SOMETHING NEW

Uche adjusted his tie as he stood in front of the mirror. He had applied for the position of software engineer in a big tech firm in Lagos three weeks ago, and today was the interview.

Pulling his arms through the sleeves of his navy blue suit, he tried to scan himself for any form of excitement, enthusiasm or even hope; but he found none. Instead of approaching this interview with a sense of excitement, he realized he was bracing himself for disappointment. 

He stared at his image in the mirror and sighed. How did he become so cold and lifeless? How come the very things that tickled his fancy earlier in the year no longer excited him? Where was the fire that once burned in him at the beginning of the year?

Guy, he asked himself, what happened to you?

He couldn't answer, and was about leaving the table when his eyes caught something beside the mirror. It was a picture of a beautiful waterfall, and underneath it, a scripture had been etched.

Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing;...

As he sat in the commercial bus on his way to the interview venue, he was grateful that it wasn’t noisy. Everybody minded their business, so he had time to meditate on the scripture that he had seen this morning.

Remember ye not the former things…

God, do you know how hard that is?

Disappointments he had experienced all through the year slid through his mind. He had lost his job, lost his father, broken up with his fiancé, been duped by a scammer, lost an investment worth thousands of Naira, applied for several jobs and met with several rejections...

I will do a new thing

His train of negative thoughts stopped abruptly when he heard that. But he sighed and shook his head.

God, it’s difficult to hope when you’ve had your hopes dashed countless times.

The silence after that left him feeling more frustrated. He alighted from the bus and entered the office of the interview. He was confident this wasn't going to end well. 

A few moments later, he sat before a panel of four men in suits. He was not tensed, not afraid, not nervous. As he sat before the four tech gurus, Uche felt absolutely nothing. 

When they started asking questions, he answered them like he was chewing breakfast cereal. He had gone through all these before. Nothing was new.

“Mr. Uche,” one of them said, “you seem to have a lot of experience in this field.”

He shrugged and smiled politely. The enthusiasm in their eyes was not going to fool him. Just because they were impressed with his experience didn’t mean they would grant him the job.

One of them looked at his cv again and stroked his chin.

“You’re exactly the kind of guy we’ve been looking for.” He said.

“What are your salary expectations?”

Uche named it, somehow still believing that a negative email would land in his inbox at the end of today.

The interviewers talked quietly between themselves. Uche looked away. He was ready to be rejected. Again.

“Congratulations, Mr. Uche." One of them said, smiling broadly. "You're hired." He stretched out his hand for a handshake and Uche took it, wondering if they were playing with him. 

They told him he would get an email before the end of today. It would give him the details about his job. He could resume on Monday.

On his way out of the office that afternoon, Uche saw a table calendar on the receptionist’s desk. It was not the picture of the blossoming flower that caught his attention. It was the Scripture that was written across it.

Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

Six words jumped at him: I WILL DO A NEW THING.

Gradually, the numbness and lack of enthusiasm inside him gave way for hope. Because just when he thought the year was coming to an end and dragging his life down along with it, God had shown him that He still cared. Despite the hurt, disappointments, mistakes, and losses of this year, God had decided to do SOMETHING NEW. At the last minute.

He had reason to always HOPE.