Title: Work in Progress

Jambo!

So I think I’m being kicked out of my room, not by the school but by the wildlife. My post on new years was about a phantom lizard stalking me but this time the danger was real. Auxiliaries, (gasps for breath) a huge spider got into my room and by huge I mean it was like the size of my hand and by in my room, I mean I saw it walking on my walls. I know right, like what are the odds? Thanking God for 2 things: the sun was still shining and there was a super nice security guard nearby who saved my life. Ok, I know I’m being a little dramatic but I just don’t like having my space invaded especially by creatures that do not understand the concept about space. But that’s not what this post is about.

Today’s post is about being dramatic in our decisions. Being bold and innovative. Coming out of our comfort zone and exploring a new thing. For months, I have been debating about whether I should switch rooms or not but clearly, after Sunday, I think I can safely say my decision has been made. The signs have been there. I have been complaining about it for months and I hadn’t realized until it became something I even felt comfortable sharing with strangers. And that’s when it hit me. I had a ‘See your life’ moment. This ties into what I was doing with my life last week.

So basically, instead of an endless vacation in Penang thanks to Sumaya (who was truly such an awesome host) I had to cut my trip short and attend a leadership experience last week. It was sooo awesome, I learned so much in those four days, apart from knowing I can actually wake up at 4am if I have to. But I think the resounding thing was that we, as young people, have sooo many awesome ideas on how to change the world and make it a better place. But all we do is hide our ideas and become a part of the system and lead a mediocre life and then wait to die and have a generic funeral with generic eulogies downloaded from the internet. I was reminded, quite harshly, that that is not what I want for myself. Being mediocre pains me and stresses me and makes me sick all the time because I have been called for excellence that I have not been achieving.

To be honest, I have been hiding behind my excuses, and it is true that I have at least 3 excuses for everything I do. One more excuse and I’ll have built myself a mental prison from which I would die trying to get out of and my cause of death would obviously be misunderstood. But thankfully, I have been challenged again and this time I have accepted. I am now working on making one of my dreams come true. More details coming soon. And now I pass the challenge to you. It’s never too late or too early to start. I recently saw a 6 year old that started her own charity for helping homeless people and I was challenged yet again, what am I doing with my life?

Being a Christian is not about memorizing all the bible verses or having a perfect attendance record at church. It’s about being the change that the world needs. Yes, we are not of this world so we should not conform but we should allow our minds to be transformed by the Holy Spirit so we can change the world for everyone. We all know what we are supposed to be doing yet we just sit back and let everything fall apart around us. But as long as church is safe, but as long as we are safe in our houses, but as long as our families are safe, but as long as our friends are safe. But what about everyone else? They have friends and families just like you.

SO STAND UP, OPEN THE DOOR, GO INTO THE WORLD AND MAKE IT A BETTER PLACE.

#GLEKL2016

#Eduversity

Be a good mother, it’s the Christian thing to do

Jambo akina mama!!

So it’s finally here, that Sunday when all mothers get to be pampered and catered to and appreciated for being mothers. Whereas my mum is 7099 km away in the middle of nowhere with her mum and mum in law, ok maybe not in the middle of nowhere, Nowhere only exists in Courage the cowardly dog. But anyway, point is she is quite far and out of reach for the weekend and will probably see this tomorrow in which case Happy Belated Mothers Day Mum *hugs from the other side*.

So I’ve been thinking of examples of mothers beyond the description in Proverbs and these five popped into my head.

• Rebecca (Genesis 27:5-17)

Rebecca was the type of mother that helps her child win no matter what. This the type of mother that would help you with your homework, help you with your applications basically anything you need, she has your back. Granted both were her children, Jacob was still her favourite and she chose to help him get his father’ blessing. If I was Esau, I’d have my excuse as mummy issues for every bad thing I did after that. And I feel like this was just another example of how women run the world because we generally succeed at pushing our agendas. And then her agenda just happened to be in line with God’s that tells you that a good mother helps her child achieve God’s purpose for their lives.

• The Mothers of Moses (Exodus 2:1-10)

So Moses was one of the first people to have two mothers. Some people don’t even get the chance to have one yet he was blessed enough to have two, he literally had the best of both worlds. The sacrifice his biological mother made was just. . . I can’t imagine having to do such a thing. For me, I always picture the hours of labour in childbirth after 9 months of the longest blind date ever then to just give it all up. And then just his luck, he gets picked up by the princess and just her luck she got to nurture him, some things only happen when God intervenes. But then when a mother is desperate and she cries out to God, he hears her and provides a way out.

• Hannah (1 Samuel 1-2:11)

Hannah had a passion to be a mother. You would think that all her life, all she wanted to be was a mother. And yet it wasn’t happening, she waited and waited but nope, nothing happened. And just like Rachael, even though her husband loved her more, it wasn’t enough to fill the void of loving a child, because children are literally a blessing and a joy, even the ones called Blessing and Joy. The irony of her situation though, woiye. And then she prayed and asked God for a son with the promise that she would dedicate him to doing God’s work. And He gave and she gave. Because mothers make covenants with God to secure our future.

• The King Solomon mother (1 Kings 3:16-28)

Now this was an interesting story. I reread it today and I was picturing him standing with a light saber ready to split the baby or maybe he had Excalibur. But anyway, the real mother sacrificed her rights to the child just so that the child would stay alive. That was unbeweavable, I mean unbelievable. It would have been trending longer than Lemonade, ok, maybe not but still. Especially in those days and times, such things were unheard of. I know we have been desensitized because of all the divorce and custody battles going on everyday, but then most of those cases are usually about pride and revenge and rarely about the best interests of the children. Because good mothers would sacrifice anything, even what they love most, even if its our relationship with them,  just to save our lives and to keep us safe. 

•  Mary (Luke 2)

Mary was a special breed of mothers. For a young virgin girl, she sure had a lot of confidence about being a mother. Maybe by then she had clocked endless hours of babysitting. But still, to agree to babysit God’s baby? I can’t, like if He separates you from Himself, as in He decides you’re dead to Him, that’s it, you’re literally in hell. But you see that’s why Gabriel didn’t come to me. Can you imagine the panic when Jesus was left behind at the temple? (might have been weird if it was after the rupture) She must have been wondering what she was going to tell God. She must have been ready to start a speech like, ‘You see, what had happened was….’ But then clearly, God was doing His part in raising His Son in His ways, because God does not abandon His children nor their mothers.

And now we have a twerk and trap generation. Most mothers are busy chasing everything else instead of raising their children. Careers, husbands, chama… instead of taking the time to instill discipline and teach children in the ways of the Lord. I remember when I was young, the younger mothers would sit around my grandma and listen to her tell stories as well as share some of their own. And we would observe and listen and learn soo much about manners and etiquette and respect and basically how to be a woman of power. But where are they now? We have started keeping them in nursing homes so that we don’t have to take care of them or let them influence their grandchildren. And all we can do nothing else but pray and hope for a better generation.

I consider myself blessed. I remember spending a lot of time with my mum when I was young, she used to read me bible stories, she taught me how to pray, tried to get me to save for offering on Sundays, and she made sure I always had my Sunday best for church, my own bible, notebook and pen. She used to buy me tapes (yup, I mean cassettes) with narrated bible stories and kids gospel music. In doing so, she made sure that I knew where my home was. For even though I have stumbled and fallen and lost my way a few times, I have always known the way back home, the way to my Father’s house. And for that foundation in Christ that she helped set up in me at such a young age, I will forever be grateful. And for me, that’s all that I ever really needed. So thanks Mum!

As you appreciate your mothers today, don’t forget to thank them for introducing you to Christ. And if they don’t know Him, then you make the introduction, because you best believe they would definitely not hesitate to do the same for you. And if you’re a mother, I really hope you have already started teaching your children about Christ. It’s never too early.

Wishing you all a Happy Mothers Day!! 

Auxie out. *mic drops*

Do the right thing: How to treat your ‘HATER’

Jambo auxiliaries!

So I just had my last class of first year yesterday and I’m super overjoyed especially  when I’m not freaking out about exams but that’s another testimony for another day. But before I get back to studying, I just wanted to share with you my divine realization of what/who a ‘hater’ is and their actual purpose in your life.

You know how God said, ‘My people perish for lack of knowledge’, well, here we are still dying. And one of the reasons may be because of our haters. Let me explain. I know when you think of haters you probably think of celebrities especially a lot of rappers, and Taylor Swift always thanking their haters for making them who they are. And we sit back and think, they are just being dramatic. But then having haters, is soo not new, I just think that we have been looking at it all wrong. You see, the Bible is so full of haters, you literally can’t count them. Today, let’s focus on these characters four and how they dealt with their haters.

So step into my mind for a moment….

Adam and Eve

So Adam and Eve were given a perfect planet as a gift, just because. Not because they earned it but just because God felt like they should have it. They didn’t have global warming or droughts or famines or exams. It was literally wake up and chill all day err’day. They were their own bosses and just had two things to do: be fruitful and take care of the earth. Isn’t that the dream we are all working hard for? So anyway, these guys are chilling in the garden and a snake comes to hate on them, insisting that Eve isn’t smart. Well, we all know how that ended. They ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil and now we all have to die so we can see God. Do you know how many times I look at the news and I just think to myself again, ‘Adam and Eve, you just had two things to do’ but it’s fine. Do you see what happens when you try to prove yourself to your haters? You just die trying.

Noah

Next we have Noah. God told him to build an ark, a huge one for him and his family and pairs of all types of animals except the fish. (That used to be a trick question in CRE). To be honest, I would have been hater number 1, how are you going to be in the same space as snakes and spiders? I can’t, I just can’t. But he ignored the people laughing at him and listened to the only voice that mattered, God’s. And we know how that ended, he survived the end of the world. Because God delivers you from all evil if you allow yourself to listen to His instructions and follow them. (But to be fair, people still fail interviews for not listening and following instructions but the people that get the job are usually the ones that do, so it’s not impossible, it’s just difficult.)

Elijah

I feel like this guy was a cool kid. I feel like he was that guy that no one messes with. He might have been that guy that drops a one liner, drops mic and exits stage. But his haters were still on his case, telling him he was worshiping the wrong God. But He knew the right thing to do was just to let God reveal Himself to them. And so he and the prophets of Baal went to the mountain for a fire contest (because there were no dance battles in those days). And he let them struggle and struggle and release all their madness, literally all of it before he prayed and God sent the fire. It was such a boss move, the type we wish to pull off but don’t because we lack the necessary ingredient (no, I don’t mean chemical X). Yeah, he may have been a bit dramatic telling them to pour water on the logs but that’s what you do when you have an audience, you perform. But in the end, all he needed was confidence, not in himself but in God. Because GODfidence lets you WIN in the face of any adversity. 

Jesus

Jesus had the best of everything going on for Him. When Daddy owns the universe, like what do you do with your life? He was basically a rich kid, but He came from heaven to earth to be adopted by a carpenter. And it’s not like it was an exchange program for just a semester, he stayed for 33 years. Like who does that? I can barely last two weeks in my shagz. If I was Jesus, I would have had a lot of fun after just rising from the dead. No Snapchat to ruin the surprise, I’d show up everywhere like nothing happened and watch people go crazy. But you see that’s why I’m just a girl and Jesus is Lord. And that’s the thing, Jesus is Lord. He could have destroyed everyone who mocked Him but instead He chose to die for them. Like who does that? I could spend a whole lifetime trying to understand but I still would not be able to. Because my corrupted human heart and soul could not possibly fathom such a perfect sacrifice. Because haters just need some love, the perfect love of Christ.

So we have been looking at the whole ‘hater’ thing wrongly as Christians. There is so much love that we could give, flowing from Christ in us if only we would allow it. But instead we complain about our haters and pray that God will give us a testimony that will put our haters to shame. But is that really what He has called us to do?

We basically have two choices; give in to trying to prove ourselves to our haters and die or we can let them see the God in us. The God we have total confidence in to order our steps, the God who makes us loving and the God who is very capable of proving nothing is impossible for Him. 

So what will you decide?