Dance: Tests, Tears & Triumph

By Cynthia Abednego-Kgagodi

In every painful and difficult season, where challenges loom like dark clouds, there exists a dance that unfolds in the storm. This book, “Dance: Tests, Tears & Triumph" bears witness to a journey of resilience, and to the enduring spirit that finds strength in faith and hope. Amidst the trials that threaten to drown the soul, and through the tears that fall like raindrops, characters rise. With uncertainty and being stuck between a rock and a hard place, there lies a chance for triumph. The title “Dance: Tests, Tears & Triumph" hereby resonates with the heartbeat of perseverance. Dance encourages readers to treat life like a moving ambulance with a ringing siren, and to move swiftly with urgency to navigate all challenges with an alert and active mindset aimed towards the finish line. The title highlights that even in the darkest moments there is a divine choreography, a dance in the storm, that leads to a sanctuary of light and redemption. Challenges will always come, but we make the choice to fight or flee. In this book, I bare my soul by recounting intimate details from a life marked by struggle. This includes the absence of a father, nursing a sick child, dealing with the loss of my mother, meeting people who changed my life for the better, believing a lie about my weight, and ultimately finding purpose and identity in faith and hope. This book stands as a diary of some of the storms where faith has been battered, bruised, and tested.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Feb 16, 2024
• ISBN: 9781304615732

Book preview

Chapter 1: Tests, Temptations & Triumphs

Oh! What a perfect little piece of heaven, I uttered to myself when I saw for the very first time the little bundle of joy that we had been dying to finally meet, for what seemed like all our lives. The wait seemed like a thousand years. For nine months I had the joy and privilege to carry, nurture and bond with my child in the womb. Despite this being my second pregnancy, I could never get used to the beautiful experience. At exactly 21:04 on the 31st of January in 2020 my husband and I welcomed our second born son Abel Israel Rorisang Kgagodi. When making his grand entrance to this earth, Abel brought unimaginable joy - not just to us his parents- but also to his older brother, Abedson. The room was filled with jubilation and cries, and I could not stop my tears. "Oh my baby, my baby! I cried in exultation with a heart full of delight. My eyes were glued to him as I passed him to his father who had his moment of grinning from ear to ear, lost for words at such beauty and perfection.

Finally, our miracle baby, Rorisang was here! Rorisang was a name that his grandmother Sally had given him. It means to praise and glorify God, and she declared that through his life he would live to do just that. The next few hours passed by like a thief in the night as my husband shared the good news with friends and family while I gently chatted and sang to our baby. Our family couldn’t have been happier to learn about the birth of Abel.

It was a pleasure and joy to watch Abel grow from a little tiny baby to a strong, sweet, kind and independent toddler. He liked to mimic his elder brother, Abedson so much that were convinced Abedson was his role model. He followed him everywhere and loved playing with him. They have since grown even closer after the schools closed in August 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic being more prevalent. 

By the time Abel was about 19 months old, they were completely inseparable, and simply two peas in a pod. It was in this season that things took an unexpected twist. Nothing in the world could have prepared me for the journey that I embarked on from the 24th August 2021. It was a beautiful spring day as the colder winter days were slowly making way for beautiful skies and birds singing sweet melodies. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened that morning as my husband had stepped out to run some errands. I was working from home while I also watched the kids. The kids were fed and happy to be allowed to play outside.

I could hear their giggles and free-spirited energies around the yard when suddenly Abedson called out to me, ‘Come and see - Abel is doing big hiccups!’. At first, I ignored him as I was attending a virtual meeting. I dismissed his call as I was busy and assumed it was an excuse for me to play with them. He went back outside again, returning to his brother, and promptly came running back to me with a serious expression on his face.  His look made my blood run cold. What could have happened?  I wondered to myself as my heart skipped a beat and I felt a shiver down my spine. My motherly instincts told me something was amiss, and as I jumped up I noticed the eerie silence outside.  Abel was never quiet, unless he was sleeping. With my heart pumping with fear and anxiety, I quickly rushed outside, and turned the corner to the back yard where I found Abel lying on the floor having a seizure.

He was jerking uncontrollably, arms flailing and gasping for his breath as I picked him up and started praying in tongues. I was terrified and I saw my world crashing in on me and I felt hopeless as I saw my little ray of sunshine lie there unconscious. There he was, having ‘big hiccups’ and I could not help but pray in tongues non-stop. I would like to think I in fact died and came back to life during that short instance. I finally came to grips with the situation, gathered my strength and called my husband. But I had no idea what to say to