A Lesson…

Humans including me, I’m perplexed by us.

I read a strange story a while back; I’ll like to share it with you.

A flock of very much abused and diseased sheep were being prepped by their shepherds to be slaughtered. A man called Zechariah came along, took pity on the animals, and bought them from their owners. He decided he was going to love them and take good care of them.

Some time later, the sheep he had rescued and loved began to take him for granted. They eventually began to despise him. Their lack of appreciation brought this man to a state of burn-out, so much that he became apathetic and eventually decided to quit his job as their shepherd.

This is a man who had done nothing but provide love and care, perhaps, for years, for a group of diseased animals, and at the end of the day, he was tossed aside like the first slice of bread.

And is that not how we can sometimes be ourselves? We tend to walk all over people who truly care for us, who desire nothing but the best for us; but those people who use us to build their empires and their resumes, and buy flashy cars, and walk all over our rights as they grow more and more powerful – we fear and love and serve and applaud those people.

Case in point: Nigerian Politicians and the self acclaimed Nigerian men of God.

If you’d like to read the story for yourself, you can check it out in the Bible: it’s in Zechariah 11:4-13.

Be sure to show great kindness and honor to those who care for you. Don’t take their concerns and love for you for granted.

Have a great weekend.

Seven life lessons I’d love to share

1. In everything, give thanks. Because, it could have been worse

2. Know and respect boundaries. The tongue and the teeth belong in the same mouth. But what happens when teeth cells grow in the tongue or when tongue cells grow in the teeth? It’ll be called cancer. If the parts of the mouth knows its boundaries and respects its( as close as its parts are) you should respect your boundaries with others, regardless of how close you are. Spouses take note!

3. Have low to zero expectations. Why? So as to avoid being disappointed later on. Zero expectations helps you to be more humble, have zero entitlement mentality( which is a form of pride) and helps you to be appreciative when people bless you or help you. Your only expectation should be from your maker.

4. If you are in a position of leadership or authority, watch yourself closely. Why? Because leadership automatically puts you in a pedestal. The problem with pedestals is that when you fall from it, your hurt will be much more compared to those who are not placed so high. Clothe yourself with humility, be sure to admit to mistakes; and be sure you are open to feedback from those you lead; be sure to remove the sycophants from your circle ( people who never challenge what you say, who will praise you and call you God) they are the ones that will ultimately kill you by setting you up.

5. Don’t seek and depend men’s praise. When they reject you( and they will eventually) it will destroy you

6. Be down to earth. Don’t claim to be or have something you’re not. Announcing yourself before you’re due will ALWAYS get you in a lot of trouble. Stay humble and mind your business.

7. Lastly, acknowledge the Lord in all you do- Even when you feel you know the way, acknowledge him to direct your path

So these are some major life lessons I have been privileged to learn. Hope it helps you to avoid some of life’s major pitfalls. Have a great Thanksgiving

Life lessons from my daughter

Two major milestones occurred with my daughter in the past few weeks: She clocked one (Yay!), and took her first baby step – all by herself (double yay!) As can be expected, my hubby and I are ecstatic, same goes for her two older siblings who can’t help being thrilled to watch her walk. Of course, ever since she started walking, I’ve had less ‘me’ time and have switched roles from Mommy to Bodyguard.  She wants to go everywhere her little feet can take her, and that includes the bathroom to play with the toilet water and the kitchen to try out the knobs of the stove. Perhaps, she’s going to be the next Top Chef in Bravo’s TV cooking contest, who knows?

On her little face, I see beams of joy when she walks; well, more like totter. Since she has yet to master the fine art of walking with a nice steady gait, it isn’t uncommon to see her fall. And several times too. One would think that in spite of all her many falls that she would just sit out the rest of her walk, ehrm…Again, I mean, totter. But my daughter? Oh no! She is up, in a quick flash too, like nothing ever happened. In fact, her next step is often taken with a bolder attitude. I’m thinking God blessed her with the strongest bones possible, because if it were me doing a third of her falls, I would be a paralytic by now.

So it occurred to me this morning as I watched her take her walk,- pardonez moi, I meant totter, – accompanied by more than one fall that it would be super nice if I learned to deal with life’s challenges the way my daughter deals with her tottering. Instead of sitting down in self-pity and becoming resigned to the seemingly insurmountable task that always has me landing on my butt whenever I try to tackle it, I could just get up, shake off the dust of failure, and keep on working to overcome my challenge until I’m its master.

Life was never meant to be lived without a few bumps in the road and for some, if not for most of us, we’ve got more than a few bumps in our life’s journey; more like humongous portholes it seems. But we don’t have to give up on life. We don’t have to let the task of living be our master. We could just get up, it’s a choice by the way – shake it off and keep at it. We may be tottering now, but if we keep at it, we’ll walk. We’ll even run and some very lucky ones may fly in the success of being part of the living. The most important thing is to remain constitent, taking it one day at a time until that challenge is well managed or totally disappears.

From my heart to your heart, have a most lovely day!

P.S: Two copies of Love at Dawn, my second book is up for grabs – courtesy of the amazing romance writers of West Africa (RWoWA). It’s the October give away contest, you know. Last month, one lucky winner won a copy of Bestselling author, Myne Whitman’s novel, and this October, you could be the winner of my second published novel, Love at Dawn. You’ll have to subscribe to the RWoWA site to be entered in for the contest and /or like their page on Facebook. It’s so easy, even a caveman can do it, said in the famous words of my GEICO commercial.