Oh! I miss her.

Oh God! My neighbor's precious nanny-goat died of complications during labor yesterday! I can't fully explain my feelings right now...just tepid☹️. You might ask, what's my business with my neighbor's goat? Well, I miss her early morning rhythmic bleats( she calls out to her owner for food that way), I can't forget her positive peaceful eye contacts. She throws gazes at me from her stall anytime I'm at the balcony watering my plants and I usually respond with a smile admiring her pretty brown spots while she was feeding. The feeling was mutual I guess😊. She played a major character in some of the animated training sessions facilitated by the Holy Spirit. I narrated this in my previous post titled; I'm too grateful to be silent!. I thank God I did.😘

Just wondering...how did they dispose of the body? (Certainly not in a pot of pepper soup or ogbono soup.. 🤔). I am so grateful to God who made our paths cross and graced me with the sensitivity to observe and enjoy the company of her animated beauty coupled with her naughty by nature behaviors. Never a boring moment with her... Oh I miss her☹️! 

Her two kids cried profusely for many hours after delivery. I am comforted watching my neighbor working assiduously with her son to give the kids best care. I was further consoled by the side attraction of children right opposite our gate playing tin can drums, singing praises to God in a demolished drinking bar that was once a menace to our peace within the community...I'm in awe just seeing how God answered my prayer.  

I must confess there are invaluable lessons to take home from this experience. 

-Practice being present at whatever or wherever God leads you. Loosen up! Bless God for the gift of life, remember that God is enough every day and in every season. There are lifetime lessons to be garnered through the varied- unlikely characters present with or around you. Renew your mind daily through quality fellowship with the Holy Spirit and God's Word. He always has some wonderful things that will amaze and enliven us if we pay attention to His presence. Busyness, worries, bad attitudes, anxieties, negative thoughts rob us of God's daily treasure packed adventures. Never a boring moment with the Lord. 

- Much more, I sense another key lesson. Just like this nanny-goat, some women come to the time of birth and unfortunately do not make it through to the end even though the child survived. Such a child is likely prone to face more battles from conception. A mother's love is intrinsically protective, either in humans or most animals. I have watched a mother - cat hurtle through a heavy rain just to rescue her kittens from danger. Yet even in extreme cases if a father and mother forsake a child, God can still marvelously take care of the forsaken. 😘 Little wonder, the kids of my dear late nanny-goat are adjusting well. 

At a deeper level...sadly, some visionaries don't live to nurture their visions. Yet, some of those visions grow 🪴 larger than what the originator imagined. God is ever faithful to His own. 

It's important you understand your part in the faithfulness reward package. You wisely secure your life and lot, much more eternity when you remain faithful to God no matter the season. However, your offspring will reap greatly from your obedience, a worthy inheritance indeed.  

Lord! My heart prays for more godly stakeholders to arise in our health care system and Government. People who will passionately render selfless services saving more families especially from the grief of maternal deaths. My recent training at the school of Government and Politics has enlightened my mind to see the need for more godly disruptive change agents in governance. People who understand the heartbeat of God and how spiritual principles can create lasting positive impacts in our society, thereby saving lives and families from deaths. 

What's the hope for the grieving families in our world today? Hmm..can the joy of the new birth outweigh the sorrow of the mother's demise?? That's a job for the Holy Spirit, the great Comforter. He alone can reach into the hearts of men to heal and save. 

The big question is ; Even as Christians, how easy is it for us to willingly let the Holy Spirit do His work in us by truly surrendering our hearts to Him since that's where all the issues of life arise? The flesh finds it impossible to yield anything to God. The ill- informed christian believes he can dump all his trash on God while withholding all his treasures to himself. Oh wretched soul...repent and seek to know Him more...you reap what you sow! 

Proverbs 23: 26

My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.

God needs all of you... yes all of your heart, that's where you store all of your treasure and trash: Our spiritual heart is a composition of our soul; Mind, emotion and will plus the Spirit - the conscience. This is where love, trust, faith, past, hatred , fear,  plans, pride, pleasures, prejudices, hidden desires, hard questions, pains, anxieties puzzles, depression, grieve...all reside. 

Surrender is the heart of the matter and the matter of the heart. Moreso, our healing and dominion are birthed and sustained through the continuous process of surrendering our hearts, will and imaginations to the Lord.

God desires to have our hearts because it is our seat of power. That's a man's control tower. It's actually foolhardy to hold on to our hearts when God has petitioned us to give it to Him. He alone can make the heart right, turning our trash into treasure. 

God's word is living, powerful and sharp enough to circumcise our hearts as often as we need it. Frankly, studying the word isn't just all it takes for God doesn't spare us from any pain/ adversity/ shame that will do this heart surgery so we can effectively love and live to please Him. 

Please don't blame God for loving you so much to pass you through difficult seasons. He needs you to toughen up and be obedient enough to be able to fight and win the giants in the promised land. Your heart is actually a figure of the promised land. There are giants within that you must conquer to live a fulfilled life. 

 A man can listen to you but not give you his heart...so deceitful. The heart of a man is as slippery as a fish, the will so stubborn and the imaginations can be really crazy, but the power of the Holy Spirit can work through all these. He catches the heart, softens the will and changes the wild imaginations into constructive ones, hence making the man willing and able to do God's will. 

That's actually why the gift of salvation came through Jesus Christ who was born of the Spirit, and also empowered by Him to obey His Father by surrendering His heart. Thus, He gave His life as a worthy sacrifice for us all to be saved and be like Him. 

In fact, our greatness in God and life is the measure of our surrender to His purpose. One of the profound lessons I'm learning is that when we grow in God's love, we become more joyful, attractive and pleasant. We get so fond of asking Him about everything. We grow in loving to give Him more and more of us in worship, feeding on His word and prayers, much more we remember others in prayers, and giving to bless others. When you willingly keep entrusting your heart to the Lord, He can entrust you with the hearts of men in order to accomplish His purpose. 

In fact, the Holy Spirit gives us such power of  mindfulness which strengthens our hearts to face situations we don't even know we can deal with. When we pray about a matter and wait for God's response, it's simply an act of surrender. 

I remember what happened some years ago when I got an appointment for a bank interview after about five years of seeking a paid employment. Got to the office early enough decked up in my affordable 'best outfit'. I couldn't afford a suit, so I wore my one and only sparkling white shirt on black trousers. The heels of my shoes were manageable😊. As I entered the office and upon sighting other waiting interviewees, I suddenly felt nervous. Everybody else looked so professional in their smart suits. Without mincing words, I managed to mask my self doubts, straightened up, walked in gracefully anyways and connected with two ladies. While waiting for the panel to start I engaged my two fellows; Ada and Stella in a stimulating conversation. Then out of the blue a bank staff walked up to me and said " Are you also here for the interview? Yes, I replied, she responded; Where is your suit? 

That broke my defense... started sweating with mind-numbing fear so I excused myself and went to the ladies. Right there, I heard voices in my head screaming at me : What are you still doing here? You have lost this chance...run out and don't bother to do the interview...you have failed already...you are not properly dressed...you are disqualified to do this interview...run out and don't bother to try!!! 

'Oh! My God, I need you... please I'm afraid...' I cried out to God. After some minutes it was almost imperceptible- rather like a holy hush - as peace flooded my heart.  

Like a beaten boxer who had just been revived by her Coach, I was energized to go back and fight! And as soon as I came out of the ladies, the numbers were given I was number 6, Ada was number 4 while Stella was number 9. Shortly afterwards, Ada had her session and came out with giggles trying to narrate her ordeal, while listening to her, an inspiration came to my mind. I asked Ada to please borrow me her blazer. Gladly, she released it and I wore it..wow it was such a perfect match, but her shoe size was large then I turned to Stella, please could I try your shoes? 😊 Hers was better, so I quickly wore them and stuffed papers inside to fit. The other applicants were watching the drama laughing at me...who cares!  

When it got to my turn, I walked into the room with purposeful strides. I had a great time talking about myself, politics and global issues with the panelists. I didn't even expect such conversations at a corporate interview.  After my session, I gratefully returned my borrowed "arsenal" to the owners. Stella wore her shoes and went in wondering how I was able to pull through! 

To cut the long story short, I excelled, I was among the top three, I got the job, Ada also passed but sadly, Stella failed. I had mixed emotions watching Stella's teary eyes but Ada and I took her out for lunch and encouraged her never to give up her hope in God. 

That was a very big lesson for me. What could have happened if I had disqualified myself and left? Oh...I thank God for the presence of His Holy Spirit who came to my rescue and also gave me the grace to make right connections- Ada and Stella, jolly good fellows. It's mind blowing to see how I was laughed at initially before the interview by other colleagues but afterwards became a winner! 😊 Many of them didn't make it through, for only seven of us passed out of the thirty five applicants. I encouraged those who cared to listen, narrating the reason for the initial drama they all laughed at. Life is really a teacher.  

There's more you need to know about this story. Six years later in the bank, I won the award as the best dressed female in my branch. Also, I was financially rewarded for writing a song for the bank which I delivered gracefully at one of the award winning events. I was privileged to serve in different capacities ; customer service officer, Head - Funds transfer unit, cash officer and marketing executive. Worked in seven branches of the bank for seven years 😍. The seventh year, I sensed it was time to leave for more adventure in the communication world. God opened another door while still in the bank. So, I resigned and immediately resumed at a foremost premium Soft skills training organisation as the brand manager. 

God always has more to exceed our expectations if we dare to believe Him by praying and waiting for His response and acting on His inspirations. I love to remind myself always that only God owns my storyline. No man can make me great, only God can and I choose to always lay my heart down, patiently trusting and following His plan for my life. Wouldn't you rather surrender your heart...submit your life and plans to this Wonderful God and watch how He makes you a wonder! 🥰

Psalm 20: 7-8

Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, But we will remember the name of the Lord our God. They have bowed down and fallen; But we have risen and stand upright. 

Yours Sincerely,

Segilola ❤️💕🥰