Learning

Its been a long while I was here...
I actually planned to only post a song that's on my mind right now....thinking of all that's been happening lately...

Its been the most craziest, strangest weeks of my entire life!

I'm learning to depend solely on God,
I have learnt to be strong,
I have learnt anybody can do anything to you...no matter who you think they are to you.
I have learnt what it means to 'live by faith' only by faith!
....learning that part that .."Heb 11"

I have learnt to stare my fears in the face and just keep on walking,
I have learnt I can do all things, even in my weakness ( and have I been amazed at myself?)
I 'm learning this, learning that....
I'm still learning...

The song?...not there again. LOL

YEMI's STORY - All things are Possible (1)

YEMI's STORY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5j5bFz_BEM&feature=relmfu

As a single lady, I attracted a few good men by our standards - husband materials; financially doing well, good looking, fun to be with, Christians, and what have you, but I could not connect to any of them. So, I continued to refuse advances of suitors even though I was getting older. 

I had my fair share of disappointments and heartbreaks too.

You see, I had decided not to settle, I knew what I wanted: the kind of home and my dream partner (character and maturity was priority for me). I had faith, and beleived God would give me the kind of home I desired. 

I stood in faith until the day I met the man from whose ribs I was taken.

I knew without doubt that this was it, no need to wait further, he proposed and we started courting. 

I thought to myself...now, I can exhale. Little did I know that I had more interesting days ahead of me!

Two months into our courtship, I was diagnosed to have fibroids; a growth in the uterus. The position of the fibroid was very dangerous, the doctors said it would obstruct implantation and foetal growth should I consider conception (should I consider conception? God, what kind of English is that? What a question? I so want children!)…and so began my real journey of faith.

I placed the scan results before God and prayed seriously for a supernatural intervention. Contrary to my expectations (I thought the fibroids would just disappear), but God had other plans on how He would answer my prayers. After many prayers, fasting, studying and consultations…I decided to go in for the surgery.

So, I went in for the surgery, and thank God it was successful with none of the setbacks we feared.

My fiancé stood by me all through this time; I realised why it never worked between me and all those wonderful guys. I fully understood God's reasons for making me wait long for this special and gracious guy. 

Unlike other men that would have 'bailed out', he insisted we go ahead with the wedding (despite knowing I had a high probably of not being able to get pregnant). It was a major test for my fiancé then. 

We agreed to go ahead in faith. I got married five months after the surgery. I was 30+.

Four months into our wedding, mother-in-law came to enlighten and lecture us about ovulation period/ best time for coitus/ and the likes. It was nicely done for a professional which she is and to the best of her ability, in love. That lecture left me thinking though, because the marriage was still too young as far as I was concerned. 

After some months without signs of conception, I knew I was on another journey of faith.

I should mention I was raised up a Christain, I was taught to pray way ahead about my future. 

I grew up so sure that God had my future together. During this time of waiting to conceive I remembered one of the bible verses I used to know Heb.10:24 “Let us hold fast to the profession of our faith without wavering for faithful is he who has promised” 

I held on to that..kept on believing that I would be a mother despite my medical record…somehow, someday.

My husband got his own share of pressure from people, asking funny questions about my tummy (the surgery left scars). People kept on pressuring us to go with them to all sorts of places for prayers, but we declined because we also remembered Isaiah 30:15.."In quietness and confidence is your strength...in returning and rest is your salvation.

One day, Sister - in-law too came and asked "why are you not pregnant", as taken aback and shaken as I was, I was able to reply her  that “I am not pregnant because the time to be pregnant is not now; when the time comes all eyes shall see”

All these went on for almost 2 years, and then God showed up for me! I conceived!

Even then the doctors were not sure if it was foetal growth or another growth. The pregnancy was threatened...there were a lot of difficulties, but we were blessed with a lovely baby girl in our 3^rd year of marriage!

I share this to encourage someone. I don't know who will read this, but God will multiply these testimonies in the lives of the readers

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You might feel Yemi's story does not qualify her as someone who 'waaaaaiiiteeeeeeed' to have a child, seeing she didn’t have to wait for 8, 10 or 12 long years.
I share her story because she had to overcome a major obstacle on her way to motherhood; a medical condition, but she pressed through in faith. 
She believed it was still possible for her to be a mother despite the negative doctor's report…and a mother she became! 

She reminds me of Hezekiah, who knew how to take anything unpleasant to God immediately! He knew how to negotiate and parley with God.

Yemi's faith challenges me, she has words of faith in every situation, her faith is contagious. She has faith quotes/scriptures on her bedroom, kitchen and even bathroom doors!

Despite all this her faith, she's had to struggle too: I have seen her live through the death of both parents within a few weeks' interval, being laid off a job, living from hand to mouth, struggling to find her feet in the world of entrepreneurship, to owning the business of her dreams.

I hope to share later on this blog her walk to owning her own business.

Whatever you are waiting for, can you try to hold on! All things are possible to him that believes!

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Thank God for men like Yemi's husband who are faithful lovers, who stick around, and walk with you in trying times. Friends who are there in the good and the bad times.

This is praying for all the mothers to be...that we would see our babies, we would rock them with our hands, and nurse them at our bosoms!

Next, is TA's journey of faith to a full recovery and walking again after a devastating car crash.

I still welcome real life stories of people that you feel would encourage us all here

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!!!!!