. Waterloo. The humiliation of all humiliations.

(African American art)

I have been pondering over the issue of failure. I thought about David committing adultery and murder. Or Moses losing his temper and also becoming a murderer. And then I thought about Ruth leaving her home country to follow her husband and returning home childless and widowed. Or the beautiful Sarah who allowed her handmaid to bear a son by her husband and then deeply resented her for it. My heart is especially tender towards Peter who out of fear denied the one he had devoted his life to- not once, not twice, but thrice. I even chuckle a little when I think about Jonah, who disobeyed God and ended up in the belly of a whale (yikes).

These men and women came short by any standards and yet we talk about them as men and women who greatly impacted the history of our faith. Yes they failed, but more importantly they allowed God’s power to be clearly etched in their weakness. They surrendered their pride, their dignity, and all those other things they had held on to and allowed God to turn it all around in ways that only He could.

I may not know what your proverbial Waterloo is…it could be a career that has gone up in ashes, a broken marriage, a home eviction, a struggle with substance abuse, or even stupid little choices that you have made along the way that seem to constantly hang over your head. But what I do know is that at this very moment, God is offering both you and I, a chance to press the re-set button and start all over again. He wants you to know that your past is just that; your past. You can grow from the mistakes you have made. You can climb that brick wall. You can break the glass ceiling you have placed over your head. The voice of truth is calling you on up to take away your shame and restore your dignity. It is the intertwining of our mistakes and the grace of God that works to create a most beautiful tapestry. Nothing lost, nothing wasted.

Have an amazing month. Waterloo happened, but it must never hold you down. 

From my heart to yours,

Kambua M.