Of God and of Chicken: A Pilgrim’s Hope
Of God and of Chicken: A Pilgrim’s Hope, a non-fictional book, authored by Alex K Wiafe.
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The author chooses a variety of poems to communicate in varied ways its overarching theme of God being able to be with us and use us despite the weaknesses and limitations we may have.
Appearing to be largely inspired by the occurrences in the life of the author, the contents of each page present us with opened windows into his life, thoughts, desires, emotions, contemplations, hopes, wins, losses, etc.
Additionally, the work in the book has been shaped by the author’s faith as a Christian, work as an academic and career counsellor; and roles as a husband and father.
Inspires prayers
The book, in 27 poems and 49 pages, the book Of God and of Chicken: A Pilgrim’s Hope inspires prayers that focus on new areas not often or usually considered.
It invites us to rest in God, knowing we cannot put it all together in life, yielding all we practically cannot change to God. To consider anew the gifts and blessings of this life, and offer informed gratitude.
The author paints pictures of love, sorrow, assumptions, hopes, etc., experienced as human beings, highlighting our limitations as such too.
He offers not only moments to embrace what we cannot change in our limited estate as human beings; but also spaces for us to look ahead to shape what God has put in our power, and to rest in what lies in His (God's) power.
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Laced with scriptures from the Bible, the book challenges us to have an eternal perspective of life and our actions.
Of God and of Chicken: A Pilgrim’s Hope, is all about the frailty of man and the omnipotence of God. One of the poems bears the title of the book.
The thrust of that poem is that whether we feel strong or weak, God is still God and he can still use us to reveal Himself to us, lead us and bring His will to bear in our lives.
Dependence on God and remaining within the will of God, whatever our lot is, is, therefore, the key to life in its fullness.
Style
Alex K. Wiafe employs free verse as his style of writing Of God and of Chicken: A Pilgrim’s Hope, and further chooses a less difficult level of English language to craft his poems, without compromising the quality of his content.
By so doing, he expands his circle of readers across ages and persons with either high or regular English language proficiency.
Results
Poem after poem triggers various emotions and thoughts as I reflected on some of the situations and experiences shared by Alex K Wiafe.
Through some of the poems, I could identify with the practicality of pain and frustrations in circumstances that lie beyond human control, sophistication and best effort.
The phrases of personal prayers whispered through the portions of some poems inspire us to break out of our existing boundaries of prayer and venture into new areas of prayer that focus on the easily-ignored, and the not-usually-considered matters of life.
Some of the poems on relationships elicit well-sparked feelings of gladness, contentment, delight, hope, etc., sometimes coming along with brief or extended smiles, as such verses painted our ideals in love relationships.
On the other hand, the undesired feelings of sorrow, sadness, helplessness, disappointment, etc., creep in on us, as we are stared in the face by relationships that do not turn out well – a feature of our broken world.
Rest
The author, through several verses in his poems, draws us away from the highs and lows of our human interactions and experiences into mental and emotional spaces where he invites us to consider rest from these opposites.
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Specific stanzas in these poems offer us the opportunity to yield the weight of both our successes and failures despite our intimate knowledge and experience of the same; and to rest in God who cannot be burdened.
After painting clear instances of the powerlessness and limitedness of the best human effort in situations human beings cannot control, we are encouraged to accept our estate and turn to God who has the well withal to help us.
Of God and of Chicken: A Pilgrim’s Hope offers comfort for all and is a must-read. It is available at the Career and Counselling Centre of the University of Ghana, Legon.
