When the student is ready!

8:29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.

8:30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?

8:31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. Acts

We start this one with a lite portion of scripture, understanding that when the student is ready, the teacher will soon appear! I guess that statement could also be co-signed by Matthew 7:7 seek, and ye shall find.. Although this isn't necessarily a Bible lesson, I figured there was no better way to qualify this blog than with the Gospel.

Can we learn beyond our capacity for understanding, I would say no! In my experience once I had a great enough knowledge of something it was only then that I was ready to go further.

I've had several experiences where the teache

r appeared, although I didn't understand at the time that I was ready. Most of these occurrences I've never shared with anyone, maybe I should've, but I felt it was too hard to tell the story and that they might be too hard to believe.. But in this case I'll share an experience that to this day still bugs me out!

If anyone is familiar with the Plaza located in Beverly, Illinois.. this was once our staple indoor mall. The memories that the Plaza carrys for many Chicagoans like myself is legendary to say the least. To give a brief understanding, I'd say it's the mall where you might see any local star, to every local hustler at the time, and the finest woman that the city and sorrounding suburbs had as residents.

One afternoon I made my way through the mall, not sure if I had a reason for being there or not. As I was walking I noticed two brothas walking through the mall at a fast pace, as we called it marching more or less. I was alone, as I often would be as I'd gotten older. Also, at this point the Plaza had been far from it's hay day as the hang out, or even spot to shop for the freshest gear. Somehow I ended up in the Black Art Store, where shortly after the two brothas arrived.

After one of the brothas asked the owner for something that she didn't have at the time, the four of us engaged in a conversation. I had been unofficially under the Nation of Islam's teachings for years, and the brothas happen to be Muslims. A few minutes in they corrected me as to what kind of Muslims they were. They told me they were from the sect that Malcolm X had transitioned to after leaving the Nation of Islam. As they talked to the sista and myself I realized how much I didn't really know about the Muslim Faith. I had only understood from the surface, and it was time for me to really learn what it was that I had been believing in.

Shortly after, I purchased the Holy Quran and began studying on my own. After reading and understanding the difference between the Muslim and Christian Faith, I realized it wasn't the path for me. I don't know that I wouldn't have continued following The Nation's teachings had it not been for that interaction with these two brothas. I've never forgotten the conversation we had, I recall on more than one occasion them telling me that we would probably never see each other again.

The one who did most of the talking had a deep split right above his nose, between his eyebrows, I honestly kept waiting for it to open and another eye to appear. It was the weirdest thing I had ever experienced, and if somebody told me I had entertained aliens or angels I'd believe it even now. In this situation, myself being the student, I was directed away from a path that I had been traveling for over 10yrs. The two bro's hadn't become my teachers so to speak, but they were instrumental in leading me away from where I was headed, which later brought me to where I needed to be, where I am

still today.