#31Days31Writers: Ike wants you to know that prayer still works!

Ike has been my friend for a very long time. From attending the same church together, to looking forward to his comments on my blog, some people you just know will always be there when you need them.

He’s a fine gentleman, loves the Lord (ladies y’all need to check if he’s single – and ready to mingle), and I know you will enjoy his post!

My Name is Ike Onuzulike, I am Nigerian, and I work in a Bank.

This year started off for me laden with some good expectations; I would be due for a promotion at work by the time our company’s annual appraisal will be conducted mid-year though it wouldn’t be automatic and also, I would turn 30 by the month of June. I pretty much knew I needed some good measure of focus and lots of favor so, I turned to prayers. A three-week fasting exercise observed in church provided an excellent platform. I seized the opportunity turning my goals into prayer points on sheets of paper.

As the days rolled on during the exercise, it not only brought me favors at work but also a lot of focus that rubbed off well on my work. I was among few selected in my Division as the outstanding staffs and I was given a letter of recommendation by my Divisional Head after our Annual Divisional Retreat.

A twist of events occurred just a few weeks to the appraisal month, I began to witness some lows, a couple of errors that threatened my unit’s performance rating. The fear of this blip working against my appraisal piled a bit of pressure, and increasingly my confidence dipped. After a while I sat back and reviewed the period and I knew obviously that my foundation were shaken. So this time, I turned to family to join me in prayers and with them offering support, the tide changed. Mid-year is here, some of my mates unfortunately missed out on the promotion list but I made the list and in the month it took effect, month of June I turned 30 (on the 28th of June to be precise).

I would say that I have come to learn that hard work alone is not enough, there will always be the moments when all you need would just be a lift to push on and for me, prayer and lots of family support always comes in handy. I am most grateful so far for the people around me. I feel that beside “Time”, the gift of people around you is one of the most valuable things God had blessed us with. That is why for me He placed premium on us loving our neighbours. I work hard in keeping the love alive for people around me whether to offer a smile, a kind word, a shoulder when things are not going so well, down to offering material help because at the end, there may be low moments when they will be the ones to will fill in and offer you that much needed lift.

The remaining part of the year for me? I need a lot of stability and so I’m looking to God for directions. I am torn between going back to my first love, Engineering for a graduate course in one of the top North American schools or to advance my career in Banking. I have been doing the preliminary tests required for the admission but, I need lots of direction.

And yes, I’d like to have some stability at work and good health.

So far though, It’s been great!

Congratulations on the promotion Ike, and happy birthday again! When are we getting the wine to ‘wash’ all these?

Ladies! Don’t say I didn’t do anything for you!

 

Happy birthday to my darling aunty Pat!

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! What are you up to today? What love-related activity are you going to partake in ‘in the name of love’? Huh? What did you say? Ok, whatever you do, let it be stuff you can defend before God o!

What am I doing today? Nothing extra to be honest, according to Pinky and the Brain, “same thing we do every night, try to take over the world”, lol. I’ve got quite a bit of work to get through, next week is pretty busy so the more items I can tick off my to-do list today, the easier next week will be. #Hustleface

I’m also going to Jesus House tonight with my girl Toks, looking forward to that! Apparently this branch of the Redeemed Christian Church of God have a 24 hour praise event going on and what better way to spend the evening than in my Father’s House?  Plus I haven’t been to Jesus House since Christmas of 2010, so it’d be nice to fellowship there again. Yeah, so we’re going to go.

I’m also going to have lunch at Jamie’s Italian too, fingers crossed I can get the exact table we got this day, last year.

See, it is/was my awesome aunty Pat’s birthday, and it was just the both of us in the house so she asked me to suggest someplace we could go. We had a proper party planned over the weekend (caterer and everything) but she just felt like both of us should do something together. And since we were up to our eyeballs in Chinese, I suggested Italian. And so off to Bluewater we went. I will never forget it.

We ordered our starters, and when the mains came, she said, “is this it”? Lol! We ate, I was stuffed, she was not, so we ordered desserts.

Our bill came to just under £80 and when she paid, she said, “we should have used this money to buy perfume or clothes, stayed in the house and eaten our food jor! I’m still hungry!” Bless her.

We laughed, and went home. I’d given her the new DKNY perfume (aunty LOVED perfumes) – I don’t remember the name but it was the green of the 2013 apple series they did – she loved it! Thing is, aunty loved whatever she was given. Even if it was beneath her (and she’d never make you feel that way), she would accept it with thanks and one of her very big smiles!

Later that night she begged me to make semovita for her. After she ate, she said, “yes, now person know say im don chop!!” We both dozed off soon after.

Aunty. It’s already been 7 months since you went on to glory, and 8 months since the last time I saw you. I miss you so much, and I love you forever.

Happy birthday aunty!

 

 

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What to do when life doesn’t play along?

You won’t believe it, but this was the message on Sunday the 21st of July, the same day my dear aunt passed. I attended church at Hillsongs that morning and I must confess, the presence of God was so strong that morning, I was on my third (or fourth) round of tears by the time the message was over.

From the worship session (and I had worked very hard to get a seat on the third row, I was so early) to the ‘I have decided’ session (that’s content for a different post), to the message by this really tall, older Texan.

Pastor Charles Newman preached on the message, “What to do when life doesn’t play along”. He talked about losing his wife of 44 or 45 years to cancer in December, and the entire message was centered on the things God taught him through that trying period. How was I to know God was preparing my heart? *sigh*

Bibles out? Lord let your word comfort us today, and remind us that regardless of what goes on around us, you are God, and you love us. Amen.

3rd John vs 16

Right beside trials and temptation is courage. Every single time, we just need to look.

Three things he learnt during the time.

1. Isaiah 40 : 31. Get back in the house of God where people are fellowshipping. That’s where my strength will be renewed. “Wait on the Lord” refers to “gathering before the Lord”, don’t forsake it!

2. John 11 : 20 – 24 – 38 Let God of “the now” into your situation. Jesus is not afraid of my pain – I can’t be like Martha, jumping from the past to the future of the things God can do/has done. I must trust Him to do, now.

3. 1 Sam 30: 1-6 Don’t go down the route of bitterness, find your strength in the Lord. Fasten yourself to Jesus; choose to be recovered.

Let Jesus define your recovery.

Then he talked about two quick lessons he drew from 2 Corinthians 11:22-31; where Paul talked about the tribulations he had endured. I’ve reproduced verses 24 – 26 below

“24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.

25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;

26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren…”

Lesson number 1 – In all of this, Paul never complained. He never asked God why

Lesson number 2 – Paul kept his perspective. He acknowledged that there is nothing new under the sun.

In the same way, Pastor said that he had to understand that the fact that his dear wife died did not mean the universe had aligned to cause him grief. Bad things happen to people.

I hope this message has helped you, I’m trusting God it will help me too.

Have a good week.

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