ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!!!

I've had this post on my mind for about a year, took me a long time to decide on what best to title it,and how to put it all together.

I know we come from diverse backgrounds, I'm aware that our convictions, experiences and life philosophies differs too, but one thing common to us all is that we want a good life;
we all dream of good things, and at sometimes those good things we want seem to elude us.

Some of us have had to wait  long, search painfully, consult far and wide, some had to struggle, fight, pray, fast, cry, study, seek solutions, endure a lot and pay so much to get those things that we believe would make us happy.
Some of us have had to deal with people's insensitivity; with those who think they know just how we feel, or the ones who judge us or just preach at us to 'have more faith'...etc

In the course of our pursuit of happiness, we're forced to come face to face with our personal convictions about *faith , no matter our religious stance.

I'll like to do a series on *Faith, doubt, fear, facing reality, living by facts, standing on the fence etc.
I've been at these different points in my life, I've observed different people...(and I'm still learning, inquiring and observing ), and I have concluded that we only win on the side of faith.

I'm going to be sharing true life stories of people I know; their walk of faith, my inspirations and the reasons that made me conclude that ''All things are possible"

I welcome your stories too or that of people you know, send me an email here. I really hope we would find in these series people's stories that we can relate to and that these stories would inspire us all.


 ...with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible..Math 19:26


...If you can? said Jesus. "Everything is possible for one who believes" ...Mark 9:23

...It's not H-A-P-P-Y-N-E-S-S Happiness is spelled with an "I" instead of a "Y"
You got a dream... You gotta protect it. People can't do somethin' themselves, they wanna tell you you can't do it. If you want somethin', go get it. Period...Christopher Gardner(Puruit of hapiness)


Please come with me on *Yemi's journey of faith towards becoming a mother. (To be continued)


                                        






* Yemi - I call her Yemooski, is my friend, we went to Uni together, did out NYSC in the same state, we're family friends till date.

* Faith: Here I mean, being positive, enthusiastic and sure about getting the things we want

MY BIRTHDAY

It’s my birthday again, its 17^th February!!!! Yeeeeeepeeeeee!

I’m so glad I’m here

It’s been an eventful last year…

I’m thankful! Grateful!

Full of thanks for all of the last 365 days,

For all those days of mad fun and excitement,

For all those scary nights; those not too good days,

For all those times filled with love and peace,

For all those journeys and favour,

For all those people that were there for me,

For all those that disappointed and betrayed me; who helped me grow and learn,

For all the protection and divine providence I enjoyed,

For all those days at work,

For all the strength, good health and miracles,

For all my friends and families,

For God’s mercies that I enjoyed more than anyone else,

For all these and many more,

I am so so so so thankful!

I dream of the next best year of my life;

I dream of meeting those people I long and need to meet,

I dream of getting to that place, those ‘places’,

I dream of seeing that blessing,

I dream of being that blessing,

I dream of owning those beautiful things,

I dream of being able to empower…being able to add to, and enrich,

I dream of more health, more wealth, more grace and more beauty,

I dream of being able to dream more, and achieve more,

I dream of becoming that woman…God has called me to be,

For dreams not yet realized…I look to Him…

To Him who is able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than all I could ever ask for or imagine.

I look to you………

And to you, Its Olufunke checking in again

Thank you Lord!

I'm Alive

My thankful post today is summed up in just one thing...Life.

I am thankful that I am alive!

In recent times, many young, promising and exceptionally wonderful people to know have died, most of them from diseases.

I compare these deceased with myself…..I do not measure up to most of them in many ways.

I do not live kinda perfectly life

I do not do as much as I should as regards living a healthy lifestyle

I have not achieved so much, not impacted so many, not met expectations of me

I take so many risks and do not take a lot of care in life as I should

I have over and over and over and over fallen short of God’s expectation of me….but

I am alive!

I still woke up this morning...doubtful…weak...

I still have those dreams that I am yet to figure out how they would become realities

I still hurt from the betrayal of people close to me; the seemly apathy of those I expect so much from

I still fear the outcome of the decision I’m about to make.

I still regret so much the stupid mistakes I’ve made in recent times

I still doubt and ask myself if I’m not over stretching and asking for too much…

I still worry and wonder if I would achieve some of my life goals,

I still worry that I’m not hitting the goals post as scheduled and planned…but I know

I still have time, I can still take a chance, I still have opportunities to take advantage of….because I am still alive!

God has chosen to keep me and

Today, I am grateful…

That I am here, standing, healthy, and hopeful;

That my body parts and organs respond to my commands and are functioning well

That my heart still beats in my chest and pumps all the blood my body needs.

That I am alive…..for these and many more…

I am thank-FULL

Its my BIRTHDAY!

Its my birthday today!
Its been an interesting year...

I made some very serious mistakes
I learn t very valuable lessons

I hit some unforgettable milestones
In all, I have grown...still growing

I am expectant...I know this is the beginning of some very new things and events in my life

I would appreciate you thank God on my behalf
...its been a long long walk

LOVE STORY ………… (2)

NB: LONG POST ALERT!!!

If you have it [Love], you don't need to have anything else, and if you don't have it, it doesn't matter much what else you have.

Sir James M. Barrie

Love is like playing the piano. First you must learn to play by the rules, then you must forget the rules and play from your heart.

Unknown

I’ve enjoyed blogging so far, it has been a way for me to chronicle my thoughts on different issues of life.

Writing about my attempts at love, or rather my experiences in the world of romance is one of the things I like to blog about.

So, after Love Story 1 ended, needless to say that I was dis-oriented, depressed and very discouraged.

I despaired….because a lot of things that I planned for and looked forward to failed too, the disappointments all happened at the same time Love Story 1 ended.

It was as if the whole world conspired to deny me of ALL the good things I wanted in life.

I was in this state when my love story 2 began…

It was at my job

I was living; working and trying to put myself together...

I was opportune to be on this big project, I was learning a lot

He was seconded there as a client representative of the multinational we were working for.

He was the quiet, firm all serious looking client

For a very long time, I didn’t know he was ‘in-to’ me.

We met again at some company’s recruitment program

He called my phone (didn’t know how he got my number)

We chatted that day for a while

And he insisted on coming to see me afterward at home

I later got to know he got my phone number from a colleague…..and that was the beginning of a serious chase! A determined ‘woo-ing’

To him, I was ‘beauty’ and ‘brains’ personified

...candour, charm, comely…

I was the cool, calm and collected…..all in one person

My appearances depicted an epitome of sartorial splendour

The only ‘bottled water’ in his desert

I had brought ‘meaning’ to his life again, he said on our ‘first unofficial’ date

To me, He was ‘the almighty’ handsome client, a senior colleague,

He was intelligent, understanding, with a good listening ear and much matured

He was that very patient, hardworking, determined and focused guy, one with a good heart and had a good life

The man one could proudly take home to mummy…’settled, ready and apparently ‘complete’.

We were in the same industry; we understood the same standards, codes and drawings.

We could talk for endless hours about work.

We had same feelings about relationships, about office people, projects etc.

We seemed to flow and sure enjoyed being in each other’s company.

We enjoyed dining together.

We enjoyed driving round town together.

We enjoyed endless hours of gossip.

We looked forward to the times we would have with each other after the day’s stress.

With him, I was making a lot of crazy decisions.

With him I was jumping, running, dancing ALL at once!

Twas like a rumba dance…, just that we didn’t need the music….the dance steps just flowed

He came in to my life at the time, I still would describe as the “most trying period of my life”

…a time when everything else was just bad.

He was the only good thing

...he stood by me, was there for me

He wanted to be my boo, my lover,

..and I ‘naturally’ allowed him to

He was looking for a wife, I wanted a husband,

..we had it all

But then to me……He was also ‘my temptation’, 'my test', 'my trial'

We didn’t share the same faith!

We did not have the same convictions, could not share the same devotions!

We could not place the same priorities on some issues of life!

We could not have a common ground on what I considered the most important things in life!

I knew this love, this budding romance (did I say budding)……..it was exploding

I knew it was not possible!

I knew this love cannot be, it won’t live, could not survive.

I knew it would not; not now, not later, not ever.

I was convinced I had to let go, I needed to let go and let God

I was (with him) delving into the sacred places.

I was going past my boundaries

I was making light the price that was paid for my sanctification

I was compromising, trying to feel among, feeding my adventurous me

I was trying new things,

I was thinking…….. just live now and worry later.

I was toying with the idea of marrying him despite the huge differences we had

Suddenly, my eyes were open to so many (more important) things we didn’t have in common

I could clearly see the ‘faulty’ foundation I was planning to lay for ‘the rest of my life’

I had a boundary, no matter how much my whole being ached (even to the point of torture) and craved for a glimpse, a taste for the ‘other side’……I could not go past.

I was heart broken, at the thought of loosing such a beautiful relationship;

I was not sure how I would begin again.

I was certain I didn’t know how to exist in a world he was not in...

I was scared to death what would become of me if I ended this…

I knew I just could not continue

Then one day

I decided to let go!

I knew mercy abounds somewhere………where grace came from

I took courage; I knew I could survive with God’s help

I could ‘undo’ the damages

I knew God loved me…….He did not let me damage beyond repair

I knew we (God and me) could do it together,

I could begin again, I could start another love...

I was learning that a love (no matter how sweet or good it looks) can be impossible!

Today

What can I say…

I am one of the greatest recipients of God’s mercies!

He brought me out 'complete'

From a love that was not possible and was taking me into a viable one...

He brought me out ‘whole’ and ‘complete

Mirrors

This is my 'not-too-proud-of' attempt at poetry, D inspired this

It was in the 19th century…
We lived...occupying where Orisa had located us
We were each other’s ‘keeper’,
We enjoyed sitting out at twilight... sharing folklores after each day’s activities
We were totally oblivious of ‘our’ soon to be discoveries
We seemed to be content with just the echoes from a very distant civilization
We did not know who we really were, neither did we have a know of how we looked,
We had but only faint ideas of our image from the reflections at the stream
We also knew our shadows at sunset.

And then came those shiny flat plates, those ‘reflecting’ metals….those mirrors!
The white man had brought us knowledge, given us mental power and opened our eyes!

We were filled with awe; we thought ourselves so lucky
We were fortunate to have met these representatives of the gods
We were intrigued by the feedback from these shinning plates
We now saw ‘us’ we could see who we really were…….
We know our alternate person, the one ‘Orisa’ made, we knew us!

It’s the 21st century, we are still living…..occupying the same territories
We actually can afford as many mirrors as we like now
We are actually inundated with technology features, with more visuals than our eyes can possibly cope with in a life time.
We've been fed from childhood with our pictures
We can so change what we see in the mirror if we are not too pleased with it,

Oh! Thanks to the white man again……we have been blessed, they keep on improving us.
Now I know the shape of my face, I can see the extent of my flattened nose
Now I recognize whose set of ‘horrible’ set of teeth I was bequeathed with
Now I am so sure of what my lips would look like if I slap those colours on.
Now the images of me I see in the mirror are etched in a ‘safe’ part of my memory

More than that…….I am living, still existing.
I’ve been pondering……I want more out of life.
I’ve been thinking….Have I really seen who I am?
Is there a mirror to reflect the deep things that lie latent within me?
I’ve been wondering….Can I get a mirror where I can see ‘me’ in years to come?

My heart,……. what plate can actually relay the many thoughts that race therein?
My passions……what surface can suitably outline them?
My vision……..which metal could sharpen my blurred vision/focus?
My future…..which mirror could reflect me…within and without?
Myself………I’m searching, looking, longing…

I am not sure of how I would get there
I just know my best days are ahead!!!!!

You Really Can Do It! (Discoveries Path 1)

You've got this project, and you're so convinced it’s the right thing to do now….but then, the challenge of 'knowing' how to get it done stares you hard in the face , or maybe its the overwhelming effect of the volume of work that needs to be done, you're de-moralized and cannot help feeling 'helpless' sometimes.

You're filled with visions of that dream, your dreams are so real to you, but right now, you're at a loss on how you would accomplish it and even doubtful if these dreams would ever become realities.

You've been given the task, that opportunity…….but you're clueless as how to proceed, and you cannot guarantee that you'd be successful at it, so.... fear becomes a constant companion.

You are at a crossroad, your destination is so clear to you…..but what direction would you take to ensure you arrive at the right place and in good time too?

You've got plans of where you want to be later this year, next year, in the coming years... but you are doubtful, and confused, and no longer sure of anything, except that you're sure that at the rate you're going, those plans would never materialize

You know what you should do, but you are just not sure of how to do it!

I could go on and on and on………. Oh! the contemplations of the human mind!
We often find ourselves in the different scenarios above.
In as much as I believe I can do a lot of things, the analytical/pragmatic part of me never lets me escape noticing the scary, intimidating realities of my in-capabilities, or/and the challenges, obstacles and odds against me, and most often than not I loose faith and doubt if I could/would ever get things done!.....but the truth is that we really can do anything!!!

While reading the book of genesis some years ago, I discovered this.......Let me call it Noah's task


NOAH'S TASK!!!!
The world no longer pleased its creator. God was going to put an end to everything and everyone, He planned to wipe them all away by flooding the earth, but Noah found favour with God.
Noah would build an ark (a ship sort of) where himself and family would be kept safe from the impending flood. Noah and his household would be spared……but not just them! (Gen 6:1-22)
God gave Noah the herculean task of taking in (to the ark) with him EVERY living creature on earth, BOTH sexes of ALL specie of animals………..ooops!

I have read this part of the bible many times since I was a child, for the first time in my life…..while reading this passage, some questions popped up on my mind;
• How would Noah know ALL species of EVERY living thing?
• Even if he knew them all (very lofty dream!), would he be sure he got them all?
• Even if he got them all, would he be sure he got BOTH sexes of ALL?

But I did not wonder for too long, as I read that chapter through to verse 20

“20 Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive”


Whao!!!! I could not believe my discovery, Noah did not have to kill himself on how to be sure he got ALL the species in this world!
God always knows the way, He's got a support system, an enabling condition, an execution plan, He would watch to see that you succeed at that task!

I was like Olufunke..... see God is El-shaddi, ( the ALL sufficient)
He is proactive, He knows our needs before we do! He sees ahead of us, knows the obstacles we’ll face, the temptations that’ll come our way, and he prepares us ahead and prepares ways/things/and even people ahead FOR us!
Are you saddled with a task/project/dream/vision? and you are wondering how you would meet up or make it…..God is able and willing to help you and see it to a successful completion. (2 Cor 9:8, Philp 3:9)

I could not agree more with the thought that “If God has brought you to it, He WILL bring you through it” believe me! Trust God!

Se na like this e go dey be????????????

I guess I should first issue a Caveat...

Beware: it’s ranting all through....... not proffering any solutions here, I however welcome your kind comments, help, advise, prayers etc, it is not an attempt to discourage anyone either.......
I need to vent.......or maybe I'm just Melancholic today......

I watch with a very heavy heart the drama being played out in this country every day.
I wonder....sometimes I know, I hope...other times I despair......I pray and later I doubt.I keep asking....., is this is how things would continue to be?
So many issues are on my mind about our dear country.

Where do I start from?..... Most of us heard about the bizarre event that took place on the Lagos-Benin road, where the death of some Nigerians was caused by armed robbers. Different versions of the 'truth' has been relayed to us; Some claim that a bus was ambushed by some armed robbers, who after raping and robbing the passengers of their possessions, asked those passengers who did not have money to lie in a row on the road while driver of that passenger bus was forced at gun point to drive over these unfortunate individuals....killing them all ( and that this happened just early this year), another version claims that the robbers after raping and robbing the passengers, asked those who did not have money on them to lie on the express road in a row and while they continued their 'operation', an unsuspecting truck carrying some food stuffs approached and as these thieves started to shoot at the oncoming truck, the truck driver on seeing/hearing gun shots in his bid to escape ( from these armed robbers), hurriedly drove over the people lying on the road thinking they were logs of wood and that this happened sometime last year. There are lots of sites with the stories and the disturbing pictures on the internet like here and here.

Whichever of the ‘truths’ is correct, the fact is that our roads are not safe!, armed robbers do as they like on our express roads day in- day out! I tried to imagine how much time it would take to stop a bus (by ambush), ask the passengers to highlight, rob them of their possessions, rape some of them and even lie them down on the road in a row ......the ugly truth is that these robbers knew they had ALL the time in the world to act out their scripts on our roads -their stage, ....they knew of a fact that NO law enforcement agent would catch up with them, and that we had no emergency response systems in place! Whether they asked the driver to ride over them or if another truck driver did it, is immaterial. We all know the particular robbers were sure of not being caught, our roads are play fields for all sorts of men of the under world.

It’s even more disheartening to see the way our lawmakers, government officials and leaders (who at that time were not even sure of the exact picture of things) speaking eloquently, brandishing bogus vocabularies, debate the issue of national security, some condemning the driver of the said truck, asking for his head, calling down hell, fire and brimstone, asking for all sorts of safety measures to be put in place on our roads. Its been many weeks since then....we are yet to feel as little as a finger… the impact of all these talk, we are yet to see more armory or security posts on our roads, neither has the roads been repaired or street lights fixed nor have we had emergency /medical posts stationed on the roads. A lot of 'preventalbel deaths still occur on our roads from accidents and all sorts of evils. I keep wondering for how long our roads will continue to be death traps.

So much for religious crisis....as for the recent Jos crisis, a lot of people have taken time to do good justice to the stories like here and here and here. I watch with shame the way our media, law makers, government official are all calling for immediate action, and all kinds of expedited actions in response to the situation in Jos, while the killers are still having a field day counting more and more victims .............will things continue like this?

In the same breath, still on religious crisis... Its the 3rd year since Toyin Oluwaseesin was brutally wasted by some zealots, her live cut short, her children and husband deprived of the love and embrace of their loved one. Toyin's story can be read here. 3 years! And no one has been brought to book, our country has not been able to give her family justice, it's obvious we are in a country where any person(s) can take laws into their hands, kill others and still go scout free...............for how long will this continue?

I don't want to go into the recent bombings in the south east, the boldness with which the Nigeria delta militia keep claiming they are responsible for different bombings and their ‘dare-you –whole-nation-to-do-anything’ attitude. I don’t even want to talk about the credibility of elections carried out across the nation, the lip service and greed of the leaders/politicians, the corruption and indiscipline that has eaten deep into the fabric of our society, the warped mentality of the average youth growing up in Nigeria which is “anyhow, just get the money, forget integrity, forget a good name, forget humanity” the ineffectiveness and lack –luster state of the of the Nigerian police, the continuous deplorable state of our infrastructures…..I could go on and on, but you know about all these already.

But you see why I’m a bit melancholic today......
The more I think about all the issues around the great nation Nigeria; the more my heart sinks, the more I loose my faith in the unity, the purpose and essence and the bright future of the nation called Nigeria.

What breaks my heart the more is the fact that it is still business as usual in Nigeria. Everyone still carries on like ‘that is how life should be!’Citizens like me (home and in diaspora) just carry on with our lives .....We sigh, we complain, we analyse, we debate, we speak plenty of English and then just ‘go- on’ with our lives. The religious institutions (that should be a voice, pillars of truth and part of the conscience of the nation) are carrying on with their businesses as usual too! I don’t want to talk about the lawmakers or the judiciary. Tthe few Nigerians that try to do something positive are criticised, discouraged or even silenced.

It’s exasperating to see how money is being embezzled, wasted all in the name of allocation, contracts, etc
It seems like a curse or the nation is jinxed; because whenever some silver lining seem to appear, the dark clouds just show up again, ...like we all thought Alhaji Yaradua was a fresh breath from the 'crudeness' of 'Baba', in a short while we discovered that we got in a deeper ‘shit’ instead, and I just cant help to wonder, if this is how things would continue.....

Its so distasteful the kind of popularity we get for being the 'unpopular' giant of Africa....no thanks to the Mutallabs of recent. I see how the world media disparage any of our efforts at something good, honourable or noteworthy ......and I don’t blame them!

you see, I'm, wondering......................
If my generation would see that great Nigeria we dream, pray and hope for.
If my children would know a country where its citizens are proud any day, any where to flaunt their green travel passports.
If stories that are exported about Nigerians would once again be those that would inspire and gladden the hearer.
If we would ever know a leadership that is sincere, could be trusted and ready to work for the good of the citizens of the country
If the hard working, honest Nigerian would be recognized and be proud that ‘there is dignity in labour’
If trust, truth and Integrity would ever be synonymous with the word Nigeria,
If this, If that, If, If, If, If, If, If.............

Because........
I live in a country where ‘abnormal’ has become the new ‘normal’
I am a citizen of a country where you are not sure of authenticity of anything, infact you need to double check whenever you are greeted good morning in Nigeria that its not yet past 12 noon.
I own a passport of a nation who’s chief security officer, leader, commander-in-chief, president, and chief steward has been missing for over 4 months! and all sorts of unimaginable drama attends his disappearance.
I am in a country which is one if the largest exporter of crude oil, and its citizens still suffer untold hardship in the name of ‘fuel scarcity’

and because
We still live in darkness .....with constant ‘no-power’, no electricity supply, and dealers of generating sets/diesel/petrol/gas are having a field day smiling to the banks and have formed a strong-hold against the nation having constant power supply.
We are our own government, we provide, our own electricity, provide our own water, provide our own security, and some people even have provide their own accessible roads to their homes/offices themselves!
We still 'sleep' at different embassies, suffer humiliating treatment there just to get a 'pass' to leave this country.
We have so much, our budget value keeps increasing every year, we make so much revenue from oil export and others, yet we lack so much, the average citizen still lives in poverty!
We seem to be citizens of some banana republic
We know how to add colour to any story of the world....trust Nigerians, ours will be always different with some interesting, corrupt and disappointing twist!

In as much as I belong to the school of thought that believes in miracles, in the eventuality of change, the victory of hope, and the persistence of faith!
The more I see, read, hear and think about the current happenings in this great nation,
My heart fails me,
My faith in challenged,
My hope kinda diminishes,
My mind cannot stop asking................

The more I ponder, the more the lyrics of a popular Nigerian musician's song keeps coming to my mind .... Se na like this we go de dey?

I have faith! I pray for my country, I long for the new Nigeria of our dreams,

But then............ I cannot help but ask.....se na like this e go dey be?*




*Se na like this e go dey be? = local pidgin English in Nigeria for 'Is this how things would continue to be?'