WHEN FAMILIAR VOICES NO LONGER UNDERSTAND YOU
Mark 6:4
“Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honour except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.’”
There comes a quiet and unsettling season in the journey of growth when familiar voices no longer understand you. These are not strangers. They are people who watched you grow, people who know your story, your weaknesses, and your beginnings. Their confusion is not always hostile. Sometimes it is sincere. Yet it remains painful all the same.
In African life, familiarity carries authority. Elders, Family and Community all speak and desires to be heard. To be understood by your own people is considered safety.
Yet there comes a point when growth begins to create distance, not in love, but in perception. You have not changed your heart, but your vision has expanded beyond what your environment can interpret.
Among the Igbo, it is said, onye toro ogologo, ndi huru ya na mbu agaghi ahuzi isi ya nke oma, when a person grows taller, those who knew him before may no longer see his head clearly. Growth alters perspective. Those accustomed to seeing you at a certain level may struggle to recognise who you are becoming.
Jesus experienced this tension. His power was evident elsewhere, but familiarity weakened faith at home. They did not reject Him because He lacked wisdom. They rejected Him because His wisdom contradicted the version of Him they had already known and accepted.
#Familiar voices often resist unfamiliar versions of you.
In lived experience, this season is deeply painful. Family members question your choices. Friends misunderstand your silence. Elders interpret growth as pride. You are told you have changed, when in truth, you have only become clearer.
The same voice that once encouraged you now advises caution, not because the path is wrong, but because it is unfamiliar to them.
Understanding is limited by exposure. People can only interpret growth using the language of their own experience. When your vision stretches beyond their worldview, misunderstanding becomes inevitable. This is not rebellion. It is transition.
There is wisdom in learning when to explain and when to remain silent. Not every voice deserves access to what you are becoming. Some relationships are meant to celebrate your beginning, not interpret your destination. Discernment is knowing the difference.
Do not abandon love because of misunderstanding. But do not abandon obedience because of familiarity. Growth sometimes requires walking alone, not because you are superior, but because the journey ahead demands focus.
There is a quiet dignity in restraint. As the British royal tradition subtly teaches, there are moments when silence protects purpose better than explanation. # Don’t complain, don’t explain
When familiar voices no longer understand you, it may be because you are speaking a language shaped by your future, not your past.
Win@today