Two people have been on my mind lately for similar reasons, and I'd love to share their messages with you.

The first is Pastor Chernet Belay (Pastor Chere), whose viral video I saw last week. In a public speech delivered earlier this year, Pastor Chere said something like, "We thought the communist regime would last forever, but it was brought down by the TPLF-led government. And the TPLF was removed from power after 27 years. Nothing lasts. It's all about time. Whatever we are seeing will pass."

The other person is Abdu Kiar, the popular singer. In his latest album, Abdu Kiar dedicated a song titled 'Pa Pa Pa,' a reference to populism and its ultimate destruction. If you haven't listened to this song, I encourage you to do so. His song is a sermon in itself. He warns his beloved that 'Pa Pa Pa' (public admonition and celebration) will one day destroy her if she leaves her first love for newfound fame and celebrity status. Abdu Kiar's song is said to carry a political tone. Maybe it is.

Both Pastor Chere and Abdu Kiar share a profound truth: time defines everything. There are those who abuse power to favor their ethnic or religious group. There are those who act as if they are eternal, using their energy to overpower and diminish others. Some use public platforms for personal gain, expecting everyone to bow down to them. They forget one crucial thing: time is not ours. We live by the mercy of the Almighty God. One day, time will not favor us. The power we abused to hurt others will turn back on us. We will pass on our pain to our descendants. The suffering we caused will eventually be our own. We don't own time.

While I commend both Pastor Chere and Abdu Kiar for their prophetic voices, their message is a warning for all of us, not just the politicians. Friends, time is not ours. Let's not think and act as if we own everything. In fact, the deeper truth is that we are not even ours. What then is the purpose to this life if we don't use or abuse what's in our hand? Here is a very good reminder where our purpose lies on earth - to do with all the 'power' we think we have:

"What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."
- Micah 6:8

@Born_Crucified

Hugs and Jesus

I wonder why the Gospels do not mention Jesus hugging people. I mean hugging is a very powerful way of telling someone you love and care for them. It’s also proved to have a very positive and encouraging effect on people passing through difficult times in life. Hugs are very important. However, contrary to many Jesus posters where we see Jesus hugging a sinner, we don’t read Jesus hugging anyone in the Bible.

Isn’t hugging Jesus the one thing every one of us would die for whenever we are passing through a difficult phase in life? It is. Perhaps picturing Jesus as a hugging friend is not a bad idea at all. Here is what Jesus does for us as a friend.

He comes to our house. (Luke 19:5-6)
He dines with us. (Revelation 3:20)
He calls us His friends. (John 15:15)

What can we do as friends to Him?

Invite Him to our lives. (John 1:12)
Open the gate when He knocks. (Revelation 3:20)
Break our albatross and pour it on His feet. (John 12:3)
Embrace and kiss His feet. (Luke 7:38)

Can we hug Him?

I think we can. I think He wants that. A Jesus who calls us friend, would not deny us to fall on His chest when we get weak in life. He embraces us much like the father embraced his Prodigal Son. (Luke 15:20)

If you are looking for this kind of affection in life, like I do, we are not wrong to envision His affection in this manner.
May we be reminded of a stretched arms of Jesus to embrace us whenever we are faced with difficulties in life.

@Born_Crucified

I highly recommend the following piece by Pursuing Holiness to be read.

ርዕስ: መንፈሳዊ ጓደኝነት

https://shorturl.at/m4Sed

@Born_Crucified

ከመዳፎችህ ስር
ሕመም እና ፍቅር
አንድ ላይ ተስማምተው
የመኖራቸው ሚስጥር

ሰማያዊ መስዋዕትነት
ሕመም-ፍቅርን የተማርኩበት
የእውነተኛ የአባት ፍቅር
ራስን መስጠት አየሁ ሲናገር


Anyone who can tell me where this poem/lyrics is from will have a prize? 😊

@Born_Crucified

“A few months ago, I engaged in a thought-provoking debate with an Ethiopian feminist on the topic of polygamy. She was a final-year law student at a university situated in an area where polygamy is prevalent. Coincidentally, I have relatives from that same region, who are also polygamists. The crux of our debate was the status of women in polygamous marriages. She firmly believed that women in such relationships in Ethiopia are inherently abused and, therefore, polygamy should be abolished.
Though I identify as a feminist, I found myself at odds with her position. There is a common thread among many EthioFeminists and AfroFeminists—they often commit what I term a contextualization error. Let me illustrate this with a case scenario to elucidate what I mean.”


Read my latest piece for Finding Fura, an Ethiopian feminist outlet.

Beyond Eurofeminism: Contextualizing Ethiopian Women's Rights

https://www.findingfura.com/blogs/opinions/1

Another year.
Grateful.
Thank you, Lord.
እየራራህልኝ!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0nxh9y9Nzg

Happy Ethiopian New Year, friends.

እንኳን ኖራችሁ!

Baga jiraattan!

May the new year be the one where you will (re)discover the meaning of your existence in this world.

@Born_Crucified

There’s a story of a young man that has fascinated me, one that took place ten years ago. He was a medical student at Addis Ababa University and a dedicated member of a small Baptist church. He cherished his little congregation and had recently experienced his first romance. One day, he leaned in and whispered into his girlfriend's ear, “Let’s become missionaries someday.”

She nodded in agreement, and together they approached the pastor of their local church, and they told him their desire to serve as missionaries in five years. The pastor’s eyes welled up with tears, and he leaped with joy at their commitment.

You could see the joy and excitement on the couple’s face.

They prayed together.

They made promises.

However, a few months later, their relationship came to an end. She eventually got married to another person and started her own family.

The young man,however, refused to abandon what he believed to be his calling – to become a missionary. He encountered numerous battles along the way. He was involved in multiple breakups. He multitasked himself with a couple of commitments.

There were times when he felt he had lost the taste and meaning of life.

Life knocked him at times.

He won some battles and lost others.

Life took him on a rollercoaster of ups and downs, and at times, his path seemed to veer away from his original calling. Yet, he eventually found his way back to where his heart always longed to be – a missionary.

No matter the challenges, he remained steadfast in pursuing what he believed God had called him to do: to serve others selflessly, even at the cost of his own life.

What promises did you once make to God in your youth? What trials have shaken you along the way? May you be reminded of those beautiful moments when you poured out your heart before God, uttering seemingly simple yet profound vows, like the promise to love your neighbor.

May the nostalgia of the most treasured and beautiful moments of your youth embrace you this year!


@Born_Crucified

Feel you.

Call me late in the night,
Whisper your pain into my ear.
I won’t judge;
Take solace in my embrace,
Let your tears trace my shoulder,
As they soak the warmth of your cheeks.
Darling, I won’t judge you.

If I have to travel across cities to wipe your tears,
I will do it for you.
If I don't find a taxi,
I will walk right to your home.
To see your tearful eyes.
And broken face.
Even if I can't heal you,
I want to feel you.

They think I am going to your town to celebrate Irreechaa.
But I am not.
Your pain has pained me.
I buy a black shirt to identify with your mourn.

The store owner asked me, “Why are you wearing black today?”
I answered him, “My darling lost her mom.”
He was brought to tears.
He took out his shirt and wore black.
Your pain has been felt everywhere, beautiful.
It wasn't in vain.

Don’t fall, darling;
But if you must, fall on my shoulder.
Though I can't heal you, I want to feel you.
Your black dress on my black shirt.
Take solace in my neck.
Let me feel your “Why?”

In between your tears.
As I feel your cheeks.
Until memory fades.
Time passes.


@Born_Crucified

Happy Irreechaa 2024!

Baga nagaan nu gahe!!

Thank Waaqa.
Celebrate your culture.
Love you neighbor.
Pray for the peace of your land.
Advocate for the voiceless.

Happy Irreechaa!!

@Born_Crucified

How many mistakes can you point out in this post? 😅

If you can show me at least 5 mistakes, you may get a prize!


@Born_Crucified

Jesus, I choose Your Way.
Day by day
Day by day

Be it bed of roses or....crown of thorns.
Shrouds of honor or.....garments of loss.
When tempted to seek my way
Instead I choose Your way
Day by day
Day by day

In twisting turns of life,
In tossing seas that rise,
I drown all my desires
Long-held dreams I aspire
Instead I choose Your Way
Day by day
Day by day

As You chose Calvary,
And asked of me to tarry
Be it blood-stained cross
Or golden-colored crown
I vow to choose Your Way
Day by day
Day by day.

Through the valley of sorrows
Or the chambers of fire blaze
Be it the cool of the garden
Or the cringing of the wine press
No matter what the path
Jesus I still choose Your way
Day by day
Day by day

"ነገ ለራሱ ይጨነቅ!" 😊 (ማቴ 6:34 )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWd20JPE00M

@Born_Crucified

"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ "

Luke 14:28 (NIV)

@Born_Crucified

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time."

- Romans 8:18-22 (NIV)

The whole creation groans for a better day. A day where there will not be pain and suffering. A day where freedom gets its true meaning. Man, we all want to see that day. Don't we?

But now creation groans as in the pains of childbirth.

I have worked with laboring mothers. I have seen their pain. Childbirth isn't a nice experience for many.

Both Paul (as in the above verse in Romans) and Jesus (John 16: 21) compare the present day pain and suffering with that of childbirth - a very painful and unsanitary experience. So many dirt, blood and pain just to give birth to another human being. To let life continue.

To the suffering creation, the hope lies in this - there comes a better day. Labor pain does not last forever. There will be redemption. There will be freedom. Take heart! Hold on!

And listen to good music. 😊

@Born_Crucified

The best advice I received in the past three years came last year, perhaps around this exact time. A friend said, “Perhaps our greatest problem is that we think we are nice and cute. We aren't as cute and nice as we think we are.”

I'd take it even further by adding: we are not as kind or ambitious as we believe ourselves to be. Perhaps our problem is that we think so highly of ourselves that we miss the truth—we aren't really there yet. You’re not as good as you think, pal.

“So what?” you may ask, wondering why I’m telling you this today. I’m trying to free you. You aren’t really there and that’s why they left you. That’s why they didn’t want to join your team. Perhaps that’s why you don’t deserve to be where others are. This isn’t pleasant to hear, I know. But it’s liberating. You’ve been wondering why things went wrong, assuming you were nice and kind. I have bad news for you, but it will set you free.

Don’t misunderstand me, you’re not entirely miserable. That’s another extreme. You’re not a loser. You’re just not that good. You’re just... ordinary. You are.

But there’s a freedom in being ordinary. Leaving for work early in the morning. Living a subtle life. Not being the star in your friendship groups. Waiting in a long line for a taxi before sunrise. Smiling at a customer, knowing that some days, that might be all you can offer.

I tell you, that's actually beautiful. Beautifully ordinary.

Smile, be patient, and embrace the ordinary. It’s freeing sometimes.

@Born_Crucified

It's been almost six years now since I have been questioning the significance of human beings in the light of an ever expanding universe and its Creator. Everytime Christmas is in the corner, my mind boggle how the Creator of the universe shrunk itself to a mortal being in the Person of Jesus Christ.

It's crazy.

Six years ago, I had this bizzarre vision while standing on the street side of the new CBE building around Ambassador cinema, now the tallest building in East Africa. I felt insignificant before this magnificent building.

But then imagine how insignificant we are in the light of the infinitely big universe (Well, it's kinda finite sometimes but unfathomably big). What then is a human life before the Cosmos and its Creator?

David had descended to a similar existential crisis at some point in his life when he questioned, “what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” (Psalms 8:4, NIV). He was thinking too forward to his time where they didn't have a fraction of the knowledge regarding the universe and how it's operating that we have now.

Again, it's crazy.

And just like that we celebrate the incarnation of this Creator God in human flesh, His descent from the most significant to the most insignificant. He danced and smiled, just like us. He was starved and fed, just like us. He suffered and died, just like everyone one of the 100 billion human being that ever lived or will. He was added to our population census.

He made our insignificant lives meaningful so that even on our bad days we can actually brag, “This life has been once lived by the Creator.”

Merry Christmas, friends.

The life you are living has once been lived by your Creator.

@Born_Crucified

Houses are built to last. But they don't last forever. They are used for couple of generations, of course with renovations, and then at some point either they will be turned into a museum or get destroyed for some reason.

Old houses, villages and towns always bear the nostalgia with them for generations. For instance I was born around Saris Addisu Sefer, Addis Ababa. I always miss the village I grew up at, the neighborhood and everything. Then there is Addis Ababa where I spent the majority of my youth. I never left Addis Ababa for a period more than 2 months at any time until last year. I am still nostalgic of the place I studied, worked at and walked through. It's called home.

But houses don't last forever. Even though home will find its place somewhere in the world, houses are converted, transformed and destroyed at times. This in turn changes demography, new faces and cultures appear. Religions get outnumbered and maybe pushed to the countryside. These are different colors that make houses homes.

There are some of us who actually find it difficult to deal with changes. “Just get used to it” won't be enough to convince us to settle down. We always look back. We miss our past that hold so much meaning to our youthful years and childhood. We want to live in our old houses only to face that fact that old houses are torn down. Old is dead, everything keeps changing. How are we going to keep up with this?

To all who are finding it difficult to deal with changes in life, I personally share your sentiment. And if you drawn to your past or “good old days“ no matter how old they are, I feel you. It just doesn't go easily, does it? The morning prayers, the fellowships, the songs you sang, the books you read and the walks you had.

They just don't leave you easily, do they?

You know why?

Houses aren't meant to last but our perception of them are.

And Sunday afternoon is a time to reflect on your couch and smile.

@Born_Crucified

I found it very difficult to translate one Amharic word into Swahili to comfort my patients. I am yet to find an equivalent for it. The word is “አይዞህ” or “አይዞሽ”. It’s very difficult to find a good English or Swahili word to convey its depth.

Honestly speaking, as much as I love the Oromo language, I couldn't find an equivalent word there either. I’m not sure how many languages actually have a perfect translation for it. It’s a word that is so powerful yet so weak, so meaningful yet seemingly meaningless at the same time.

It’s powerful because it carries a tone of deep empathy—“I feel you.” It acknowledges pain and expresses solidarity. But it’s also weak because, at face value, it doesn’t offer much beyond words. No medicine. No solution. Just a verbal bandage over an open wound.

It’s meaningful because, in many cases, it actually does bring comfort. When a person falls, we instinctively say “አይዞን!” and somehow, that alone is enough. It’s almost visceral—you can feel it in your bones. It carries warmth, presence, and assurance.

But then, it’s also meaningless. When I look into the eyes of a terminally ill patient, someone whose pain will not go away, perhaps never in this life, I still find myself saying “አይዞን እሺ.” It feels like such a small thing to offer in the face of suffering that words cannot fix.

Interestingly, the Bible translators used “አይዞአችሁ” in John 16:33:

"በዓለም ሳላችሁ መከራ አለባችሁ፤ ነገር ግን አይዞአችሁ፤ እኔ ዓለምን አሸንፌዋለሁ።"

"In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

What kind of “አይዞን” is this? The weak or the strong? The meaningful or the meaningless?

I believe it is the most meaningful version of all. Jesus wasn’t merely offering pity. He wasn’t just saying, “Mtsm” or “Pole sana.” He was declaring a victory—a victory over pain, over suffering, over death itself.

So when I say “አይዞን” to my patients, I find myself caught between these two realities. On one hand, it feels like an empty word, a mere whisper in the face of overwhelming pain. On the other, it carries the weight of shared humanity—the acknowledgment of suffering, the assurance that they are not alone.

But perhaps “አይዞን” finds its deepest meaning when spoken in the light of Christ’s victory. When Jesus said, “አይዞአችሁ”, He was not just acknowledging pain; He was declaring its defeat. He was saying, “Yes, you will suffer, but take heart! I have overcome the world.”

This is what I long for my patients to know. That even when pain is unbearable, even when healing doesn’t come, even when death is near—there is a greater hope. A hope that is not just words, but a reality secured by the One who suffered with us and for us.

So maybe “አይዞን” is not meaningless after all.

Maybe, in Christ, it is a whisper of resurrection. A reminder that suffering is not the final word. That in Him, even the deepest pain will one day be swallowed up in victory.

@Born_Crucified