If you are a Nigerian and grew up in the 90’s, you may have come across one Nigerian movie that kept a lot of families glued to their screens.
It was a movie with a lot of twists, turns and suspense. It also had us see one actress grace our screens at that time, delivering one of her best and unforgettable performances in a movie.
That movie was ‘ True Confession’ and that actress is Liz Benson. Recently, I was excited when I discovered a movie she did not too long ago, titled ‘Mummy Dearest’. I put it in my plans and eventually got to watch it about two months ago.
In this movie, I got to see a calmer and different side to Liz Benson. She gave us the caring side of a mother, with bits and pieces of the overly protective side of a mother.
I will give the movie a score of 5/10, because though it was interesting to watch, the storyline was not captivating enough to keep me glued. I only watched with a purpose in mind, which was to extract lessons from the movie and that was what kept me to the end.
The story is about a mother in the winter season of her life. All of her kids had left home and she was alone. She kept herself busy with cooking and church activities. Whether she was widowed or seperated, the movie did not tell specifically.
You are welcomed to the movie with a scene of the mother calling her children to ask how they are faring and also to pray for them. It was a routine she never missed. But one of her children, the son found her calls too persistent and started to ignore her calls. This got her worried.
A few months later, her son’s colleague at work lost his mother, and that event caused him to look inwards and decide never to ignore his mom’s call. Infact he decided to spend his next vacation with her away from the city he lived. His mother was elated. You may need to watch the movie to find out more.
For me, one great lesson I extracted from the movie is that, HABITS ARE POWERFUL. This mother had a daily habit of devotion time with God. It was a part of her existence and that her children had left home to find their path was not an excuse to miss her daily devotion with God.
When her son showed up, he found her rising up early for devotion annoying. He was in shock the next morning after he arrived to find his mother tapping at his door, saying, ‘ It’s devotion time’. He practically dragged himself to the living room.
But this was his mother’s daily routine. This was a habit that was now a daily part of her life. And in that place of devotion, she got to study the word and pray for her children.
Eventually her son got used to it. He would rise up early too and together they will commit their day to God, so much that when he returned to work after his vacation with his mother, his boss and colleagues noticed a change in him. He now arrived at work early and started his day in an organised mode.
Did you know that as a mother, your habits and routines have a way of rubbing off on your children?
I had a friend in the University who had a mum that was always in conversation mode with God. This rubbed off on her too. God was not someone faraway in her mind, he was always close and her mother made her see it that way.
Some of you have mothers who rise up every night at a particular time to pray. This habit has also rubbed off on you. You do not see waking up in the middle of the night to intercede for your children as a burden, rather you see it as a way of life.
So if I may ask you right now, what are those habits and routines in your life presently?
Are they good or bad habits? Are they routines that will help or discourage others? Are they habits that will inspire or sow seeds of pain and destruction?
Think about it. Your habits have a way of rubbing off on others especially when they can see the results that those habits deliver.
So as a mother, what habits are you willing to change today?
What new habits will you form in your life today?
What kind of habits do you want your children to pick up from you?
What new habits and routines are you willing to cultivate in your motherhood journey to inspire your children today?
I leave you with this quote by Ayo Deji Owadokun.
“If you want great results in your life, you have to take care of your habits.”
Feel free to share with us your thoughts if you have seen the movie.
Many Hugs,
Ufuoma.
