Life is a gift from God and it is beautiful; but in all its beauty we cannot ignore the reality that pain
has marinated this most beautiful gift called LIFE. Pain is concealed within our daily endeavours as
we walk through each day, one event leading to the other and knowing or without knowing we are
faced with issues and circumstances that need serious attention. These are Life Issues.
We all at one time came across issues that are heart-rending, emotionally draining and traumatic.
Everyone alive has life issues to deal with. Merriam Webster defines life as the period from birth to
death whilst the Collins dictionary defines it as the quality which people, animals, and plants have
when they are not dead, and which objects and substances do not have but here we are going to
talk about life as the flow of events and happenings taking place around us as we interact with what
surrounds us in the society.
Life Issues therefore becomes a broader platform that encompasses all the situations we face,
situations we observe as they happen to others, distant or close and somehow we get to participate
either physically or emotionally. We need to exhaust issues to do with the youth, marriages,
parenting, single parenting, women & leadership, women & business, ethics & special ethical issues, abuse, rights and religion. And through this platform, we shall give you an opportunity to contribute on our blog site should you want to contribute something concerning the issue being talked about to help one find their way home.
Life revolves around relationships mainly, just by being in the same country or of the same
nationality it is a relationship and therefore most issues we face are relationship related. This
platform helps you develop skill to manage issues in a way that preserves relationships important to
you and important for you.
Life comes with a broader spectrum of issues from managing relationships to much more thought
provoking situations in parenting which spark an unrelenting debate for example; the debate of the
minimum age at which to prosecute child offenders. Recently I read an article published on 30 Jan
2019 on the byo24 website which said the police had confirmed arresting 36 children for allegedly
taking part in the recent violence that rocked Harare, Bulawayo and some parts of Zimbabwe. The
police defended the arrests saying that there is no law here in Zimbabwe that says when children
commit crimes, they should not be arrested. As parents of these children, you know your child is
developmentally incapable of making rational decisions let alone distinguish right from wrong when
there seems to be adults leading the status quo; what should be done in such circumstances because
in some parts of the world children are prosecuted as adults.
Let’s look at this Greek word ‘euthanasia’ which MedicineNet 2016 says it is a combination of two
words; eu ‘good or well’ and thanatos ‘death’. The words build up one word ‘euthanasia’ which
translates to good death or well death, which in our modern society we call ‘mercy killing’. Wikipedia
describes ‘mercy killing’ as the practice of intentionally ending a life to relieve pain and suffering. Say
you have had a relative who has been bed-ridden for years and the doctors broke the news to you
that they’re having multiple organ failure and their chances of surviving are close to none and it’s on
your plate to decide whether to have the life-support machines turned off or to let them lie
connected in continual pain for a time unknown. This is a tough decision to make. Despite having
general compassion for the suffering loved one, don’t we also find impatient heirs taking advantage
of mercy killing and abusing it. What also of the guilt that overwhelms you after ordering a mercy kill
of a loved one? Since God is the giver of life, does He condone killing of another in an attempt to
give them rest or an escape from their pain? We should have discussions around these areas so that
when the unfortunate strikes we will be well informed as we come face to face with the uncomely
circumstances.
Another example would be a real life story of a certain girl I observed as we were growing up. It was
after parents divorced, that her mother sent her to stay with an aunt and an uncle. She ended up
being subject to sexual abuse by the uncle and she became pregnant. Her mother disowned her and
her relatives accused her of attempting to snatch her aunt’s husband. She became an outcast with
her baby in the womb. It’s sad how patriarchal our society is despite being modern about everything
else. Society usually condones the expedient exploitation of women and in that particular case; they
wanted to save the marriage from the suspected home wrecker. The real nightmare for this girl was
not being chased from a home but it was on whether to continue carrying that which was in her
womb seeing it was a product of an excruciating experience of rape. Her situation was very
traumatising in that rape pregnancy comes with potential health risks and negative consequences
for both the victim and a resulting child. The big question then becomes; should rape victims raise
the children or terminate the resulting pregnancies? Either the misfortune falls on a close loved one
or a distant neighbour, we should be mentally equipped to offer assistance and counsel to the
victims therefore the need to look deep into life issues. Let’s say it was your husband arrested for
raping a close relative and they are thrown in prison, would you visit them often in prison or
abandon them to rot since they have betrayed the union of marriage? When do we apply
forgiveness and mercy? These are life issues which need to be discussed in order to have answers to
unanswered questions we have had for a long time!
