Tag: God

It Will Be Okay.

Imagine if you lost. Everything you thought you could never live without.

That is a terrifying thought for many of us, but what if we did? What would we do?

It’s easy to look at someone who is not okay and give them advice on what they need to do. Then we think or talk out of their hearing: “Man, that is hard, but thank God it’s not me!”

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Now, my issue with such a sentiment is this: does God allow good things to happen to some and bad things to others? Sometimes when we say the above, it seems as if we are somehow exempt from going through certain trials, but we are not.

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I spoke recently to a colleague who is undergoing cancer treatment. I had not seen her at work for some time, and then I saw her back out at work. Though she had lost some weight, she seemed so calm and was laughing and smiling, which made me pause and think about how I overreact to some simple things at times. After all she has been through lately, where did she find the courage to get up and live each day as it comes?

As she pointed out to me, it is not easy, but she does it because the alternative is death.

I am realising that the problems I see as insurmountable or really not impossible to overcome. I am in the process of reconstructing my mindset regarding the outlook I have on every situation I face. If I can be devastated at the thought of someone else’s diagnosis and surprised by her ability to get up every day and smile and be pleasant, then maybe I need to change how I view my own problems. Are they really that serious or require the reaction I sometimes have?

Would I be okay if I lost all the things I fear losing, that have nothing to do with the life I have been given by God?

I remember a point, as I got older, that I feared losing my grandmother, and so I used to pray every year that she would live one more year and that God would make it ten or twenty years-or forever if he could. It has been 15 years since my grandmother died, and I still have not forgotten how important she was in my life. Since then, I have made some terrible decisions and some good ones, but the most important thing is that I have been able to continue to live.

An article I recently read, entitled, In Haiti, the Art of Resilience, comes to mind. The article was written in 2010 by Bill Brubaker, after the earthquake which devastated the country and killed 230,000 and displaced approximately 1.5 million others. The writer highlighted a series of stories concerning the impact of the earthquake on the Art community. One that stood out to me was about 87-year-old Haitian artist Préfète Duffaut, who lost family members, friends, his home, and most of his artwork. What was so inspiring about his interview was the hope that Brubaker noted was “shining from his eyes”. The hope is to build from the rubble something new and vital. There were other stories of gallery owners, whose galleries had not escaped the devastation, who provided money and art supplies to artists who had lost everything. Duffaut, at 87, having experienced crisis after crisis in Haiti, along with his countrymen and women, was able to affirm this particular event: “My future paintings will be inspired by this tragedy”. How many of us would be able to create something meaningful and inspiring from the rubble of our own tragedies?

We all have the potential to take ourselves out of the dark abyss that life places us in. All we need to cultivate is a vision of possibilities in the face of adversities.

Though it may be hard for us to keep the faith when things go wrong fast, it will be okay. Just keep telling yourself this until you believe it.

Like many Haitians, let us adopt their attitude when faced with difficulties:  ‘Let’s get on with it! Tomorrow is another day.’

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It’s Okay… You Will Succeed!

I am sure like me, on the eve of the new year, you were staring down the barrel that was 2023 and may have felt a little drag to your feet as you saw the barrel for 2024 being set. You may be dragging your feet because 2023 started promising, reached a high and just did not end the way you expected. You may feel disappointed with some of your choices and are still unsure where you are meant to be. It’s okay. Know that each day you wake up is a victory. If you can get at least one item on your list right, it’s a victory. For this new year be realistic about where you are and how you plan to move forward. Don’t have expectations of yourself you did not meet in 2023 because you were not in a position to be there then; after all, it’s only a day that separates 2023 from 2024. However, despite everything that challenged this possibility, you have succeeded in making it to 2024. If you think about it, you had to claw your way here and maybe drag yourself a few times to cross that finish line but who cares about looking good when survival’s on the line. You are here, be thankful.

Yes, there are things you want to change because you know how bad they are but don’t be anxious. Just accept that it will take time and get worse before it gets better. Know that God will ensure you have the tools, people and inspiration to make each day a success. So, what does success look like? When it’s gonna be different for each of us. So far I have done one thing right out of all the things I have to do since the start of the year and that’s success. It is nothing major, just writing down what I want to accomplish and noting what went well and what did not. I have read a few pages each day of a book I need to finish reading and I spend a few more minutes in prayer. Nothing major but quietly and determinedly I move forward not dwelling too much on what I have not yet accomplished or how I fail each day. I give thanks for the little things that make me happy, like going on a walk, taking some pictures and being free to fail and try again.

For this new year, I hope you take the time to really live in the present and not anxiously anticipate the next day because your current day sucks. I hope you grow in the confidence that there is nothing on this earth truly impossible if you lean into God and allow him to lead the way. I hope you do nothing but trust in his plans and let him have his say. It won’t always be a great year but it will be a year that will build you up to serve God’s kingdom. You will succeed!

Loyalty… Sacrifice

Stop lying. You are not truly loyal. It’s desperation. I ain’t condemning you. I seen it in myself too that’s why I can tell you. You is a liar.

Too often we feel trapped in ticking all the boxes to please people until we tick ourselves right off a cliff. We feel we need to take care of it all but really we lying about the truth of what we do. All we do is hold ourselves captive to what we think we should do to sit at an imaginary table that never had legs to stand on much less a seat for us to sit. Many of us are still blinded by the need to do all at the cost of self and we claim to be doing something, like helping others. How are we serving others by sacrificing our health, our mind, and our spirit? No one asked, nor do they have the right to expect that. So stop being unkind to yourself.

When last did we help ourselves by being honest. By saying you know what we don’t want to do this, “this is no longer about using the gifts God gave me but trying to please others for their approval, this is not about serving God by serving others. This has become catering to the will of another human being”. When will we turn around and be honest and truthful to ourselves and to those we are trying to please? We take care of others, and when you think about it, we are okay with thinking we have some special talent for it. No, we need to be honest about the fact that because we are human we are limited. Stop doing that job to make others happy. Be yourself don’t sacrifice yourself for a cause you were never called to take up. Jon of Arc is a saint, but you are no Jon of Arc and nobody should expect you to be.

“What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8: 34)

For this advent period, we need to think differently. We need to start thinking of living in truth not living a sacrificial life based on how much we can please others and how much we need to please God. We need to reflect on why we may do the things we do and how we can work at being more intentional. It’s finally time to start being faithful to who God has called us to be and not to the calling of the world. Let us be loyal to Jesus and not the flesh

For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,  and acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings. (Hosea 6:6)

You Are Not My Enemy

You Are Not My Enemy

I see you bleeding
just like me
In anguish you scream!
Just like me.
You too have dreams
like me too.
I see you
in me
and me in you.
You are not my enemy
and that is the key
to restoring your humanity
in me.
The Darkness
would have it not so
it gives strive, hate and pain
creates a wall
and locks us into unbroken
chains.
But I see you
and know this to be true
You are not my enemy.
Me and you, me and you?
Our love can be heavenly.

On Being Saved

On Being Saved

I got baptized at nineteen
But God is just now saving me.
The water that fateful day
did not clense me
but hard won sorrow like a river
washes away the dirt and decay.
I stepped on the world stage
almost drowned
but God pulled me back
by my kinky hairs and counted each strand
to make sure they were still there.
Now I must come correct.

I really tried to be perfect,
but with each stroke
a piece broke
and the wood had to be refashioned.
Pillaged by too much Arrogance
left half dead by the way side
I now wear the cloak of humility.

Nineteen years,

I was wet behind the ears,
now I am driven by a burning Holy fire.
Disrobed ,
Transformed,
I stand changed by my perfet imperfections.