By Father Jacob Dankasa
The Texas Catholic
In 2008 I arrived in Minnesota, where I lived for two years. Coming to Minnesota directly from Nigeria was a huge change. Of course, anyone who knows both Minnesota and Nigeria will know what I’m talking about — it’s the weather! Nigeria is warm — I mean hot — most of the year, with dry heat most of the time. I was born and raised there, so I love it, regardless, and I’m used to it and it’s no surprise. (But I have to admit that I do still complain when it gets too hot.)
Minnesota is a different story. Even for someone born in Minnesota, the winters, with their extreme cold, can be very harsh. During my two years in Minnesota I experienced snow in real life for the first time — I had only seen it in the movies! Yes, there were a lot of firsts for me in Minnesota: first time in the United States, first time experiencing a temperature below zero, first time experiencing daylight savings time (where 8:30pm is as light as 3pm), etc. I even got my driver’s license in the winter — how about that? My road test was after a snowstorm! With all these new experiences and adjustments, I still had a beautiful and meaningful experience in St. Cloud, Minnesota. I came to like the city and the people — except for the freezing winters, which I complained about a lot!
After two years of graduate school in Minnesota, I thought it was time for a change — a change from freezing winters. I needed something or somewhere warm, somewhere that I wouldn’t have to dress like an astronaut, that I wouldn’t have to wear long johns, or several layers of jackets, or thick hand gloves, or a hat over my ears! Then came Texas. I did little research before deciding on Dallas. I learned that Texas is warm and that, like St. Cloud, Minnesota, the people in Dallas are nice. So, I took a chance and moved south — to Dallas, Texas, on July 1, 2010.
Oh boy! I had no idea that I was going to meet the opposite of winter in summer! Texas is hot, very hot in the summer. The humidity is tough. Unlike Minnesota, where people are all outside in the spring having fun, I discovered that in Texas, it depends! It depends on what you get, and it changes day by day. Spring can be some combination of winter, summer, and everything in between. And did I mention the drought? Oh yeah — some years we hardly see green plants for a long time. I have struggled to grow some fruit trees in our backyard. But for almost three years now, I have had to replace some of the plants annually because they didn’t survive the onslaught of drought. I needed warm, and I got it here — to excess! That wasn’t my expectation, though. I wonder: extreme cold or extreme heat — which is better? Seriously, I don’t know. It’s a case by case and person by person answer. And I find myself complaining about the weather again here!
So why am I telling you the story of my experiences in Minnesota, Texas, and Nigeria? Well, I am using myself as an example. I’m just like many of us — nature never satisfies us. It doesn’t matter whether we’re clergy, lay people, white, black, European, American or African — we all complain a lot. But it’s not a totally bad thing to complain, I think, as humans. It’s just one of those things that come with our nature. Our minds are insatiable, looking for fullness, looking for absolute satisfaction. But none of these absolutes exist for a human. And for me, this tells me more about where the absolute stands — it stands with the Divine. In the end, our absolute satisfaction lies only in Him who creates nature — God. It’s okay to complain, but we must recognize the fact that our complaints only express our limitedness. Only God is limitless. When all is said and done — cold or hot, winter or summer — all I can say is, “Thank you, God.”
All of these experiences remind me of my limitedness so that I can give it up all to God, in whom our limitations end. God is beyond our limited capacity to grasp the entirety of earthly realities. We live in a world today where people want to assume the role of God in a negative sense, and even believe they can undo God. No matter how intelligent we are, no matter our human scientific advancement, no matter our creativity, no matter our knowledge, we just can’t answer or solve all the questions of our human reality. We can use our God-given abilities to cooperate with God in His creation and make the world better, but we cannot undo God. It’s simply impossible, and all those who have tried have failed. Therefore, let’s look to God for that optimum satisfaction we seek, and that no finite being or thing can give us.
While I’m still commenting on the weather thing, I humbly submit that what matters for me now is neither the freezing winters of Minnesota, nor the humid hot summers of Texas — not even the dry heat of Nigeria. Although I still complain each time I feel the heat, the cold, or the drought, what matters more for me now is the blessings from God that have come to me through all the good people I have encountered in these places and my appreciation of the nature around me. Let’s continue to preach the limitlessness of God and to tell the world how great and absolute our God is. We can imitate our God in all His kindness to humanity — which we’re called to do. But we cannot undo God, regardless of how dissatisfied we may be about nature or about God’s creation. God is not a mere inventor; He is an absolute creator. Let’s give it up to Him.
Father Jacob Dankasa is the pastor of Holy Family of Nazareth Catholic Church in Irving.
