Friday, May 19, 2023
Thursday, May 18, 2023
A Place for the Grace of God
There is a place for the grace of God; there is a place for diligence. They are mutually exclusive, not interchangeable.
-Babatunde Oladele
The Other Grandma
The Other Grandma
We were grandmothers together to two of the nicest grandkids anybody ever had. It makes great comedy on television for the two grandmothers to engage in rivalry, but that never happened with us. We both babysat—sometimes on the same day—passing those wonderful children between us with her sometimes coming to get them from me and I sometimes going to her home to pick them up. I liked her a lot and never doubted that she gave my grandchildren the best of love and care. Even after our children divorced, our relationship remained the same.
Can you imagine how sad I was for my grandchildren when I recently learned that her cancer was terminal and she did not have much longer to live? It was heart-breaking for me because of those grandchildren. They were facing one of the most difficult losses of life at a time when it would be most devastating.
When I saw my four-year-old granddaughter a couple of days later, I said to her, “Honey, I’m sorry your nana is so sick.” Perhaps she didn’t want to talk about it; perhaps she was busy playing with cousins, or perhaps she didn’t really hear me. All she replied was, “That’s okay.”
The next day, when I was with her again, after a few minutes, she nearly jumped in my face and yelled at me, “Aren’t you sorry about my nana?”
“Of course I am, Honey; remember, I told you I was sorry yesterday.”
“You didn’t.”
“I guess you didn’t hear me but I am sorry, Sweetheart. I even wrote a prayer for your nana.”
“Where is it?” she demanded. “Read it to me.”
“I don’t have it with me. I left it at home, but we could say a prayer for Nana right now.”
“No, write it.”
She brought a small piece of paper and thrust it at me. As I struggled (out loud for her benefit) to find words, she scribbled on another piece of paper, first seeming to write what I said and later saying aloud words of her own. When I had finished, she said she was going to mail the prayers to her Nana in the city where she was in the hospital. She said, “I know how to mail things.”
Then she folded up both papers (rather messily) and asked me to write on them. At her instruction, I wrote, “To Nana at Indianapolis. She then immediately ran out of the house to place the “letters” in the rural mailbox.
I made a mental note to tell her father to retrieve them later but I forgot to tell him.
Two days more passed and I saw my little granddaughter again. She was not in a very good mood and I asked her why she was so “saucy” with me. Her answer, “I want to be saucy because I’m mad and I’m sad.” Of course I asked her why and her answer was heart-breaking. “Because I don’t want my nana to go and I know she has to. She has to next month.”
“How do you know that?” I asked.
“Because I know things; she tells me things.” And then she added in a tone of despair, “And the mail doesn’t even go to Indianapolis.”
There was nothing I could do at that point but tell her I loved her. I later learned that she was the one who got the mail every day for her daddy and she had been complaining about her letters not being taken until her dad finally looked at the box and discovered the “letters”.
The very next day after this dear precocious child told me she knew her nana had to go, her mother called and asked that the child be brought to Nana’s bedside to say goodbye. Her dad took those precious prayers along so she could give them to Nana personally.
I wept.
Please Note: This is an entirely true and very recent story which is the reason why I request that my name be withheld if you use this article.
– Name Withheld
Meditation: “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 18:3
You will succeed in Jesus Name!
Wednesday, May 17, 2023
Poverty Is Of The Mind
Poverty is of the mind. It is not necessarily those things you do not have that make you poor, but the frustrations and other negative dispositions of the heart toward them which prevent them from coming to you.
-Babatunde Oladele
Everything You Have Done
“Everything you have done” is a reflection of all that you are.
Every step you have taken was necessary to get you to this point in time.
Even the times you felt lost and alone helped to build your integrity and bolster your self-image.
If these times are a challenge and you’re feeling down, remember the journey that took you to this place.
“Everything you have done” on this long and twisted road through life, had to have happened in order for you to be all you are today.
Do I believe in destiny, fate or choice?
Choice.
It is by far the greatest gift, next to the ability to love and be loved, that God has given us.
Yes, He has plans for you. Greater plans than you could ever imagine, but He also has expectations. Thus the gift of choice.
“Everything you have done” or will do, either adds to your potential or delays the fulfilment of His desire for you.
If you could make a map of the journey of your life, it may appear to you that you have travelled a long distance and yet, not gotten very far.
Stop comparing the world’s standards to your accomplishments and see what God sees.
“Everything you have done” has brought you here. It is, my friend, a good place to be. For if you are at the lowest point in your life, thus far, you can celebrate.
From here, this very day, you can do anything you believe you can do. Finish school, start a business, become an artist, become a doctor, a lawyer, a farmer, a teacher, first by understanding that believing is half the journey to becoming all you were created to be and thoughtful planning and action is the vehicle to get you there.
Excuses are the signs on a dead end road.
Finally accepting yourself, sometimes takes a lifetime. But know that, by doing so, you honor the God who created you.
Go now, with “everything you have done,” and finish the work that was started at the moment you were conceived.
Please know, my friend…”I believe in you!”
By Bod Perks
Meditation: And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. – Romans 8:28
You will succeed in Jesus Name!
Tuesday, May 16, 2023
Vantage Point
There is a certain vantage point from which you can only recognise opportunities; there are certain dispositions you must have before you can utilise opportunities.
– Babatunde Oladele
It’s All About Perspectives
It’s All About Perspectives
A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: “I am blind, please help.” There were only a few coins in the hat.
A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.
Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were.
The boy recognised his footsteps and asked, “Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?”
The man said, “I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way. “I wrote: ‘Today is a beautiful day; but I cannot see it.‘”
Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign reminded people how fortunate they were to have their sight.
Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?
Moral of the Story: Be thankful for what you have. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively.
When life gives you 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile.
Face your past without regret.
Handle your present with confidence.
Prepare for the future without fear.
Keep the faith and drop the fear.
It’s a beautiful thing to see a person smiling. But even more beautiful is knowing that you are the reason for the smile!
Faith is not about everything turning out OK. Faith is about being OK no matter how things turn out.
– Author Unknown
Meditation: And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! – Mark 6:2
You will succeed in Jesus Name!
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