I am lying in bed watching snaps of prominent social media personalities in the U.K, and everyone seems to be at Hyde Park celebrating the life of British rapper, Blaine Johnson (popularly known as Cadet), who passed away yesterday on the way to a gig at Keele University. Once the news broke, tributes poured in for the rising rapper led by his cousin, Krept, of the duo ‘Krept & Konan’. English rapper, Stormzy, wrote a tribute on Instagram to the late 28 year old, talking about how clean hearted he was. Four words from the post remain ingrained in my memory: “This man exudes love”. I listened to the lyrics of an old song he wrote for his cousin entitled “Letter to Krept”, and it was not hard to imagine that he emanated love freely. I pray that He rests peacefully in God’s arms where love abounds.

Cadet’s sudden death, and his “Letter to Krept” got me thinking about life, love and forgiveness. In the song, he addresses issues he had with his cousin but ends with “Man, I love you, You must know this”. Listening to these words taught me a simple lesson: let go, and let Love. You never know when a loved one that you are holding a grudge against will go. I once heard the story of a woman who had an argument with her father, and consequently, stopped speaking to him. One day, she got a call that her father had been shot, and was hospitalised. Her father later passed away without her getting the opportunity to say goodbye. My heart broke for her because she loved her father, and was eventually going to start speaking to him again. Life just happened. One of my favourite bible verses is “Let us know the shortness of life, that we may gain wisdom of heart”; letting go and letting love, that’s wisdom of heart.

It may be a friend, or a cousin. It may be a parent, or a sibling. I don’t know who needs to hear this, but if you’re reading this, I want you to understand that it is not worth it. That hate that you are carrying in your heart will turn into regret, if you do not make crooked lines straight before it is too late. That grudge that you bear against that person will turn into pain because you would keep thinking “If I had known”. Pick up the phone, and call the person or text the person. Pick up from where you left off. It may be an incredibly difficult thing to do, but it will pay in the end. Life is too precious to be consumed by anything but love; let go and let love.

QUOTES

“Forgiveness is the final form of love.”-Reinhold Niebuhr

“Forgiveness doesn’t mean forgetting, it means choosing to remember love instead.”-Kyle Gray

“When you forgive you heal. When you let go, you grow.”-Anonymous