GRINDING!

Everlasting Father & Redeemer, I come before you thankful that I have seen the end of a gracious week. I have seen days that have pushed me to the end, nearly crushing me due to the weight that they bear. Lord, I come before you knowing that every day that I see which is the present, is nothing more than a gift from you. I am humbled that I am your child, a sinner whom you have forgiven my sins. Lord I come before you seeking that you shall go before me, in the coming days to come. I place all that I shall touch with my hands to be blessed by you Abba Father. I do pray this in Jesus name, Amen!!!

Hi, hoping that you are well. Is everything okay on your end? Or has life just decided to give you a beat down that has got you all bruised & wondering if it is worth getting up & facing life? It seems that every time that you are making a step forward in life, you stagger back like a drunkard wondering if there is a ploy to rid you of your God ordained destiny. Well, it seems that the path our lives have been chartered for, keep on changing day by day, making our course more eventful than anticipated.

We are but mere mortals, living on this realm on borrowed time. We are visitors having a time clock that keeps on ticking. Well, it seems that we are only meant to be here for a duration of time. It makes you wonder what is the purpose of all this that we have been forced into since our birth. Or do you think that you had a choice or a say at the time of you being born? Did you know that when you grace this earth, a lot was waiting to welcome you both the good & the bad & that it was up to you to make a choice of which side you wanted to fall on.

Here is the truth, no one is ever born evil or dark as some may claim (but, I can be corrected). The environment that we grow up in molds us to what we become. If we are not strong enough we usually fall short & take in all that has been spoon fed to us since the beginning. You want to make a change, then you have to step up & decide to man/woman up. It will not be easy as you shall be deemed to be going against the grain. We are who we are by the fact of how we view ourselves, how we hold ourselves when the odds are not in our favour.

Take a quiet moment with me for a minute. Things are still pretty rough for you, huuh! I know that this life is hard & some days are tougher than others. Some times you have got to break down & cry, before you can move forward & that is okay. Even on your worst days, the days you told yourself, "I can't go on", the days you told yourself you have no more hope, the days you told yourself there is nothing left for you. You should be reminded that your track record for overcoming bad days is 100%. If that does not speak volumes to who you are, then I don't know what does.

As you struggle to make ends meet, know that you are not alone & that no matter the distance between us we are all facing our own storms which we shall overcome eventually. Have you ever tried to pitch an idea to an investor & gotten that look that what you are offering is not holding any water. Maybe you have tried to get your business up & running & every time you hit wall after wall, making you wonder if you made the right choice. You may have even tried to scale up in your career but the odds seems to be against you on a daily.

Maybe you even tried to court that man/woman & you were not winning their hearts. You may have even tried to get your daily bread but nothing has been materializing. Maybe you tried to work out to be in shape or for your own health but things are not going according to plan. Well, as was anonymously stated, "These hard times, this pain, these lessons - one day they will be your strength, your awareness, your blessings". It may seem that this phrase makes no sense to the reality on the ground, but fear not, you never know what can happen for you. 

Do not douse the lights yet, there may be a slim chance that you may rise from the ashes like the phoenix & cease an opportunity which may just come up in the nick of time. Whenever, we hear how the rich have made it. We go like, "damn! that can't be me, am not engineered like that". Me! to wake up early, to plan in advance, to be disciplined, to think ahead & so forth. Is this really something that I can do? In my considered opinion, yes, you can do it. It is not going to be easy but it is indeed possible. 

We live in a life where we doubt our true potential that we short change ourselves. Always seeing that we can not be better, we can't achieve greatness, we can't outshine others & so on. Why are we so down cast? Living a life where we see ourselves as not being worthy. Listen to me, you need to stop stooping so low as to think that you are useless. Who told you that (you are not)? You need to understand what you think about yourself matters more than what others think of you. If you don't have a daily routine, what will hurt if you try to have one.

 

There is nothing in this world that is cast in stone & that is why we have the next day so that we can start all over again. When you take the time to learn from that which made you trip, you shall find a stance to take without falling. Thus, making it be that on your own two feet nothing will be impossible. It is stated that Thomas Edison in inventing the light bulb tried it 1,001 till he got it right. Meaning that he had failed 1,000 times but still pushed on to make it a reality. You need to know that we are all cut from different cloth.

I may not know you, not met you, not heard of you, not interacted with you, not seen you but all that I know, is that you are meant for greatness. I believe in you, even if you don't believe in yourself. I pray that God will open for you doors that have been closed & give you the strength to forge forward. You are loved & nothing should stop you from achieving your dreams & goals even in this trying times. 

Les Brown says that to be successful: you have to change your mind set, practice only quality people & develop your communications skills. Once you open your mouth you tell the world who you are.

STOP HOLDING ON!

Our Father who is in heaven, I come before you as your child grateful that I have the gift of life. I take this moment to say thank you for all that you have done for me. I count my blessings every day that come my way. I have the use of my limbs, I am alive, I have seen another day, I have shelter, I have food, I have clothes to cover my nakedness, I have those who love & care for me. I come before you this day to only but just say thank you. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen!

May I, with your kind permission ask you a question? Thank you for the indulgence! Have you ever participated in a tug of war event? If you have not, I will tell you what Wikipedia breaks it down to be. "It is a sport that pits two teams against each other in a test of strength. Teams pull on opposite ends of a rope, with the goal being to bring the rope to a certain distance direction against the force of the opposing team's pull". 

If you go to google dictionary definition it states it as, "a situation in which two evenly matched people or factions are striving to keep or obtain the same thing". You may be wondering, what is the relevance of all this mambo jumbo that this chap is bubbling about. I need you, to just give me a chance to tell you what all this is all about. Is it okay, if I now continue with my thoughts (this is the time to look around anxiously, waiting for a shoe to come flying by), thank you. 

You are a most patient reader, let me not keep you waiting any longer. Do you get the relation between the tug of war & your life? Well for starters, most of the time we are always fighting to survive the harsh realities of life. In such a way that we try as much as we can to hold onto something that we believe will make our lives better. An example is to be at the work place & you are stuck being in the same position, year in, year out. 

There is the slight hope that one day you will move up the ladder, even though it is a draining job. You are fearful that if you venture on your own, things may not work out. Yes, there is a reality that at times, going on your own that things may come tumbling down. This may be so, however you will only get to know about it if you try. We have a tendency of being attached to material things or at times people. 

Strange as it may be, there comes a time that we have to let go of that which we are fighting so much to hold onto. Grasping it so tightly like as if it is the only means of our survival, not realizing how destructive it is than constructive. There have been known cases of people being in toxic relationships, where they try to justify the reason as to why you are still in it. There could be some supposed valid reasons but in the long run it is you as an individual who is hurting. 

There are times that those whom you hang around & deem as your bosom buddies or even family that may be sucking you dry like leeches. Making demands left, right & center & since you don't want to be the bad one, you yield. This is where one has to cut them off gently & not torch that connecting bridge but loosening the rope setting yourself free. It all comes down to you, that there are a number of things that you will need to stop.

Stop letting your good heart keep you in situations that are breaking your heart. Stop being the go to person for the person that you can't go to. Stop breaking your back for someone who clearly doesn't have yours. Stop giving people positions in your life that they don't deserve. Finally, stop giving CPR to dead situations, some things are not meant to be saved. You don't get in life what you want; you get in life what you are. 

Don't be bitter be better. I just want you to have a good day. Some of you, I know that you are carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders & it is truly taking its toll on you. Just for the moment, I want you to lay those burdens down, I want you to focus on you. I know you can give me a million reasons, why you can't. Let me give you a reason why you should, it is because you deserve it. Some of you have just been on a bad stretch of the road, storm after storm, struggle after struggle, most days you don't even know which way to turn. 

But for today, I don't want you to focus on the negative, I don't want you to focus on other people's problems; I don't want you to focus on your problems. There is always going to be time to figure those out. There is not enough time in this world for your happiness, to take a back seat to anything or anyone, today just focus on you & what truly makes you happy & know that you are loved.

YOU ARE NO PILLAR OF SALT!

Do you ever feel disheartened by the loss of hope or when the heart is broken into countless pieces. As it is said, you never know the pain until it hits home. Right now we are in a virus ravaged world where we are looking up to God & hoping that our scientists can dish out those jabs to save lives faster than people are becoming infected. 

What a time to be alive? Where our very lives can be easily doused off like a candle with the snap of a finger or the blow of the fierce gust of wind. Where to turn, who to look up to, when to resign to fate, what to give up & how to cope are no longer easy options that come up like clicking a prompt to either accept or deny the same.

Every time that you make a step forward in trying to better yourself. a key factor to take into consideration is the ripple effect that occurs like skipping a stone over water. The question to ask oneself in this rainy day or is it night is, what keeps you together? Is it love, hate, anger, family, close friends, the love of your job, your dark side? 

It is indeed a time to self reflect on that which drives & ensures that you are all in one piece by the end of it all. A good number of us are used to being lone rangers, always doing things by ourselves. Every time keeping everything that we are going through, close to the chest. 

Let me tell you that I have fallen from grace & off the band wagon & nearly lost all hope on several occasions. I have taken on the desires of the world & indulged to the fullest to the leeching vices. My saving grace has been the love of music. If you have met me, you will notice that I get consumed in the music that is in my phone. 

The discovery of the various genre of gospel music in my younger days got me hypnotised. Worship music gets me in the feelings, just taking me like a prisoner of war heavily sedated. While reggae gospel music gets me going like "listen to the message", reggae fans can relate.

What am simply saying is that my love for God has connected me to Him via music. I recently made a discovery of a Christian gospel group called Maverick City Music. If you go to YouTube you find them via their page called Tribl. They do curated, spontaneous worship music that makes you feel like heaven has opened up just next door. 

This has been quite a salvation for me. Music & not just any music but God glorifying music has steered me straight & kept me sane. I learned that God does not care what you have done, where you come from, how your past was, when you fell but that you realise that you are worthy. 

I am not telling you that you should follow God but for me, He has been the best option that I have personally encountered by following in His steps. Hence, being my grounding when things have been good or bad or worse. It has not been an easy journey but knowing that I can take refugee in one who is greater than I gives me the hope, faith, strength, courage to take on life. 

Also, having a life partner who has been my rock, listening ear, shoulder to lean on, hand to hold onto & so forth has steered me on to my destiny. You may all wonder to yourselves, but I don't have that how can I hold on? Well, some of us may have bosom buddies who have been with you through it all. 

When you have someone who corrects you when you stumble like a drunk, helps you to steady your feet & sober up, then my friend you have an anchor. You may ask, what if my friend is not there? Then, you can turn to your band of brothers/sisters. What I mean is having a group of trust worthy persons whom are there for you if & when the need arises. 

I am blessed enough to have a group from church who are part of the Man Enough programme. These are strangers who have turned to be brothers, having come to appreciate each other through our similar paths. If you are a family person, you may put your family as your stronghold. 

Am sure you have had someone say, "I will do anything for my wife/husband/daughter/son/brother/sister". What they mean is that, this person is who they can do all that is humanly possible for them come rain or high water. Other times, we may turn to reading but then the question will be what is it that you are consuming? 

I have come to appreciate several writers like the writers of the Bible, Robin Sharma, George Clason, Tim Lahaye, Dr. Emerson & so on. At times it takes one a moment to stop, step back, reflect & take decisive action to see where they are going or are headed. When you discover that which works for you, you latch onto it & go for a spin. 

Most important is to know that you are not the only person fighting for your life. We are all on different trails but need to forge forth & make the most of it. Who/What is your anchor?