The Day the Raiders Came

“You meant to hurt me, but God turned it into something good.” — from Genesis 50

When Ajayi was about thirteen years old, there was war all over the Yoruba country. Gangs of raiders went from town to town, catching people to sell as slaves.

One fine morning in 1821, Ajayi’s family was getting breakfast ready. Suddenly the news ran through Osogun: the enemy is coming! The raiders surrounded the town. After a few hours of fighting, they broke in.

Everyone ran. Mothers carried their babies and pulled their children through the prickly bushes. Ajayi had a bow and five arrows, but he lost the bow in the thorns. His father came to tell them to run. That was the last time Ajayi ever saw his father.

The raiders caught Ajayi, his mother, his two sisters and a cousin. They put a rope around each person’s neck and led them away, tied together. As they walked out of the burning town, Ajayi saw his grandmother in the crowd for just a few minutes. Then she was gone.

Many years later, when Ajayi was grown up, he called this “the unhappy, but blessed day.” It was unhappy, because he lost his home and his family. But he also called it blessed, because it was the first step on a long road that would lead him to Jesus.

Sometimes very sad things happen. God does not say that those things are good. But God can be at work even in the saddest day, bringing good out of it in ways we cannot see yet.

Dear God, when sad things happen, help me to remember that you are still with me. Thank you that you can bring good out of hard days. Amen.