Thoughts and Other Things

This journey with God is one for the books (and blogs). You will think you know it all and something happens to remind you that at no point of your life can you do without Him. I sat with an assignment for a whole two weeks. I had written nothing but the question on my answering script, and not a word of the 5000 word essay I was supposed to submit. The more the days went, the more frustrated I became. I couldn’t understand why the material I was provided with didn’t give any answers to the questions I was asked. I read and re-read the articles and book extracts. Nothing. For two weeks. I was five-to calling the lecturer when things took a turn. I had again tried looking into it all afternoon, at some point taking a break and trying to sleep, then getting back to it, still nothing. I then did something I am still in awe of myself for not having done all along. I whispered out a cry: “God, help me”. I didn’t put much thought into it until I was scrolling through an article and saw t...

I recently bought an adult coloring book (emphasis on ‘adult’). I’d been hearing how relaxing coloring is and how many adults had turned to it to relieve stress and remain calm. I’ve came across a handful of coloring pages in many magazines but have always refuted the thought of picking up some color pencils and following suit. My argument: “I’m not a kid, and I’m not stressed.” This was until I came across ‘The Word in Color’ at CUM Books. I made sure no one was looking as I lifted up the really beautiful coloring book and read its back. “The Word in Color is a coloring book for adults filled with uplifting Scripture verses for creative relaxation and blissful reflection on the Word. Take a break from the everyday hustle amd bustle and find encouragement and peace of mind in The Word in Color.” Reading this, I knew this was for me. Not only did I love the creative way it offered to meditate on God’s Word but it would also help me deal with my anxieties (and boy are they many). I’...

These past few weeks I’ve had to relearn about processes. I thought I could bypass the process of recovery because I didn’t want to get behind on anything, but I learnt the hard (painful) way that you can’t cut corners with such a process. In fact, by trying to bypass processes, you risk hindering or complicating them. Each stage of a process is important if the desired outcome is to be reached. Regardless of how uncomfortable the stage might be, it must be endured in order for the process to be complete; for as much you are going through a process, the process is going through (working in) you. All this made me think about the process we go through in order to be that which God has called us to be. When God calls us to a relationship with Him, He points out what He’d like us to be, which is what He’ll make us to be because no one comes to God already it. This making requires a process, for to make is not an overnight business. The intimidating thing about listening to God telling yo...

I hate public facilities (I’m a snob like that). So I was not really pleased with my doctor when he said I should meet him at the nearby public hospital instead of his consultation rooms in a different town. He was saving me the toil of driving (and petrol) but it was really hard appreciating it as I sat on a bench squeezed in between an old lady with a knitting kit that was almost on my lap and another big lady with a bad cough. I moved from one station to another until I got to my final destination, yet another bench in front of the doctor’s room. There were only a few of us on this one so I could at least breathe, thank God. I said my greetings and took a seat next to a young girl who looked a few years my junior. I kept to myself as I whined and complained in my head. I had my phone out, texting and working. I started hearing strained moaning. I told myself to mind my own business. Then came the sniffling. I could no longer act invisible. I put my phone away and took tissues from...

I’ve come to fully understand the concept of deliverance. I guess in my head, I’ve always thought it to be synonymous to protection, but it’s not. Both concepts speak of God divinely intervening in one’s life, but the intervention is at different times. Protection is before, it is being kept from experiencing something. Deliverance is during, it is being taken out of something that one was already experiencing. For a long time I’ve enjoyed God’s protection, and I still do. Hedged in like Job, disaster not coming near my tent like in Psalm 91. But I’ve also come to learn the need to experience God’s deliverance. Truth is, I can’t learn all there is to God’s power, and all there is to the faith He has given me if I’m safely hidden in the nest all the time. Threats will need to come, they’ll push me out of my comfort zone, and there, on the water, I will learn about the greatness of my God. I’ve been meditating on Psalm 34. I spent a long time on each section, reading, listening, and ...

One thing I’m enjoying most about my studies right now, is how with each subject I treat, I’m encouraged to have my own say. With my degree, it was all about studying the given subject as others have defined it. All I had to do was express my understanding of what others had said. But now, after thoroughly going through all there is on the market, I have to introduce my own product to the market. Of course I have to take into consideration what others have come forth with through years of study, but at the end, I’m given room to come to my own conclusions, to agree or disagree, to add or to take away. I love the freedom. This got me thinking that this is exactly how life works. Life should be lived on your own terms. But that shouldn’t mean you don’t consider existing terms, and it doesn’t mean you know it all, but it means you have the freedom to choose your own terms because you know what will work for you, well at least you think you do. Allow me to pick on a Scripture. Matthew ...

The older I’m getting, the more I’m learning to accept and deal with the fact that bad things are part of life. At some point I thought I was lucky that bad things are only coming my way now, but I learned that they were always there, I was just protected from them. And part of growing up is being left to see and experience life in its bareness and rawness. From my own experience, I’ve noticed that we tend to resist bad things when they come our way, because, well, bad things never feel good, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t good, or rather, that they don’t serve a good purpose. Think of a pregnant woman. I’ve heard women experience pregnancy differently, and that even with one woman, pregnancies aren’t the same. Let’s think of the group of women who experience more hell than others. Morning sickness, fatigue, discomfort, aches and pains, swollen feet, bloatedness, heartburn and sleeplessness are among the common ailments. For nine whole months. Imagine that. And just when you think...