I Got a Rose...😍🙌🙌❤️

 "Eh.." is the 'local' sound the cutie pie😘 one year old son of my neighbor exclaims most mornings while his mum baths him...and it's actually the alarm that gets me out of bed particularly on Saturdays. I'm glad he's learning to take his first steps and as his mom counts and cheers him on with clapping outside, little does she know that a secret observer is peeping through the window upstairs.. counting as well..may I not be caught!😁 For I dare not miss out on such energizing moments. 😍❤️🏂

In effect, certain moments in your life create in you strongly positive emotions, yes, they are your 'strong moments' while some moments spark negative emotions. 

Come rain or shine I choose to be more intentional about catching and cradling my strong moments this year...I wish I caught more last year..😍

Lately, I have been feeding voraciously on the choice pieces of knowledge from Marcus Buckingham's book : Find your Strongest Life,  I couldn't agree more as he expounds on what the happiest and most successful women do differently  "The secret to living a strong life is not hidden from you. It is not cached in some recessed corner of your personality. It is not  "out there" somewhere in the future, in some perfect job you have(are) yet to find or some goal you have (are) yet to reach. Nor is it a random thing, tossed around haphazardly by the fates. The secret to living a strong life is right in front of you, calling to you every day. It can be found in your emotional reaction to specific moments in your life..."

A few days ago, precisely the second Tuesday in the new year, while laying on the couch in my sitting room taking a nap after the early morning house cleaning, the artificial red rose attached to an ornate artwork, hanging pretty on the orange painted wall, suddenly dropped on my chest... wow!..I exclaimed "God just sent me a red rose 😂.. awesome wonder!!!". My husband chuckled and humorously said  "Amazing wonder! The rose is dusty though.." 😂 I laughed gleefully ..😂that was such a biggie moment for me! I was carried away in a flush of excitement!

More often than not the interpretations we give to happenings in our lives create emotions that either make or break us. My life Coach teaches me emotional intelligence like no other... He reminds me always that   "Think about what you're thinking about..."

I learned that same day that catching enough of our strong moments actually builds our emotional stamina to deal with our challenges for they always show up uninvited! 

Shortly after the rose encounter, a nagging fearful thought accompanied by a severe headache arose...I was troubled within fighting a faceless villain and suddenly I remembered... " Yes, I got a red rose earlier today...a symbol of God's perfect love for me...a scripture flashed through my mind "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.." I John 4:18. 

Like a volcano erupting, a special feeling of being loved by the Omnipotent One, enraptured my soul. Gradually, this enchantment drowned away the effect of the vicious attack on my mind even as I repeatedly confessed God's thoughts of goodness for me and regained my stability...what a joy to remember that I got the rose! 😘🙌🏃🏄😍

Simultaneously, I gained an invaluable insight that life cannot be a bed of roses lest we spend all our days in bed,  moreover, God never promised us such a boring life! As we walk along the pathway of life, roses bloom at strategic points to remind us of who we are and God's unconditional love for us. However, we can be blinded by the vanities of life and not even recognize such free gifts of love around us. Have you taken a deep look at yourself, spouse, child, neighbor, friend, coworker ... recently? 

 "Let's stay amazed at what God has done, is doing and will do.." Joyce Meyer . 

To see everything clearly, your mind needs constant renewal and God's word does it perfectly. It also sharpens your senses to be perceptive enough to continually identify and relish the beauty and lovely fragrance of your roses. A bland mind is too busy or burdened by pressures of life, worse still, distracted by the side attractions of niceties that do not matter. Always watch your attitude and your steps, lest you pass by a bloom or trample on a sprouting rose!

Though the rose carnations are attractive with their bright colors, elegant arrangement of their petals and pleasant fragrance, but among these beautiful flowers, thorns exist to protect them from intruders such as bugs, animals and human admirers😍. In the same light, our weak moments actually protect us from the excesses we sometimes indulge in during our strong moments, paradoxically, they balance our humanity. They reveal our limitations, signal to us our vulnerabilities and insecurities thereby prodding us to connect with other people's energies to become fortified. No man is an island indeed!

We all need strategic partnership with God and the influence of good people to keep us on the right path. Healthy partners accomplish more, complement each other, supply support and warmth, also give strength to each other.

"As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend." Proverbs 27: 17

Personally, I understand that my faith is always strengthened every time I choose to make out time to rejoice and appreciate the victories of others. Don't miss out on such strong moments... identify with the needs and victories of others for " a sound heart is life to the body, but envy is rottenness to the bones Proverbs 14:30.  

In other words, the character of your roses, essentially, the fragrance and beauty of your strong moments become more valuable and alluring when you rejoice, share and hangout especially with like- minded rosy 😍 personalities. 

In the picture, Right, Basketball Coach Taye Adeniyi and left, Creative School mom, Linda Adeniyi. 

Marcus expounds further "Believing that some moments in life can strengthen you is not the same as simply having a positive attitude. Though it requires you to be optimistic but yours must be 'targeted optimism'.." 

 I opine, it's simply living by faith! 

Be true to yourself, there are days when it's hard to believe that there are any strong moments in your life. You feel like you've been pierced by the briers and stung by the thorns on your pathway... feels like your labor has brought forth wind...but listen to the heart of God for you today : 

" Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls -Yet I will joy in the God of my salvation. Habakkuk 3: 17

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life" Proverbs 13: 12. 

Rejoice, again I say, rejoice in the Lord .. rejoice in hope of a fresh bloom of revelations, vigorous health, breakthrough... about to open up for you! Only believe and perceive the fragrance of deliverance all over you...."tis so sweet to trust in Jesus"...the Rose of Sharon.

The enigmatic term- Rose of Sharon, evokes great delight in me. I love the words of Michael Bradley,

"Women love flowers. They love the way they look and smell – especially roses.

I feel God wants us to have full realization of how special His Son Jesus is to us, and He is using the rose flower to compare His Son with so we can truly appreciate the beauty and perfection of Jesus and the perfect love that He has for each and every one of us.

Bottom line – Jesus is perfect love just as the rose is the most perfect of all flowers in its looks, beauty and smell".

Yours Sincerely,

Segilola.