Trapped Within Four Walls

The thing about four walls…I mean the thing about being trapped within four walls is that it makes your mind wander. It forces you to think, well for me at least. It slows you down, you see things in waves of perspectives. Maybe because the voices around you are less and the ones in your head becomes active and extremely loud.

Four Walls

Sometimes we are so busy dashing and running towards the finish line that we forget the purpose for which we started running in the first place. We become inattentive to the journey and we run right passed our blessings and we pay no mind to the things that really matters.

Ever so often the price is not as attractive as the beauty of the journey. When we look back we realise we have created memories we never cherished and moments that we’ll never get back. We only tend to appreciate the journey in the end.

We plan and we imagine, we dream and we vision the future, All the while forgetting the little important details along the way.  And above all we forget that our lives are not ours to plan. There is a master up there and he makes everything beautiful in his time. Not your time! Understand this and let that resonate.

I planned and imagined and I forgot there’s a God whose plans are better than mine, whose timing and plans are greater than mine and who’s able to make all things beautiful in his time. Did I actually forgot or was I too busy running a race i know nothing about?

Swimming in this euphoric water balloon. It was bliss. It was where you’ve longed to be, a place that felt like home, where all your fears are put to rest till the thought of the end churns your whole being. It was that place.

Don't Wake Me Up

Maybe I didn’t forget and I wasn’t busy either. Maybe I was just a little scared of the reality. Maybe I wasn’t mentally and emotionally prepared for my truth. Or maybe I knew the truth and it felt like a road I’ve walked before, a book I’ve read before and a very familiar story but the thought of it frightened me. I was terrified.

I knew!

Trapped within four walls...

Whilst everyone was popping bottles and cheering the New Year on I was in hospital fighting for my dear life. It happened so much that this was one of the severest attack I’ve had in a long time, medications that used to work, ceased to work on my body. My body was working against everything it was used to.

Was this a sign?

All through my years of fighting with this illness I have never been hospitalised over the New Year or even Christmas…so this was a first for me. God has his ways of pulling the stubborn ears of His children and i think i was just experiencing mine.

As I lay there I thought, they say everything happens for a reason….that thought kept me going and I knew I was going to pull through. I knew i was going to pull through because what was left to hang on to was just God and hope.

Respect The Journey...

I made plans for my new year’s already, I had things I wanted to do and places I wanted to see but God was laughing at me I’m sure and like a stubborn child he drew my ears and kept me in one place, trapped within four walls.

I needed that.

I am thankful that God hasn’t let me go, because I’ve let Him go, lots of times. He rescues me time and time and again.

The thing about these four walls…

I lay there in the hospital, nurses and doctors coming in and out and I toiling in pain and anguish. You have no idea!

What is the point of running and rushing if you’re going nowhere fast?

Take time to smell the flowers!

Every Once In a While, Slow Down.
You're Not That Busy!

We get so caught up in this race that we don’t even realise we are actually in a race. We do not give ourselves time to think and evaluate our lives. We allow life to take control of our lives. That is not living.

Well that’s what four walls are for…or we can call it recess. A time to evaluate and re-evaluate your life. Our lives must be handled with care and protection. Our lives must be full of purpose. Our lives be handled with love. Treat yourself in such a way that whoever comes into your life will not have a choice but to treat you even better. Remember you teach the world how to treat you.

Be Your Own Hero...

Let’s take a car for example, if you’re busy running this car in all directions without a regular check-up or any form of servicing, eventually it is going to stop serving its purpose and break down. Maybe out of lack of attention or maybe out of lack of care, other times its just mere exhaustion and abuse because things get tired too.

You have all these what ifs in your head and all these unanswered questions. We are seeing all the red flags and warning signs but we’re too busy running to the finish line. Even when you need to stop and service which could mean anything from consulting God to just simply resting and look how far we’ve come. Most times when you race like that, you get to the finish line and then you notice that you have been racing for no reason at all. By then it’s a tad too late.

Wasting time is a dangerous game. And time is a luxury not available to all.

Another thing that came to mind is that in every situation we find ourselves we must be able to give thanks to God. Just because we are in pain doesn’t mean we should be mean or rude. From my closed curtains in the hospital, I could hear the pain and anguish from the lady who was next to me. I had it bad but hers was no way compared to mine…..she had it worst. The easiest way to be grateful is to think that it could have been worse.

On that sick bed was where I evaluated my life. On that sick bed was where I made my New Year resolutions (yes I made couple and I am not going to tell you). On that sick bed was where I grew a new found appreciation for the simple fact that I know God. On that sick bed I handed my life back to God, where it belonged in the first place. On that sick bed I just wanted to know God more. On that sick bed I found a solace in God.

On that hospital bed was where I learnt few more valuable life lessons…

• You have to be your own hero (This wasn’t a quote for me anymore, this was my truth)
• You are stronger than you think, waaayyy stronger
• Miracles happen and there is a shift when you decide to FULLY trust God.
• Sometimes the hardest decisions we NEED to make are the ones that will hurt us the most
• As hard as it can be sometimes, try to be a good person
• People don’t owe you anything, always be grateful
• Just because you’re a good person does not mean that the world would be good to you.
• Self-discipline… Exercise and practice it
• God doesn’t give you a load you cannot carry
• It rains the hardest on those who deserves the sun
• It is okay to cry
• Always be stronger than what you suffer…whatever that is
• There is something about HOPE. Never lose sight of it.
• Don’t treat people the way they treat you, treat them better

Let That Bee Your Thing

This is the life, this is it. Some days are grey, some days are dark…some days darker than others. On better days the sun will shine for you and you will wonder if all that brightness is for you. Well that’s how life is.

Take one day at a time, the good, the bad and the ugly. Do not rush through life. Rely on God fully because with all your letters before and after your name, you still don't know it all. And never, never ever lose hope!

This is my own truth. What’s yours?

Till then

Xoxo

I Do Not Define Myself By How Many Roadblocks Have Appeared In My Path..... Embracing Your Struggles

Trust your God! 

 Embrace your struggles. 

He didn't bring you this far to leave you in the desert.

This morning this is what was placed in my heart by God I believe. It just came to me and I thought to share. It might help someone, somewhere trying to figure out this path we are all treading on called life.

We are all going through different struggles in our lives. We are all trying to figure this thing called life. Sometimes it might all feel overwhelming and beyond our control but that’s where the Master steps in and says, ‘’be still and know that I am God’’. That is all good when the Lord steps to our rescue but do you believe in him? Do you trust him to do what’s right by you? Are you patient enough to wait upon Him?

Sometimes trusting God is the hardest thing for us to do. But we are so quick to put our trust in man and other worldly things which are temporarily beneficial to us. We walk into a shop and the juice says Organic. We waste no time in buying that juice, we don’t even question if it’s true or not. Why... because we believe and trust them. Why can’t you give that same level of trust if not more to the one who created you? Why is it so hard?

Time and age has taught me to put my all in God because everything else fades…but his love. When the tough gets going and when life shows you its true colours….mate you have no choice but to go on bended knees and call upon his name. But you know what they say; if you haven’t been there you wouldn't really know. You have to have experienced LIFE before you can actually live life.

I can go on and on about my struggles but that would bore you and I don’t want to do that. However through all your struggles remember to learn the lessons life is teaching you. That way you have fewer chances of repeating it again and more importantly inspiring and motivating another life. Don’t underestimate the power of the lesson life teaches us. Life is the greatest teacher on earth. If you see any success story ask for the story behind it and that story will not consist of sunny days and rosy mornings. It is a story of failures upon failures that was used as a stepping stone to gain that success story. It will consist of blood, sweat and tears. Remember, Storms come to teach us how to ride the waves perfectly.

Your past is your past, yes...gone and the hard truth is you can’t erase any part of it. You can go get the strongest bleach available and try to make it look good but the unfortunate part is when the bleach will fail. It won’t work. Stop living in your past and start paving way for the future.

Life can really get rough sometimes so much that moving on is the hardest thing to do. Sometimes you just don’t know where to start and other times you wished you had never experienced the past. Other times we wish we can go back and do things differently. We become bitter and the will to move on is now deemed impossible.

We then start to question everything we once believe in and everything we once trusted. We start to ask God why. See, when things start to slide downhill we tend to ask God questions. When what we should have done in the first place is to put every single one of our burdens, decisions and undertakings before him in prayers. He knows best as much as we might tend to think we know it all with all our college and university degrees and titles. My friend, till life teaches you, you know nothing!

I came across this poem below and it actually inspired this post. It just touched a part of me this morning. I couldn't let it fly by without me sharing. You know what they say, sharing is caring …..Eat, digest, fill up your soul and share so others can partake too.

You Are Not Your Struggles....
You Are That Which Has Emerged From The Fire!

My favourite part of the whole poem is the end where it says ‘I am that which has emerged from the fire’’. That is one powerful statement. Anything that has been through hell and back, comes out more beautiful, stronger and better. That is what you are my friend.
Don't be scare of getting burnt, you won't because God's got this. Oh yes he does!

You are not your failures, you are not your struggles, you are not your mishaps, and you are not your scars. You are that which has emerged from the fire and that fire is all the bad days you've been through, that God has pulled you through from. It is the past which thinking about alone brings chills to your spines. The fire is those days when you are so close to throwing the towel in, those days when the sun refuses to shine. The fire is those nights that were filled with tears and worries, those nights that you feel like you’re all alone. The fire is that which has made you who you are today. Looking back, the Lord has given you a reason to smile. Even if it’s a tiny weeny reason.

You can hustle as hard as you like, work your butt off to make that money but first God has to bless your hustle. If God is not in that hustle it would be fruitless. Above all, don’t forget to pray. Prayer is the most important conversation of the day. I’m not going to tell you I pray every day because I don’t but whenever I have that second I just have a word or two with the Lord. He deserves it. It’s the least we can do. Prayer is a powerful weapon and can counteract any form of weapon going against God’s will for your life. Yes it’s that powerful.

Don’t keep God out of your business. You just need to keep people out of your business. Make him the centre and in due time he will perfect all things that which concerneth you. His timing might be a bit off in your eyes but he is always on time and always there when you call.

I hope this have encouraged someone today in some way and keep holding on….there is a light at the end of the tunnel and if you can’t see a light create your own light and keep pushing. If you’re not seeing what you’re waiting for, go out and find it and don’t allow the past to hold you down. It’s done its job of teaching you life lessons, cut the ties and apply the principles to your future.

As hard as life may get, don't give up. Your next miracle or breakthrough might be just one more push away. Keep going. No one remembers the one who gave up..never. Everyone remembers the person who overcome life's trials and tribulation. One example of such would be Michael Jordan. In one of his famous quotes he said:
''I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.''
Imagine if he gave up..

Be unfaithful to your fears and Cheat on them. Break up with all doubts doing the azonto in your head. Start making engagement plans with your faith and waste no time matching up the aisle to your dreams wearing that white gown or that bespoke suit. Cut all ties that don’t add value to your life…they are nothing but excess baggage!


Stay blessed, keep smiling and allow God to be the centre even in the midst of your struggles.


''If you're trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I've had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.'' 
~ Michael Jordan



Till then...

Xoxo