Come Back To Me
Hello!!! It’s great to have you here! Thank you for visiting! Please do well to leave comments when you’re through. Bless!
*****
It was a few minutes to 2am.
I stood under the leaky shed, shivering. The rain had totally drenched me. I didn’t have an umbrella, I didn’t have anywhere to go and worst of all, I was four months’ pregnant. I looked at my protruded belly for the umpteenth time and shook my head in tears.
“See what you’ve gotten yourself into”, a voice within me accused me. “See where covetousness and disobedience have led you to.” The voice continued, “Think of your family, your father who is well-known in your church, your mother who is also a teacher in your church. Look at your siblings. What standard have you laid down for them?”.
I shook my head. I remembered how much my father loved me. It was the thought of the fact that I had disappointed my father that was so painful. Well, they didn’t even know I was pregnant. I ran away from home after I found out. Even though I knew they would have been searching frantically for me, I still didn’t want to go back home. I feared the unknown. I feared my father would reject me and send me out. Going back home would be suicide! So I decided to stay outside my home, outside safety, I knew I was exposed to the dangers of the outside world. But I still stood under the rain, shivering, with my protruded belly…
It was a few minutes to 2am.
*****
Many of us are this way. At a point, we did something very wrong to God. Something very sinful. We got pregnant with the sins of the world. Now, we’re so scared of going back to God, we’re scared of asking for His forgiveness. We know He’s our Father and although that should make us eager to ‘come back home’, that still makes us shiver the more. We think God hates us because of our sin, we think He wouldn’t accept us because we’ve gone against His will, we fear He’d reject us if we go back to him. So we run away, into the world, out of God’s mercies, out of His watchful eyes, into unsafety. We know it’s not safe out there but because we’re feeling so guilty, we’d rather stay outside where we’re bound to be attacked by the enemy(the devil) than go back to God, our Father.
Are you in such a situation? You think you’ve committed more than enough sins that God is so mad at you? The good news is God isn’t mad at you. The devil wants you to think God doesn’t want to accept you. The devil wants you to keep living in insecurity, in guilt, in total condemnation. That’s not what God wants. God wants you to come back to Him. Forget whatever sin you’ve committed. Forget the uncountable wrongs you’ve done. God’s not looking at your sins, He’s concerned about you. He loves you.
“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool”- Isaiah 1:18 [KJV]
God, your Father is saying, “Quit running away and come back to me. I still love you and I always will. No matter the number of sins you’ve done in the past, I still have the power to wash you clean.” Jesus has the power to forgive ALL your sins, that’s why He died for you. And Jesus is the only way to God. Jesus would give you peace. Don’t let the devil stop you from getting peace. Come back to God through Jesus Christ.
If you’d like to give your life to Jesus Christ or re-dedicate your life to Him, kindly say the prayer below:
Dear Jesus,
I know I’m a sinner,
I believe you died for me,
I ask you to forgive all my sins,
I accept and confess you as my Lord and Personal Saviour,
Come into my life.
Thank you, Jesus! Amen.
If you said that prayer, I welcome you into God’s glorious Family. Don’t let the devil put you into the bondage of guilt again. Should you have questions or comments, please make use of the comment box. Thank you for reading! God bless you!
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It Wasn’t My Fault
HI!!! *shines teeth*
You’re here again! Thanks for stopping by! Are you a first-timer? You’re highly welcome! Thank you for visiting! Please relax, read and learn. And when you’re done, please don’t leave without dropping your comments. I’d really appreciate them! Okay! Leggo!
*****
Just imagine this. You’re on a queue and you’re trying to get something others are struggling to get too. You’re being pushed from the front and being pushed from the back. Then by mistake, someone steps on you and looks back then turns away her face. You’re like, “You stepped on me.” Expecting the person to say sorry, she replies, “Can’t you see there are many people here? It wasn’t my fault!”. How would you feel?
All of us are naturally ego-driven creatures. We always want to do things that would increase or support our self-esteem. As a result, when we offend people, it could be quite difficult for us to say Sorry. Apologizing when you know quite well that you’re wrong seems like the hardest thing to do. Now what does apologizing mean? Saying Sorry? Yes, but not just that, it means admitting you’re wrong, saying sorry for doing the wrong thing and assuring the person that it wouldn’t repeat itself. So you see, apologizing isn’t just about saying sorry. The part of apologizing that seems to be the hardest is admitting the fact that you’re in the wrong. Everybody wants to be the one in the right part. And naturally, we all hate being the one who has to admit doing the wrong thing. That’s why we use the sentence “It wasn’t my fault” to support ourselves.
However, as difficult as it could seem, it is very important that we apologize when we offend others. The first thing you should tell yourself is, apologizing doesn’t make you smaller than you are, it doesn’t reduce your self-esteem one bit! For you to keep your relationships with people, you would have to learn the art of apologizing to others. Why? Because you’re imperfect. We all are. And that’s why it’s possible for you to step on people’s toes.
When you offend someone, don’t try defending yourself! It’s not going to get you the forgiveness you need. Come out plain and say, “I know I did this and this and I’m sorry”. Don’t say, “This and this happened and I’m sorry about it. You know it wasn’t my fault.” NO NO! Also, when you’re apologizing, be sincere about it. Don’t do it because you don’t want to look proud or because people are asking you to do it or because Orifunke asked you to do it. And finally, endeavour not to repeat the wrong thing you did. If you do. that would show or make the person assume that you weren’t sincere at first.
So people, this is it. I hope you’ve learnt one or two things from this. When you offend someone, sincerely apologize, don’t try covering-up by saying, “It wasn’t My fault!”.
“Never ruin an apology with an excuse.– Benjamin Franklin
I really should thank God. I asked Him for speed in writing this and He gave me. ^_^
Thanks a whole lot for reading through! I’m sure you learnt something, even if it wasn’t so new to you. Now, please don’t leave without dropping your comments. Corrections, contradictions and contributions are welcome as usual! And you could also follow this blog so you wouldn’t miss out on posts that would be coming up in the future. Bless!
SPEAK RIGHT, LIVE RIGHT.
Hello!!!
Nice to have you here again! Visiting for the first time? You’re highly welcome! For old-timers and new-timers, thank you for stopping by! Today’s post is a bit long. Sorry, I just had to write it this way. But you know how it is now, you read, learn(this is important) and drop your comments after. Thank you!
*******
It was a Saturday morning- the last Saturday of the month. And as we usually did on a day as this, we had to clean the whole house thoroughly. Mother gave each of the seven children in the house particular places in the house to clean/clear. To me, she assigned the kitchen area. Since the kitchen was the easiest part to clean, she left me alone. It was going well until my eyes went towards the top of the cupboard and I decided to climb an ”apoti” to bring down the sets of glass wares that were on it. To my non-Yoruba readers, an “apoti” is a small sort of chair,more like a stool.
I was feeling good with myself (like a good girl). I got hold of the set of glass wares- about 24 plates. And as I tried balancing myself on the apoti to get down, I lost my balance and all the plates came crashing down on the tiled floor! I stood still on the apoti looking at the broken pieces of glass wares that had gone round the kitchen now, too shocked to move. It wouldn’t have been so bad if they weren’t my mother’s most precious glass wares which she had been given on her wedding day, twenty-seven years before.
Just as I expected, Mother came running all the way to the kitchen.
“YEEEE! MO DARAN OOOO! O ti fo gbogbo awo mi tan ooo! (she has broken all my glass wares ooo!)”, she shouted as she ran into the kitchen, with my six other siblings following her. When she got in, she paused and looked at all her precious plates now in pieces.
To my utmost surprise, instead of giving me the beating of my life, she began to cry.
*****
Words are almost the most important things that pertain to life. In fact, there’s no life without words. We communicate through words. God speaks to us through His Word. Everything has to do with words. Cassandra Clare definitely wasn’t wrong when she said, “We live and breathe words.” It is no surprise, therefore, that the words we speak(and of course, hear) play a very important role in making or marring us. Whenever we are in the position to talk to others, we have the opportunity to tell them good(positive) words or bad(negative) words. The words you speak to others would go a long way in their lives and possibly in your own life too.
Your words really matter. Your words would represent you anywhere. They would stand for or against you in your absence. You see, where you legs cannot reach, your words could get there. The smallest words could destroy the greatest relationships. You probably knew that before but didn’t think it was important.
It’s easier to say bad things when you’re angry, and that’s why when you feel you really should ‘blast’ someone with words, you should calm down, that may be the right time to keep your mouth shut. At times(many times actually), you might need to keep quiet. Wisdom is knowing the right thing to say and when to say it in the right way. God didn’t give us brains for nothing. Before you say something, it wouldn’t be wrong for you to ask yourself, “I hope I wouldn’t be driving a penknife into this person’s heart by saying this?”. Bad words always want to force themselves out of your mouth.
Saying words might not have to be through your mouth alone. It could be through other means such as texts and yes, even social networks. Someone said something on twitter and it hurt me(Cool story, bah?). Funny enough, we weren’t even following each other. So, watch the words you say everywhere!
You almost can tell the kind of person a person is through the words they speak. Words are a reflection of who you are. Wondering why people don’t get along with you well, or why you don’t get along with people well? Maybe you should check the words that are coming from you. Nobody wants to be around people who break hearts with their words.
A nice sincere word is not to hard to say. Making someone smile is not so hard. Complementing people is not a sin(if you’re being honest). Even correcting people would be a lot better if you don’t use terrible words. It wouldn’t remove anything from you to think well before speaking, rather it could remove a lot from you if you don’t do that. It is less expensive to say the right words in a non-offensive way.
Great people live according to positive things(which include positive words). Remember, words are like glass wares. The best way to keep them is to handle them in the most careful way. Once broken, they can’t be put together again. Don’t end up saying words that you’d after wish you never said. Speak right, Live right.
“Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity”– Proverbs 21:23(NIV)
“You can change your world by changing your words. Remember, death and life are in the power of the tongue”– Joel Osteen
“When you have spoken the word, it reigns over you. When it is unspoken, you reign over it.”– Arabian Proverb
*****
P.S: The story you read before the write-up itself was made up.
Thank you very much for reading even up to this point! I hope you gained something! Now, don’t leave without dropping your comments. Corrections, contributions and contradictions are always appreciated! Please share with others too. You could also follow this blog so you could get the posts direct to your mailbox when published! Bless!
Did You Know This Before?
Uh-hmm… It feels awkward writing again. Well, It’s good I’m back!
Good day, Great Ladies and Gentlemen, It is sooooo great to have you here once again! If you’re visiting for the first time, you’re welcome and thank you! I hope you’d learn one or two things from this. Please remember to drop your comments. Thanks!
We all want to be successful and standing beside the fact that we want to be successful is the reality that we have to see ourselves as successful people before we can actually be successful.
In this world of ours, it is not unusual to hear someone say, “I can’t do this!” or “I can’t make it” or whatever. The devil has put so many things around us that have made so many of us think and believe negative things about ourselves. One reason why many of us can’t do something is not because we can’t do it, but because, more often than not, we do not believe we can do it. We have all grown up in different places, with different people and have heard words of encouragement and criticism at one point or the other. The bad thing is many of us care more about what other people think of us, we care more about what other people say of us. We fail to realize that in this journey of life, those who always end up winning are those who can see themselves winning in the first place. I think it’s an important life rule that for you to be great, you gotta see yourself as a great person. You can’t be who you do not think you are. And success, greatness starts from thinking and believing- not what others think and believe about you but what you think and believe about yourself.
I do not know the kind of words you grew up hearing and I do not know the kind of words you hear now. People would always be there to remind you of your flaws, they’re always going to tell you that you can’t do a particular thing. If you think you’re always going to have support from people, my dear, you’re dreaming! People are always gonna tell you what they think about you. Many people aren’t going to believe in your dream or vision. But you know what, life’s a game, and you can only win by seeing yourself as who God sees you and as who you want to be. God sees you as a great person, people could see you as a small person, what are you seeing in YOU? What are you saying about YOU? What do you think about YOU? What do you believe about YOU?
It’s high time you stopped listening to the negative things people are saying. Greatness starts from within. It starts from what YOU think and believe. It is your life and that’s why what you think is highly important. You shouldn’t give other people the chance to rule you for YOU. Whatever it is that you know you want to start, pray about it, get God’s approval and go ahead. The devil is always going to put discouraging, criticizing people and conditions around you but you don’t worry! Get past them! Bother less about what they think. God wants you to be great, see yourself as that great person! In your success story, the only person who really matters is YOU!
You can make it! You’re great! You’re important!
I am Orifunke Lawal. I know God sees me as a great person. So that’s what I am. That’s who I am and that’s what I’ll always be. I am One Great Woman.
Thanks a whole lot for reading through! Please don’t forget to drop your comments. Contradictions, Corrections and Contributions would be highly appreciated!
HOPE
Whew! Glad to be back here! Not like I went anywhere before sef. Laziness has had the better part of me(y’all know I’m lazy, yeah?)- well, this year, I’ve determined to send laziness far far away from me. So help me God. Amen.
Today, we are going to be talking about something important, so read on and don’t forget to leave your comments and share after reading. Thanks!
We meet/see people everyday,everywhere. We see different people with different faces from different races. It would be difficult to know what kind of problems or burdens each carries on the inside. We’ve got smiling faces everywhere and many of ’em have crying faces within. You never can figure out what someone is going through unless God tells you or unless the person tells you.
Some weeks ago, I was chatting with a friend. I asked him how he was doing and he said he wasn’t happy. I asked him why and he explained that he had gone for an HIV test and he had been tested positive. For a moment, I didn’t know what to say. Then I tried to comfort him and make him understand that it wasn’t the end yet but from the way he sounded, one could infer that he had given up any hope of living beyond five years from now. He can’t be blamed tho, HIV isn’t like malaria, most people with it would feel the same way.
There are so many people everywhere who are going through things or who have experienced things that have made them hopeless. They’re in our schools, our streets, even our churches. Looking at them, you’d see beautiful smiles but you can never tell the pains that make them cry on the inside. However, amidst the troubles of this world, untold pains, uncertainties of tomorrow, dark times, one thing can sure keep us going- HOPE.
I’m sure there’s someone reading this and that person has lost hope concerning something. I don’t know what you’re going through at the moment, I can’t tell the problems you’re facing now. It could be an HIV case(like the one I told you about), or a cancer case or some other terminal disease case that your doctor and others have made you think you can’t overcome. It could be family problem, it could be a crumbling marriage that you’ve lost all hope of resuscitating. Or maybe you’ve tried doing something(like taking an exam) and you’ve always failed- The list of problems is endless! I don’t know what it is that’s happening to you but I know something, and that’s that the fact that you’re still alive is a gift of hope itself. Life is meaningless only if you allow it to be. Turbulent times would come, they could linger for a short while or for a long time, you could feel the whole world crumbling on you, you might not see any reason to live any longer but please know this- you’ve got to be strong, you’ve got to be hopeful.
If you’ve got someone going through something, please try as much as you can to show them love, give ’em a source of hope. You never can tell, that’s what they could need to live another day.
Whatever the problems facing you, whatever the situation you’re in, NEVER give in to hopelessness. Open your eyes and see the bright side of things, wipe your tears, Smile, forget your pains, stay on the hopeful lane of life. GOD will make a way out if you believe. DON’T LOSE HOPE!
“The first purpose of hope is to make hopelessness bearable”- Robert Brault
“No matter how difficult life gets, the important thing to remember is to live it with hope”- Unknown
Thanks for reading! Please don’t forget to drop your comments! Contradictions, Corrections and Contributions would be highly appreciated!
What I Have Learnt
*dusts blog* Please, don’t ask me why I haven’t written anything in months-I won’t have a reasonable explanation for that. *shrugs* Well Well Well,it’s so so good to be back here *smiles* Thanks to a whole lot of you who have always been concerned as to why I stayed off for a while, and also to those of you who didn’t bother to ask…thanks all the same!
Few Months from now, I’m going to be eighteen. Meaning officially, I’ll be an adult by then. Thinking about this brings mixed thoughts to my heart and makes me have mixed feelings. Although I am excited that I’m actually moving into a new phase of my life, I’m a bit nervous about what the future holds for me. Also, I am not too happy ’cause there are a thousand things I could have done in my previous years which I was ignorant of or which I chose personally not to do. I shouldn’t be regretting now, since I can’t turn back the hand of time. Well, let me not bore you. I’m writing this for something and that’s to share with you, what I have learnt so far- sorry, one of the things I have learnt so far. Please relax, sip your drinks, have fun, gain something. Thanks.
Life, they say, is a teacher. The more we live, the more we learn. There can never be a truer statement! With each passing year, I have learnt something more than the previous years, something better, something worse, and even irrelevant things. As we grow older, we learn different things,innit?-good, bad, important, useless. The main point is, we have all learnt different things, we are still learning and until we die, we will not stop learning.
One great thing life has taught me is that I shouldn’t show love to others with the expectation of being loved in return. I have learnt that not everybody would show me as much love as I’ve shown them. If we all knew this, our world might probably be better than it is now( just saying). Many, most of us expect others to love us just as we love them and when they don’t, we become heart-broken and we vow never to love anybody else that much. This really shouldn’t be so. The Bible says, ”Love others as you love yourself”, not ”Love others as you want them to love you”. Many of our relationships fail today because,instead of loving others as we should(forgetting if they love us or not), we prefer doing the ”Love me as I love you” thing or ”If you don’t love me, I won’t love you” thing or because we have predicted that someone might not give us the same measure of love we give them, we decide not to love them enough as it should be.
In past times, I have been hurt because people I showed love to didn’t love me back or didn’t love me as much as I loved them. Now, if in the first place, I had loved them without expecting to be loved back at all, I wouldn’t be as hurt as I later got. This is a great lesson I have learnt from life and this is a great lesson(that I think) others should also learn.
Love others as you love yourself. Love others without expecting anything in return, then let’s see if we won’t have fewer broken hearts in our society.
Thank you so much for stopping by to read this. Now, please, don’t leave without leaving your thoughts. Contributions, Contradictions and Corrections would be highly appreciated.
AFTER A BREAKUP..
I couldn’t stop crying. It was just too painful. I had used up two rolls of tissue paper, wiping my tears and blowing my nose. I’m sure the woman beside me in the molue I boarded was filled with pity ’cause after a while, she asked me,“Aunty, wetin happen?”. I was silent for a while, wondering what on earth her business with that was and was about to reply in a rude manner but all that could come out of my mouth was, “Nothing. Nothing.” and I wiped my tears and I turned back to the bus window, keeping my face plain as if I had suddenly gotten better. I couldn’t wait to get off the bus and when the conductor shouted, “KOLAWALE!”, I replied in an almost inaudible voice.
“Kolawole o wa o”. The driver didn’t hear me, he had almost driven past my bus-stop before the same woman beside me helped me in shouting, “KOLAWOLE WA OOOOO”, and Goodness, I was grateful to her for that. She adjusted her legs for me to pass, telling me, “Sorry o.” arousing attention from others on the bus and before I knew it people were already chanting, “Sorry o. Aunty, e pele o”. I ignored them all and alighted with a small prayer of thanks and a long hiss. My flat wasn’t too far so I walked briskly, opened my door with a sole key in my handbag and badged into the flat. After finding a close sofa, without undressing, I sank into it and burst into fresh tears.
I just couldn’t imagine how my four-year old relationship would end that way. FOUR YEARS! I thought to myself, FOUR SOLID YEARS! What went wrong wasn’t what I could think of. I kept thinking, so I had wasted four years of my life in a hopeless relationship that finally ended nowhere, with a bastard I so trusted with all my life. An Idiot! An imbecile. For 4 days, I kept brooding and brooding over the incident. On the fifth day, I decided that crying over the whole thing wasn’t going to help matters and neither was it going to help me. Things begin and Things end. And when they end, they most probably lead to something new. Some people are not worth being in our lives and when they leave, we ought not to kill ourselves over it. I decided to start a new life without him, forgetting my past and everything that was in it, though it was almost impossible.
This is for everyone out there who is going through something similar to this. The end of something doesn’t mean the end of everything. Recovering from a break-up, especially one you didn’t for-see could be really hard and painful but like they say, time heals all wounds. Crying and starving yourself over it wouldn’t make you feel better. If the relationship ended, it means that person wasn’t for you and therefore you’ve got to wait for or search for someone who is yours. After a break-up, don’t think your world has collapsed, instead, have a positive attitude and tell yourself that a new and better world of yours has just started. Forget whatever happened and look over to the bright side of things. After a break-up doesn’t come the end of it all but the beginning of a more-fulfilled life which you never thought of at first.
Thanks for reading. Please leave your comments. Contributions and Corrections are highly welcomed.
WHO CARES?
Last week Sunday, my sister and I woke up really late. We had a programme the day before and being so tired, we slept early and slept in the next day. We woke up so late that I considered not going to church….On our way to church, while we were still on our street, something-or someone rather-caught my attention.
“Oyinlola, Oyinlola, see!”, I roughly nudged my sister.
“What?”, she queried.
“Can’t you see that girl? She stays on our street, doesn’t she? She’s pregnant”, I said, shocked and hardly believing what I was saying myself. The girl is my age-or at most, a year older than I am, which was why I was surprised.
“Do you want to tell me that you’re just knowing?, Oyin asked me, indifferently.”Since all these years, so you’re just knowing that she’s pregnant. Na wah for you o.” She said and hissed. I remained silent for a second. I had ‘carried last’.
“I never knew she was pregnant. We finished secondary school together!”, I continued with disbelief. If someone had just told me that the girl was pregnant, I wouldn’t have believed. They say, Seeing is believing, but in this case, I saw and I couldn’t still believe. Why was I concerned? What was or is my business? We don’t talk. I don’t even know her name. But I was sad and I still am.
After the service, I brought up the idea of the pregnant girl while some of my friends were around. I can’t remember that incidence without telling anybody around. Even when I got home, I still told my mummy and daddy. I still wonder why or how she got herself into that position? Perhaps she was wayward-like most people would think. Or maybe a victim of circumstance. I can’t tell. More saddening is thinking of the fact that thousands of other teenagers are in this position. You might think it’s all right, but I think it’s not. Imagine the stigma she’s going to carry around now, the difficulty she’ll go through during labour-that’s if she doesn’t abort, the ostracizing she’s going to receive from the society…if she finally gives birth,will she be able to go back to school? A girl of 17 or 18…Gosh!
I am not going to criticize anybody-let the sinless one cast the first stone. I’m going to act like this is a normal case knowing fully well that people perform certain actions for certain reasons. You may think it’s a normal case but I disagree cause for a girl who has no means of livelihood, this case is perfectly not okay. Well, we live in a society where no one cares, no one bothers, and everything that would initially have looked unacceptable has now become acceptable. Wait, what’s my own sef? Who send me message? Am I a relative to the girl that got pregnant? Or na me send am make she go get belle? It’s her life, is it not? We ask this questions. Nobody cares. I don’t care either, but I care.
I wrote this because like I said earlier, I can’t remember this without telling anybody around. Nevertheless, I sincerely think something should be done about this, although it seems impossible. So what do you think? Who cares?
Thanks for reading. Please don’t forget to comment and share.
THE BABY’S STYLE
I have a baby brother who just clocked one. Most of the time, we’re usually together. Over the months, I’ve learnt to understand him. For instance, I know he’s hungry if he begins to take his mouth to my breast. I know he’s sleepy if he begins to rub his face awkwardly with his hands. I know he wants to stay on my back if he keeps crying even when he’s not hungry. And I know something could be wrong if he totally behaves different from normal. I understand my brother. One special thing I love about him is his smile. Whenever I’m a bit sad and he suddenly smiles, I smile back and I forget what’s making me sad. Sometimes when I see him cackling, laughing hard and saying words I don’t understand, I say to him, “Baby, you aint seen anything yet”
Babies have such innocent personality. Never hating, never doing most things that adults do. And I wish I were a baby. Wouldn’t it be so nice to live such an innocent, less-complicated life? Being at peace with all, hating none and cheering sad souls with your smile.
Truth is we almost can never be like babies. The older you grow, the wider your world becomes, the more your troubles are, the more you gain enemies, the more you find a lot of stuff annoying. That can’t change, can it? But it would be a lot better if we sometimes lived like babies-never hating, never criticizing,loving all and accepting all. Learn the baby’s style. To me, it doesn’t make you a baby. It makes you wiser instead and it also gives you a more innocent life to live. And I want to become a baby again.
Thank you for reading, and please don’t forget to share.