Author: Bola Iduoze

WHO IS WATCHING YOU?

This question of ‘who is watching you?’ came to mind from a conversation I had with a neighbour I had never met. I do tend to run several days a week and I do that in the cyclo-park which is close to my home. In running daily, apparently some of my neighbours have noticed me and have been commenting about me or my running pattern.

Over time I have had positive comments from my immediate neighbours and that was accepted as the complement it was. Also, the observation of my immediate neighbours didn’t seem out of place as they might catch me going out and coming in daily due to the closeness of our homes.

This comment however came from a neighbour who is beyond 6 doors away and I had never seen her before. She caught me coming to the end of my run and came up to me saying ‘I just wanted to let you know that I do admire you. You challenge and inspire me by your dedication, commitment, and the result I can see. Thank you!’

Her comment took me aback because, firstly, I had never seen her before and secondly, I was just doing my thing and living my life; not conscious of anyone watching or being inspired by me. I thanked her and told her I look forward to seeing more of her soon. (I plan to invite my neighbours to tea soon and she will surely get an invite)

AND ANOTHER…

As I was thinking about this event, I remember walking up to a builder few doors away. I went  to ask if he will be happy to do some work in our home. Just before we went further in the discussion, he asked which house. To which I pointed to mine, and he said; ‘Oh the vicar’s house…is he your father?’ I laughed and said YES it’s the vicars house. But NO he’s not my father but husband (of course Eddie hasn’t heard the last of that).

The builder said he was told by someone on the street that a vicar lived on the street and that made them happy! He however assumed a vicar must be an old man. Well, we never told anyone Eddie was a vicar nor that we are Christians – apart from our immediate neighbours whom we converse with regularly. We are however being watched and the neighbours know. I can also boldly say, the same goes for your neighbours and colleagues.

These incidences reminded me of the scripture that says

‘You yourselves are our epistles, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone.’ 2 Corinthians 3:2 (read the beautiful NLT version here)

So, though you and I just do our thing daily and attempt to live our lives quietly, people are watching as well as reading us. The question therefore is, what have they deduced of Christ by watching your life?

I pray for us all that we will represent the gospel well because someone is always watching us!

God is on your side.

PS: Read my older blog post on The wait is almost over here

THE TALE OF TWO PLANTS!

I was looking outside my window when I noticed two sets of plants which were in the same land space but had two totally different outlooks. As I looked at them, I thought, the tale of two plants!

One of the plants in focus is a tree that looked brown and completely bare of leaves. It has a great space for it to grow and become all it ever wants to. However in this season, it was brown and bare of leaves. Yet there is the other plant that is part of the hedge of the same front garden. It is green and fresh looking. Same location and provision but different outcome or outlook.

As I looked at these two plants, I started asking myself why one plant was green and fresh while the other was dry and bare. One tree was responding to the season while the other was green all year round. I noticed that the green one was planted closely to the other plants that made up the hedge. They were in a cluster and that seemed to have made a difference to the outlook of the plant.

I felt the Holy Spirit minister to my spirit about the difference between a believers. One that is planted by the rivers and is part of a cluster versus the one that chooses to always be on their own. The lone ranger tends to be the plant that suffers the most. This is equally the same for a believer that chooses to stay away from fellowship and or our Father the source of freshness. The more they do that, the higher their likelihood of drying up and running into trouble.

THE WORD

The word of God says

‘Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked. Stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord. He meditates on His law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever they do prospers.’ Psalm 1:1-3. (Check out the NET here)

Once more this scripture reminds us that the productivity and freshness of a plant is dependent on how close they are to the source of life. With that being the case, I will implore you to stay close to our God and to one another because there is the year-round freshness promised.

Many give the excuse of the seasonal change for whatever they are experiencing. God however does not want our lives to be going up and down like a yoyo; He has made provisions for us to have His life and have it more abundantly.

Stay rooted in Him and stay closer in fellowship in the house of the Lord. You can never go wrong doing these things. So, stay fresh and fruitful even in autumn!

God is on your side!

PS: Catch up with older blog posts here

REMEMBER LESS!

‘PB, is my brain a blessing or a pain? I wish I could remember less.’ said a young lady to me recently. This question was a conflict in heart based on the issue of continually remembering hurts and pains. She wanted to know the best way to deal with past hurts.

The response to this question comes in the story of two friends which I will share below:

“There were two friends who went on a walk through a desert. During the journey, they got into an argument, and it got so heated that one of the friends raised his hands and slapped the other. (I am completely against any form of violence, by the way.)

The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything he walked forward and wrote a statement in the sand. The statement was, ‘Today my best friend slapped me in the face.’

The two friends kept on walking after this incident until they found an oasis, where they decided to have a wash. Not long after, the friend who had been slapped got stuck in a swamp. He then started drowning, but his friend saved him. After he had recovered from his shock, he wrote on a stone, ‘Today my best friend saved my life.’

The friend who slapped and saved his best friend asked him, ‘After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write in stone, why?’

The other friend replied, ‘When someone hurts us, we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it.’” 

This is a clear-cut direction and helpful analogy on what to forget and what to remember. Remember less of hurt and more of the good done to us.

THE WORD

The word of God says

‘Be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.’  Ephesians 4:32 (Check out the Message version here)

There are times that we will feel upset by actions of others, but the bible gives us the direction to forgive. Choose to remember less of the hurt and focus more on the good that happens to you. Forgiveness is a choice; so, choose right.

There is so much God has for you, never allow any hurt stop you from enjoying God’s plan for you.

PS: check out other inspirational blog posts here

THE KID FINISHED STONGER!

It was an interesting run at the Parkrun on Saturday when a kid finished stronger.

As we started the run, I noticed a boy of about 5 or 6 who was in the group with his dad. I was wondering who would bring a 6-year-old boy out to a 5 km run. I expected that he would crumble at some point during the race.

As we started the race, I saw the kid shoot forward and heard his dad calling out to him to slow down. Throughout the race, I noticed the kid would stop a bit at the insistence of his dad and then continue his race. I was amazed that after passing the halfway mark, he was still in the race and going strong!

The last lap saw me run past him and his dad then I started my homerun. My brother and running coach Min Ayo Olusanya  (https://ayodelefitter.com/)  came to run alongside me and started mumbling, ‘common push harder and don’t let him pass you’. This statement made me look over my shoulder. I was certain there was no one within reach as I gave a good amount of margin to the set I passed.

FINISHING STRONG

I felt even more comfortable in my run. I got this! The finish line was now less than 10 seconds away and there was a big cheer. There are usually several encouragers who cheer at the finish line; but this cheer was much more than usual. As I got to the end, I noticed that there was a little shadow run ahead of me! The little boy had finished stronger and got a place ahead of me. When I looked over my shoulder, I didn’t notice him because he was too small to be in my view.

As the boy ran ahead of me and finished, I collapsed into laughter as it was such a funny scenario. I thought I had overtaken the boy and his dad, yet the kid had this strength to push and finish stronger. His pressing on to the finish line reminded me of the scripture that says

THE WORD OF GOD!

‘I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.’ Philippians 3:14

‘Pressing on to reach the end of the race to receive a prize’ took on a new meaning for me. This got me thinking about our Christian race and the need for us to always be vigilant as well as push all the way to the end to not just finish but to receive the prize that our God has for us.

In all honesty, if I had seen the little boy, I would surely have pushed a bit harder to finish ahead of him. I know that sounds wrong…but I am honest and competitive enough to identify the fact that I could do that.

Finally, on a more serious note, God has a prize ahead of you, do not get too tired nor let any distraction take you away from what God has planned for you. So, receive grace and keep at it.

PB

PS: Have you read this blog post? You will love it! https://mentoringplatform.com/solution-for-unseen-challenges

IT IS AVAILABLE!

Over the last 18 months, my local gym like many across the United Kingdom has been shut. Then came the staggered opening which led to some of the group classes starting. That then led to the resumption of my spin class with limited number of bikes. Recently, that has changed, and I just thought to share my thought and lesson learnt from our response to this phrase – ‘It Is Available’.

The opening of the economy and changes to the COVID restrictions on the 19^th of July 2021 meant gyms went from 30% capacity to opening fully and providing full capacity in almost all the classes. That meant my spin class went from 10 bikes to 30 bikes.

It was exciting because I didn’t need to stay up till 12 midnight to try to get a space nor did I have to wait for someone to cancel at 8am the next morning for the 9am class. That had been the practise for the past months. Some even pre-book their spaces for 2 weeks in advance. It just looked like it was impossible to get a bike.

Booking for a spin place after the opening was so easy. After booking, I sometimes see more than 19 bikes still available. As the weeks progressed, there were fewer of us than even the pre-opening times. The class recorded less than 30% and it got my trainer concerned. As she mentioned her concern in class last week and said  ‘I don’t understand what is going on, more bikes are available  –  why aren’t many more coming?’ As we got talking about this and general human behavioural pattern, I remember the word of God that says:-

THE WORD OF GOD

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Isaiah 55:1 (NLT here)

When it looked like there were limited bikes, many wanted to get in and then there were more bikes. The more available the bikes were, the less interest people had. Sometimes this seems to be the attitude we also apply to the word and promises of God.

I have always found the above scripture fascinating. Why will someone come to buy without money? Why will there be a purchase without cost? Well, Prophet Isaiah was saying that; to get the precious promises the Lord has prepared for us, all we need is hunger and thirst. We do not need to be limited by lack of money to buy.

The things of the Lord are prepared and available for those who hunger. God’s word and promises are available to all; but are we hungry enough to put all aside and hunger after Him. He said those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled. Will you and I be counted as part of those?

I want to implore you to seek after the LORD and pursue Him with a fresh hunger and thirst as there is unlimited satisfaction in pursuing the Lord. Never allow availability trigger neglect of that which is available to and for you.

The Lord is on your side!

MAKE THAT CHANGE!

I am almost sure you would have heard today’s story, but it came to my mind to share the same with you again as I encourage you to Make that change .

Here is the story :-

“Once, there was an older man, who was broke, living in a tiny house off $99 social security cheque and at the age of 65 he decided things had to change. He thought about what he had to offer and remembered his friend’s continued appreciation of his chicken recipe. He decided to use this platform to create his change.

After leaving Kentucky, he traveled to different states to try to sell his recipe. He told the restaurant owners of his mouthwatering chicken recipe which he offered for free, just asking for a small percentage on the items sold. Unfortunately, he kept getting NO as response. He heard NO over 1000 times. Even after all of those rejections he still believed his chicken recipe was something special.

With one success on the 1009th attempt,  Colonel Hartland Sanders Kentucky Fried chicken was born and he changed the way Americans eat chicken.

The question is, what if he chose to stop because he was old, or because of the NOs? He kept at the quest for change and that reminded me of one of my favourite scriptures

“…..All the days of my hard service I will wait, Till my change comes.” Job 14:14 (You can read the NLT version here)

Just like Job mentioned above, there may be many days of hard service, but wait till your change comes. God has designed great days ahead of you, never allow the delays or NOs stop you. So ensure you Make that Change.

PS: Catch up with last week’s post here