Tag: Simple Blessings

Lessons From My Garden.

A Garden brings a sense of purpose to many, it means a little exercise for some and to me I realise we the right mindset, there is so much we can learn…

Now let’s start from the top. The lesson I learned from the first photo is to see the beauty in everything. This dilapidated plant stand was once beautiful and strong. It was once relied on to hold all those plants that surround it. Now, it has lost its original purpose but it adds a rustic beauty to the scene. Also those plants now help its beauty to shine even brighter.

Next, is my peace spot. plants of different lengths and strength intertwined to offer a shield of peace in a place that offers little shelter from the real world. It teaches me that when you find that peaceful spot you must take the time to appreciate it. It also reminds me of the importance of having that oasis in a seemingly barren land, one that gives joy peace and happiness.

After this, there is the star fruit tree. Though small and young it has provided six crops already! It reminds me that age was never a limitation. The limitation comes from the impositions placed on age by society. The tree cares little for expectations and bears when it is ready. It doesn’t care for anyone’s timeline, except its own and because of this we can appreciate both its generosity and beauty in both bloom and bearing.

These two stalk of scallion were planted by untrained hands. There was little expectation and yet they decided to live. It reminds me that it is not whether others belief in you but if you believe in yourself. If you believe in yourself enough for everyone else there is nothing you can’t do or be. Your strength comes from within and is dependent on your will given to you by the Almighty. Though few will be there who really believe in you, believe in yourself and forget about the rest. You will get there in time.

Then there is this yam tree that thrives in a once barren space. It was the site of a traumatic event. A coconut tree struck by lightning, never to recover. Before it was planted by my aunt noone thought it could ever be redeemed, no one deemed it useful. Now this once barren hole brings forth life once, life that will feed nourish and make whole.

surrounded by a bean tree is the ruins of a limes tree. It was once tall, full and fluffy and bore limes until all its branches bowed to the ground. The limes on that tree was almost the size of a good sized lemon! Many persons benefited from that lime tree and we thought it would never stop giving. Then last year it became one of the many victims of the drought season. Of course we were in denial of its dying because it had been so strong and generous. Weaker trees had survived, why could it not? However, it still died even though we tried to save it, it was its time. However it still stands because it was needed. It was needed to offer support to things still alive. Death is always in the middle of the living and vice versa and sometimes the dead become the shoulder that the living stands on to realise its potential.

The final picture is that of a beautiful flower that fell down, we thought it was dead. Though it fell it did not die. It found a way to thrive where it had fallen and to not only add even more beauty, but more importantly hope. I gathered hope that if I fall I can still shine. If I fall where I did not begin or hope to be, I can still thrive and flourish. It is not where you end up but what you do while you are there.

There are many lessons we can learn from so many unassuming things, if we only take the time to really look closely.

I Don’t Want to Exist, I Want to Live!

If you died today what would your legacy be? I have thought about this and for me it is still up in the air. I guess it’s not up to me to answer that question; time will tell and so will my eulogy. I realise that sometimes the view we have ourselves differ greatly from the view others have of us. Some feel the need to write their own eulogy, just to be sure. I have been teaching for thirteen years and I often wonder if I have done enough with all the wonderful talents I have been blessed. Have I done enough? Been enough, seen enough, lived enpugh!? Can these questions ever be satisfactorily answered?

There was a time that I was so passionate about what I did and I did my best to do what I did. However, as time goes by and the expectations of critics are not met, they begin to chip away at the budding confidence you had in your ability. They look and note that you have not ascended to the lofty heights they thought you would reach and they tell you; so, you begin to question whether or not you really did anything, whether what you did was enough. It becomes especially hard when you see others who have done so many things that they have been recognised for and you begin to lose confidence in the little things you once thought were so great. May, you now feel, you are placed in a waiting room, because you disobeyed your call to action from God, then you begin to wonder if you are just drifting away.

But all I want to do is just live. I just want to live the kind of life I was intended to live, without fear worry or tears to cloud my vision. That is it, that is all. I don’t want the fame and I don’t want the fortune and don’t need the empty promises of who I could have been. In this moment without any more regrets and doubts about my place here at this time in history, I just want to live. This desire comes from a place that has never had time to heal properly from past wounds, it is too raw to touch, yet it yearns for sunlight. Above everything that this world could offer, all I desire is a chance to truly live a life free of expectations and perceptions, stereotypes and stereotypes. I want to inhale deeply and exhale freely and feel my heart swell with the joy of knowing that I have this gift that is worth more than silver and gold. We all need to just live and be allowed to live and any attempt to derail this is a crime against our humanity

There are so many landmines that people have to go through in this world, and many do not make it. There are unique problems that we each face that threaten our ability to live, some more than others. It is easy to become disenchanted by all the rocky mountains with loose rocks that come at our heads before we thinking about climbing those mountains. At the heart of everything is the one unchangeable truth, nothing is more precious than life. Nothing requires our full attention, but the desire to live.

Before we think of death, we have to deal with the business of how we will keep on living. We have to be aware of the value not only of our right to live but the right of all persons to live the life they have been given by God. It is a right that many are denied , a right that many do not know they have, right that should never be hijacked or denied. We should also keep in mind that we do not only fight to live, we also fight to realise the joy of truly be alive!

Think Tank

Someone’s journey begins with this verse. How does this apply to you? It is a beautiful door isn’t it? Many of us have such beautiful doors that we not only lock, but we also batten down tight. It takes many errors sometimes to realise that all we have to do is surrender when we are in doubt and wait for what’s to come. We need to breathe, let some cool breeze in that will give life and light. When we close ourselves off from all possibility, why do we expect to get a miracle. We have to open ourselves, though we may be afraid, though we may be cynical to the possibilities of miracles and a gentle voice that guides, instead of confuses.

Watching... waiting for His coming

Someone needs the reassurance of these words as they face the hail storm that lie ahead after coming through the fire that is now behind them. There is always a period when there is perfect peace and in those times we have to grab a hold of sanity and let it lead the way. Sometimes we stand alone ot among a few and realise that pain will lead to pleasure and sadness will give way to joy. To mould you He had to break you ans to smooth you out you had to burn. A promise is a promise and will come true if you believe.

Revelation 3:10 (ESV) - Revelation 3:10 ESV - Because you have ...

A season is only for a moment, a moment that may seem too long for you to bear. So just when you feel that this is it, then comes the shower of rain. All you need to do is to wait for it and let it happen. There is no potion you can brew that can get you where you want to be or need to be. Healing comes after the wound and not before. There is a process that must take place before you can come out on the other side.

god restores health

But you will and when you do, all you can say is Thank you Lord, I made it through.

The Only Way is Up!

I am sure that at some point you may have felt the burden of your past. You are so burdened that your legs cannot carry the weight of that past and so you buckle under the pressure of it.

You may also feel the weight of real or imagined eyes that accuse and arrest you and say to you that you dare not move on. While it is important to learn the lessons that need learning from your past, one should never dwell there. One should never pitch a tent there or build a bed there, because they feel like giving up.

“Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” (John 5:7)

There are many things that will try to hold us back. There was that great opportunity that we missed and can never get back. Or, there is this one person, or thing that will not leave us alone long enough for us to take the step we need to make the move that is required to step into the pool of opportunity waiting for us. There are so many things that have held us back, and we can’t seem to shake them. Maybe it is that we do not have to tools to overcome these obstacles by ourselves and we are still searching, hoping and praying from the right thing that will help us to do so.

“Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” (John 5:8)

The trick is to stop being your own worst enemy. So,before you get too far, from heeding the naysayers who punish you for the wrongs you may have done and the wrongs of everyone else they could not hold accountable, think whether this is the life you are meant to life. In life you can’t continuously keep looking down or you may miss the path you’re suppose to take and bypass the stops you are suppose to make. When we are given the chance to try again, we cannot stay in the same spot and hope for something or someone to tip us into the pool. Like the man at the poolside who had tried to get in for thirty-eight year, you have to get up, take that bed and walk. Now, life will not be smooth sailing and the experience and some of the baggage accumulated over the years will not magically disappear. But you cannot stay along the pool side if you have been given the opportunity to be healed. You cannot harbour years of doubt, fear or recrimination and hope to move forward. All those things that have kept you immobile have to be removed for you to move up.

and he took up his bed and walked (John 5:9)

At some point we have to decide if the fear of failing is stronger than our need to rise, to experience something truly wonderful and real. When we have been stuck for a long time, will we find the strength, given by The Almighty to finally walk into a future that we are meant to experience? Only you can answer that question and heed the command to get up and walk.

Get Out The Way!

“I can’t allow you to get in the way of my energy.”

We need to say this especially to ourselves. But before we do we need to develop a positive energy if we don’t have one. It doesn’t matter what we have been like in the past. By being more positive in our thinking I really belief that life would be more pleasant. When the little things don’t matter we can focus on the bigger picture.

Image result for get out of your own way

And what is the bigger picture you may ask?

Well there are many things we can’t change and we don’t need to spend time trying to. How we look, where we were born and what we were born with, our prior experiences and so much more. what we can focus on are the things that make us happy. Boldly going after what we enjoy, even if no one else gets it.

We spend too much time second guessing our decision and choices, while many opportunities pass us by. We down play our worth until we have erased what God created and replaced it with a poor substitute.

Image result for A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

I belief that children should never be told to stop dreaming, that they should be like everyone else and accept where they are. This is a dangerous practice that can kill the soul of that child, that can destroy a beautiful flower before it blooms.

However, it is never too late to revitalize yourself , never too late for a restoration of self. the you that you know you are is waiting to emerge, all you have to do is step out of your way. It’s easy to blame someone, anyone: parents, uncle, aunt, boyfriend or girlfriend, the lady down the road, a neighbour, friend, anyone, for why you are still a caterpillar, but you can’t hide from the truth.

Image result for Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

The truth is you may not be giving yourself the chance to grow and reach beyond this very distorted image of yourself because you feel you don’t deserve to be that person. So there it is, your unhappiness and distress could be a manifestation of what’s in your mind and no one’s fault.

Therefore, you not only need to change your attitude but also your energy. Man up or woman up and think about it. Do people want to be around you, do you try to uplift others? Or, do you even get tired of yourself, drained from all the shenanigans you let inside your head and life.

At the end of the day, if we want to be truly happy then we may need to adjust or attitude. We may need to take some time to cultivate a mindset that sees us always hopeful about the future, accepting of what is and a desire to challenge all about the self that has not worked and which never will.

Image result for Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky 16 as you hold firmly to the word of life

Destiny?

Destiny
what does it even mean?
Is it being caught in that in between?
A place that tells you have arrive 
when you had not taken the bus to get there?
I am destined to be great?
Who says?
If i reach high enough and hold on long enough
it will find me?
So I must wait
or I should go?
Tell how do I find it?
Can I find it?
Will it wait for me?
Will it wait until I have made many messes 
then clean up
or try to?
DO I have to find the answers first?
Do i have to unlock secrets I don't know
about?

Can you Please answer me.

How Long, far, deep and wide?
How much of me do I need to cut
piece by piece?
If you don't have the answers, who does?
Who can tell me what is real?
Are my dreams real and my life a nightmare
made to look normal?
Have been in a haunted house all this time!
Do I need to gather weapons to myself
to save myself
from myself?

Where do I turn
what will I do 
tied up by my own tongue?
Can i voice my displeasure when
I am trapped behind these bars 
that chew and cut and demolish
everything?

Destiny
I am waiting.
Woman Standing on Hill Near the Sea Graphic Wallpaper

Tapestry Of Life

Can you imagine being at a place where you can say: EVERY aspect of my life was necessary and perfect, where each painful step you took led to you imperfect perfect and it was good?

Maybe some of us are there, wish to get there or are getting there, but we all what to have that eureka moment.

Image result for “Now is the time to enliven, ennoble and enrich your life's tapestry.

When I was younger I was introduced to Mills and Boons novels and I loved them until I did not. I fell out of love with them, because they all had the same story line. The same predictable start, middle and ending.

So too with life.

People tend to hate the mundane, the predictable and either make up things in their heads or chase the thrills and ultimately spills of life. However, when it comes to obstacles, things that challenge our ordinary world, we cry foul and ask why me. We want things to always be smooth sailing, to go exactly like we want it to go. But it never does, does it?

We bemoan those dreadful experiences, but at the same time, get a thrill out of retelling them, over and over and over again. We want to only be around good people and do good, yet somehow we find ourselves with the wrong crowd often doing the wrong things. This, after just promising that the last mistake would be the last mistake while doing the current mistake that will soon be the last mistake. In essence we confuse ourselves.

Image result for Life is a tapestry woven by the decisions we make.

But you know what? It all matters. The terrible mistakes that you have and will continue to make. It all matters. When you look back at everything you have and are yet to experience, there will be plenty bittersweet moments that you will be glad you experienced.

Yes, life I think is like a tapestry.

I mean I have not seen many tapestry at all – if any in real life. But from what I can see we all have varied experiences. There are things that did not come together as we envisioned or planned, but they are a part of our story. Moments we wish we could relive because they were the exemption to the rules. Perfect – or so they seem-moments; remember people, perfect is relative.

Our tapestry though filled with imperfect stitches can be a masterpiece if we remember to let God direct the pattern that the final product will take. No one said that the pieces have to match, they just need be the layers that you become as the tapestry is woven by your actions.

We all need to remember this:

Every single thread of our lives is vital to our tapestry and arranged by the wisdom and power of God.

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