I don’t eat out often but when I do go to a particular restaurant, one of the things I enjoy is their bread rolls. While you are still perusing their menu, the waiters bring these baskets of hot bread rolls and butter to your table. The baskets are usually endless and you can keep requesting for more bread rolls till your food arrives.

What usually happens when I go to this restaurant is that by the time my food arrives, I have eaten quite a bit of the bread rolls such that I no longer have much space in my stomach for the main course. This means that I usually have to take most of my uneaten meal back home in a “to-go” box.

I immediately refrigerate my meal when I get home, and reheat it at a later time when I want to eat it. Of course, the reheated food never tastes as nice as when I was eating it fresh in the restaurant, and sometimes I actually end up not eating all of the food I brought back home.

Recently, I was thinking about how this scenario can apply to our relationship with God. Our relationship with God can be likened to the main course that contains all the substance and nutrition we need to fill and sustain us. However, a lot of us have “bread rolls” that we fill up on which limits the space in our lives for the “main course”. Too often, we stuff ourselves with the “bread rolls” of social media, entertainment, people’s opinions, work, personal ambitions, other relationships etc., and become too full for what should be the most important part of our lives-our relationship with God.

We were created by God and our walk with God should be at the center of our life. When we prioritize God, we set ourselves up for success in other areas of our lives. The more time we spend with God, the more His essence and nature rubs off on us. We are transformed to the extent that we make space for God in our lives.

Some of us complain that we do not have enough time to pray, study our Bible, spend time in worship and fellowship with God but I wonder if the issue is that we really do not have the time, or that we have allowed other things take priority. Rather than start our day in prayer and filling up on the Word of God, we open up our various social media apps and become filled with “junk”. Then, we hurriedly mumble some words of prayers and go about our day.

Just like the bread rolls cannot nourish us properly, and reheated food does not taste as fresh, we cannot receive the best possible benefit of a relationship with God when we have other priorities before God. If we do not make the voice of God the loudest in our lives, we run the risk of allowing ourselves to be unstable and tossed about by people’s opinions and societal ideologies.

Jesus Christ made it clear said in the scriptures that love for God must be our priority!

…You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. Matthew 22:37-38 NLT

God is our source and so He must be our sustainer. In John 15: 4-8, Jesus explains that our relationship with God is the only way we can bear fruit. He further explains that we can find ourselves cast away when we do not take care to ensure we are abiding in Him. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. John 15:4-8 NKJV

Our relationship with God cannot be treated like left-over food in a to-go box to be consumed when we “feel like”. You cannot be one leg in and one leg out with God, you must be all in! This will require an intentional restructuring of routines and habits to ensure that God takes precedence. Like junk food, we may enjoy the taste and appeal of the bread rolls but they harm us more than do us good. This is why a lot of us remain spiritually malnourished and weak! Lack of proper spiritual nutrition is why we don’t have the spiritual stamina required to overcome temptations and surmount the challenges of life.

Remember, it is “the people who know their God (that) shall be strong and carry out great exploits” (Daniel 11:32b). Similarly, “those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

Our ability to be who God truly created us to be is dependent on how much of Him we know and have. We must stop allowing other things encroach into the space that God should occupy in our lives.

God is calling us into a deeper walk with Him and is ever ready to fill us up with Himself.

The question is are you ready to stop eating too many “bread rolls”?

I remember when I first had my son, I was so excited about watching him grow and achieve all his milestones, that I did not realize I had fallen into a pattern of always anticipating the “next”. I remember wondering when he would start sitting up on his own, and by the time he did, I was already looking forward to when he would start crawling. As soon as he started crawling, I was already thinking about when he would start walking. As a mother, I always want to ensure my son is growing and developing properly but it took me a while to realize that while it was good for me to look forward to the “next stage”, I was not fully enjoying the present stage that he was in. I was not stopping to observe, cherish and enjoy his current stage as much as I could.

This pattern of anticipating the next seemed to revolve around different aspects of his growth even beyond his physical milestones. When I finally caught myself in that pattern, I relaxed my anticipation for the “next” and allowed myself to be fully present in his “here and now”. I realized the best gift I could give to my son for his future was not to worry or be so overly concerned, rather it was to be present to his current realities, pray for him, continue to learn and develop my intentional parenting skills while observing and enjoying his current stage and transitions.

As I continue to self-reflect over the years, I have found that this anticipation or looking to the “next” sometimes shows up in other aspects of my life. Whether it be personal, relational or professional milestones, I am sometimes so focused on what the next step, next stage etc., should be that I miss out on fully absorbing what is happening in my present stage or season. I remember being in that loop of thinking about the “next” a while ago when my thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the reality that my current season is actually an answer to prayers from my past season and while I was so hung up on the “next stage”, I was missing out on the opportunity to see how far I have come, be grateful for where I currently am and more importantly, understand what the current season is trying to teach me or build in me.

I think many of us may have found ourselves in situations and seasons where we are so concerned about the “next”. A lot of times, this may be because our current season feels so unpleasant or uncomfortable that we are continually trying to “escape” that season or it may be due to expectations and projections we have about what our current stage or season is supposed to be.

While it is good to plan for the future and live with the hope and expectation of a “better tomorrow”, it is also necessary that we are able to stay present in our current seasons. This is because even when a season feels difficult, God is often using that season to build a certain character in us or increase our capacity for the next season. So, if we are not attuned to our current season, we can miss out on what God is doing in us or we can end up prolonging that season because we are not intentionally partnering with God on the growth and transformation He is trying to work in us or the lessons He is trying to teach us.

When we are unable to embrace our current season, we miss out on the “wisdom” of that season. We can also end up living in a cycle of worry, anxiety and the feeling of disappointment. Another reason to embrace our seasons is because life happens in stages and if we do not systematically build one stage on top of the other, we may get to a point where we find that there’s a lot of malformation in us or we may despise our seemingly small stages and not understand that they are the foundation for the “big stages” we are hoping to attain in life.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 puts it so succinctly, there is a season for everything in life, and a time for every purpose. If we do not know what season we are in, we can end up living life out of alignment. We can end up trying to “speak up” when God is trying to mold us through a season of “keeping silent”, we can end up frustrated looking for the “summer heat” when we should be learning how to adapt and thrive in the “winter cold” or vice versa.

To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven

Ecclesiastes 3:1

It is important to remember that no matter how small or insignificant we may think the progress or reality of our current season looks like, it is leading up to days of significant manifestations. So, like Zechariah 4:10 says, we must ensure that we do not despise the days and seasons of little beginnings.

Embracing our seasons means we trust God’s timing for our lives and work in partnership with Him to fulfill His will for us in every season of our lives. It does not mean we become complacent and refuse to press in for more, rather it means we learn the joy of contentment and gratitude for our current season while knowing that our times and seasons are held securely in God’s hands. Daniel 2:21 says; “And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those who have understanding.”

And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those who have understanding.

Daniel 2:21

If we learn to look at our current season with the perspective that even when it does not look like what we want or expect, God’s wisdom is at work to teach, shape and mold us, we can embrace our seasons and know that when the time for a shift comes, we would be ready and thoroughly prepared for it.

And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!” Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you? ”So he said to Him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”

One of the things the story of Gideon in Jugdes Chapter 6 reminds me of is that often times, our perception of who we are and what God can do through us is quite limited. Gideon thought of himself as the least in a family that came from the weakest clan in his tribe. However, heaven’s identity of Gideon was “Mighty Man of Valor”.

Two very different and opposing perspectives!

I have found that one of the things God does when He comes to a person is to keep speaking the truth of your identity over you. He will not address you as your experiences, beliefs, people’s opinions or conditioning have taught you to see yourself, rather, He will keep calling you by who He has ordained you to be.

At first, it may be difficult to accept God’s view of us. Maybe like Gideon, we think we are too small, too weak or people have dismissed us, devalued us etc., so we don’t think we have much to contribute or maybe we think we are too broken, too damaged etc., and whatever adjectives we use to perceive ourselves that prevents us from stepping into God’s truth about us. However, all of that do not negate our identity and purpose in God.

It is interesting to see how God was patient with Gideon as he kept trying to verify that this call was truly from God. Even when he was still afraid in Judges Chapter 7, God told him what to do so he could be encouraged.

It happened on the same night that the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand. But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant, and you shall hear what they say; and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.”

Judges 7: 9 – 11 NKJV

This is the same way God is patient with us through the process of transformation. He knows that our mind is really the battlefield, hence He invites us to sit in His Word consistently so our minds can be renewed. It is only when our minds are renewed by the power of the Word of God that we can begin to enter into God’s view of our identity and purpose. The moment we catch a glimpse of what is on God’s heart and we truly become one with who He says we are, our entire outlook to life and living changes!

Like the angel who came to Gideon, today, I invite you to consider the possibility that there is more to you than what you see, what people have said or done to you or what you have been taught to believe about yourself. Gideon believed God and he went from the seemingly weak man hiding from the oppressors to the warrior who defeated those same oppressors!

There is so much more to you! Do not allow people, situations or circumstances define who you are. Instead, let God download His thoughts concerning you to your spirit and soul by fellowshipping with Him continuously, praying and making the study of your Bible essential practices in your life!

There are many voices and multitude of media trying to give you your identity and sense of purpose. The voice and source you make the loudest in your life will determine the path you follow. So, let God’s voice ring out the closest and loudest in your life!

“Mighty (wo)man of valor”, you have stayed small and scared long enough.

It’s time to see yourself as God sees you and rise into the truth of who God created you to be!

It is even harder because in transition, you do not always know exactly where the bus stop to your destination will be, or how long you have to stay on that bus or train ride, and that period of displacement is where everything that can distract you or make you doubt your destiny will happen.

We look around and because we do not fit where we are, we start to doubt if we would fit where we are dressed up for. If the bus ride is taking too long or there are lot of bumps, potholes, detours or accidents, we may start to ask, is this really worth it? am I really sure there is a destination for me? am I really sure I was invited to that party? am I really sure that God said what He said? am I really sure of the promise? Maybe I should just turn back, so I can return to my house clothes, fit in with everyone and not look so stupid.

And that is how people abort their destiny.

Dressing up here does not mean the literal clothes you wear, but rather it refers to things like, the decisions and choices we make, the way we choose to think and speak, the training we give ourselves, the places and people we cut off, the habits we embrace etc. The reason we have to dress up like where we are going is because our destiny depends on us fitting into our future and not our past. The reason the bus ride may take so long is because God uses the journey to strip us of everything we have carried on from where we are coming that would not serve us where we are going or can even detract from us when we get there. He also uses that bus ride to prepare and equip us with the tools, skills, etiquette, personality, resilience, insight etc that we need to perform optimally where He is taking us to, so we can have what it takes to fit into that place.

An understanding that the greater the destination, the greater or longer the preparation and equipping will be, and of course, the greater the external and internal opposition to get off the bus taking us there, is necessary for us to bear and overcome whatever we face on that bus.

Queen Esther is one of the popular references for God using a single person to save an entire race, but anytime I remember she had to spend a whole year anointing herself with oil before she could even come before King Ahasuerus, I wonder what would have been going through her mind at that time. Did she know what she was going to do for her people one day? Would she have said this is not worth it? Will he even pick me? Is this all I would be doing day in day out? I am bored? I am tired? She was faced with the reality that she could go through the entire thing for one year and not find favor before the King, but she completed the one year oiling process and eventually became the person God used to save her people from the despicable wickedness of Haman.

Her purpose was way bigger than her or her position as the queen, it was about what God was going to do through her in that position, and that would not have been possible if she did not go through that process or summon the courage to do what went against tradition to petition for her people.

In a season of transition, we can experience the urge to return back to where we are coming from, or the need to change back to our house clothes on the bus, especially on the days when the bus ride feels really long and difficult, or where it looks like people are staring at us funny because we look so different, but remember your purpose is usually bigger than you and your destiny depends on you looking more like where you are going than where you are coming from.

So, set your mind on your future and keep dressing up for where you are going.

Although choosing to stay the same might look easier, but eventually when life gets you to a point where the pain of staying the same becomes too great, you will have no choice but to change, grow and transform. At that point your life, your survival, your future, even your generations to come depend on it.

You will be squeezed, crushed, turned, twisted, marred, reduced, expanded and then “kicked out” of that place you’ve settled in, because the butterfly needs to emerge out of the caterpillar.

The reason we dread change so much is not that we do not want to transform, to upgrade to a higher level of ourselves and to move to the next level of ourselves and our lives. It is the darkness and uncertainty we fear, the limbo, the in-between, the transition when nothing makes sense, where everything is unfamiliar, uncomfortable and unexplainable.

So we keep aborting the process, we take steps forward, thinking we would go straight from one level to another, so when instead of solid ground after lifting our legs from the lower level, we find ourselves in this space that seems like a vacuum, where sometimes it feels like you’re free falling, and other times it feels like you’re being sucked in by quicksand, we run.

A lot of us run out of that space, out of the limbo, out of the transition and back into the comfort of where we were coming from, into the life and pain we are familiar with, even when we know our time in that place, space, mindset, thought process, pain etc has long expired.

We then do the cowardly thing to do, we negotiate downwards with ourselves, we look at the familiarity, and list off all the reasons why we should stick to the comfortable or familiar zone we know, even when it is threatening our lives, future and purpose, though we don’t call it “sticking to the comfort or familiar zone”, we call it “common sense” to feel justified in our decision to stay down there.

The reason we dread change so much is not that we do not want to transform…it is the darkness and uncertainty we fear, the limbo, the in-between, the transition when nothing makes sense…

Common sense is necessary to make daily decisions and go through life as properly as we can, but at this point, we are not exercising common sense, we are implicating common sense and making it a cover up for “coward sense.”

A lot of us do not do this downward negotiation consciously, it is usually the subconscious that is doing it and making that decision for us.

That’s why self awareness is so important, you must get to know yourself intimately, spend time in quietness observing your mind work, spend time reflecting and introspecting, so your conscious mind is aware to an extent of what your subconscious is doing.

When you choose to consciously engage with the transition process, when you understand that like the corn, the darkness and discomfort of the transition is necessary, that the seed might die and rise up as multiple cobs of corn, when you trust that it is in the darkness you discover the light you need to navigate through life, and in the uncertainty, you learn the power of faith that can move anything, you make the process a bit tolerable and you are able to withstand the shocks and adversities that must come as you make your way through.

Let this truth be your comfort through the process; that it will end, that the wilderness is for a season, and that on the other side of every painful or tough transformation process is power, beauty and a dimension of thinking, processing, seeing and doing that you would not have known existed where you were before.

Common sense is necessary to make daily decisions and go through life as properly as we can, but at this point, we are not exercising common sense, we are implicating common sense and making it a cover up for “coward sense.”

The process is hard, painful and can be mind bending but the product, the result, the change in your mindset, the metamorphosis in your beliefs, the increase in your capacity, the courage to dare dream and demand bigger from life, the expansion and flexibility in your thought process, the ability of your mind, the strength of your spirit, the deep rooted confidence and unshakable faith you acquire, the recreation of your entire inner being,

Especially the scars, each one of them represents courage, resilience through the process and wisdom that arises from the journey. Those scars eventually become polished and shine like stars.

When you choose to consciously engage with the transition process…you make the process a bit tolerable and you are able to withstand the shocks and adversities that must come as you make your way through.

So when growth comes knocking, answer its call.

You will know it is growth calling because it will demand of you a level of trust and courage you’ve not had hitherto, and if you don’t answer its call, it will only keep knocking until the pain of remaining the same, of staying where you are eventually becomes unbearable because;

The “legs of the caterpillar” must give way for the “wings of the butterfly.”

The process is hard, painful and can be mind bending but…everything on the other side of the process is beautiful, even the scars you acquired in the process…each one of them represents courage, resilience through the process and wisdom that arises from the journey.

Elizabeth A. Ibiloye.

#musingsofelizabeth 
#embracechange
#transformation
#metamorphosis 
#growth

I once met a guy who could not stop commenting about the stretch marks on my arms. He would say I needed to wear clothes that cover them up or get creams that were made to clear stretchmarks, and I would sit across him looking at all the physical flaws I could count from where I sit, and would be amused that he was so concerned about my stretch marks. I honestly tried to see things from his view, I tried to understand why he was so disturbed by them and hence felt I needed to always cover them or buy special creams for them but I could not understand him, so when he realized I was not moved by his comments, he stopped talking about it. He eventually turned out to be a douchebag with superficial and shallow content. I guess I should have known…

Somewhere along the line, it occurred to me that I had become the girl who now wore “long skirts” to hide her spots and slathered on harmful creams to “clear stretchmarks”. I am not referring to my spots and marks literally, I am saying I started to develop a mindset and attitude that was tied to pleasing people, conforming to what people wanted, wanting to do all I can to make others like me or consider me good enough and soon I was becoming a slave to people’s opinions, wishes and desires.

The thing about this is, there is usually no end to how far you will have to hide yourself, slice yourself or break yourself to satisfy people, and should you ever find yourself in a place where the people want you to fit a certain broken down standard, they will not stop chipping at you until you become just that. Eventually, you will have two choices, conform totally and be a permanent broken down slave to their wants and desires or decide you would no more be ruled by what people want and you will cast off the heavy cloak of people pleasing.

Is this not the reality of a lot of us, we walk around with the burden of trying to be who others want us to be, trying to make other people like us, trying to perform enough to earn validation, trying to make ourselves good enough in the eyes of people and soon we find ourselves “bleached” to the max with damaged skin, in the name of “clearing stretchmarks” and our “skirts” keep getting longer and longer, in the name of hiding spots that they start to make us trip and fall.

Where does it end?
Where do people end and where do you begin?

This is not saying do not improve on what can be improved on, as I have since done my best to work on those spots and marks but I am doing them for myself, at my own pace and with items I know are not harmful to my skin. I still have some of the spots on my legs and my arms are still decorated with the marks, they are just lighter and look somewhat better I guess.

The problem with trying to change or “become better” comes when we do it solely for people’s validation or approval. We start to wire our minds to say except this person says this or this person likes this, I am not okay, I am not good enough and we literally become “slaves”.
We start working overtime to please our “masters” but the more we do, the more we have to do and we keep loading ourselves till we can no longer identify ourselves or till the day our “camel’s back” break.

Where does it end?

At what point do you start to decide you are not going to be bound by what people think, say or want. At what point do you say I am enough, flaws and all and if I am going to work to improve on myself or change something, it will be because I want to be a higher version of myself and not a donkey held by the rope of people pleasing.

I have lived both sides of the fence and I can tell you, it might actually look easier to do all you can for people’s validation but eventually you will get exhausted, and the sad part is who you are called to be is contingent on who you are not who you contort yourself to be, so you can be validated by the same people who desire to keep breaking you down.

Many people will complain that they do not know their purpose, they are not living the life they want and feel like they have lost hopes and dreams, and I am staring at whatever represents your “bleached skin” and “maxi length” skirts and I am asking

Where are you?
I don’t see you,
I see a map of other people’s opinions, ideas and desires.
I see a person so fragmented into all these pieces from the different people, opinions and desires they are trying to conform to.
I see a person who has become progressively weaker, confused and out of touch with themselves and their inner being.

The road to becoming who you’re meant to be is knowing who you are, and dealing with your flaws to make yourself better and stronger. It is dependent on your ability to affirm and validate yourself, it is dependent on you coming to a deep understanding that you are good enough even if no one tells you or worse, people try to tell you otherwise.

You see, these people you are trying to please are as broken and fragmented as you are, also bound by trying to be like others, please others or make other people like them, so the best they can do is project these insecurities on you and put you in an insecure state and you go about spreading that behavior like a contagious disease.

Something beautiful happens when you dare to find your voice, when you dare to cut off every desire for validation and approval, when you die to the criticism and applause of men. Something beautiful happens and it is called authentic empowerment, it is going back to live according to the design God made for you, it is a form of factory reset.

Authentic empowerment is the kind of power that fills you with clarity and confidence about your path and purpose. It is the kind of power that keeps your light on because you are living as you and not as pieces of others. It is at this point that you do not seek to be someone else other than you, neither do you try to break others down. You step out of being infected by other people and you are not infectious to others.

It may be tough getting there but it’s a beautiful place to be, and the only place I know that you can be empowered enough to live out your purpose, to please God and provide humanity with your highest service.

At one point, you have to make the decision and simply say I am enough, I will work on becoming better but it would no longer be about trying to please other people.

At that point, you open up the floodgates to all things called your passion and purpose.

At that point, you sit in harmony with yourself, one with who God made you to be, flowing like a river irrespective of the rocks, daring to live out the script of your own life.

#musingsofelizabeth
#reformedpeoplepleaser
#factoryreset

I started to think about how garbing applies to us in our regular daily lives. Garbing can be thought of as the processes we take to protect ourselves from being contaminated by influences as well as preventing us from contaminating other people.

In a world where we are constantly bombarded by influences, opinions and expectations. It becomes important that we protect our minds from becoming overwhelmed or contaminated by what we have to see, meet or handle daily.

Some of these garb that I wear include praying and studying the word of God. This ensures my identity is consistently aligned with what God’s word says about me and my mind is constantly renewed. Another way I garb myself is through daily positive affirmations which I draw from what God says about me. I put on the garb of God’s word in my heart and mind and try to ensure that everything I come across that day is filtered through these garbs. Of course some days are easier than the others and some days would require that I double up my defences like in the case of hazardous drugs depending on what I am dealing with but it is clear to me that if I am going to go through my day successfully, I have to put on my garb properly. Even the bible talks about putting on the full armor of God which can be thought of as wearing a full protective garb which includes salvation, truth, righteousness, faith, prayer and the word of God, all of which are necessary to withstand the wiles and devices of the devil we will undoubtedly face each day, infact each minute, so staying fully garbed all the time is the only way we can ensure we are not contaminated or influenced by these wiles which can be external or internal, though our thoughts and perceptions.

Apart from protecting ourselves from what can negatively influence and contaminate, garbing also serves to protect others from us. Like I explained earlier, garbing serves a two way protective purpose and so when we garb up by making our mind right, dealing with habits and mindsets that come with us, we serve to protect others from any negativity or toxicity we can bleed out to them which in turn means we benefit from having pleasant interactions with others.
If we do not work at our daily garbing process, we can end up hurting others and indirectly hurt ourselves because sooner than later, if we keep handling issues and people without the thought of preventing them injury, we would find ourselves in a place where we are no longer allowed to handle or come in contact with what is so important to the health and wellbeing of others.

It is therefore important to ask ourselves daily
Am I fully garbed?
What part of my garb needs to be replaced, changed, improved on or doubled etc?

Taking time to ask ourselves these questions can help us work on our garb which can bring us to a place where we are not contaminated by externalities and ensure we do not serve as a source of contamination to others, which in turn fosters our wellbeing and that of others around us.

It’s time to garb up.

I don’t know when I finally decided I was going to exercise my power to perceive myself as I see fit and not as others do and to stop allowing what others may think about me to stop me from doing things I wanted to, but I know the story of Zaccheaus is one that keeps teaching me about making the best of what may be considered a stigma.

Zaccheaus is reported in the Bible as a tax collector who met Jesus after he decided to climb the sycamore tree in order to see Jesus and then Jesus came to dine with Him and bring salvation to his home, which caused people to murmur against Jesus for dining with someone they considered a sinner. The story of Zaccheaus is usually referenced in church or at home as one that shows nobody was too sinful for Jesus to meet, eat with and save.

However, the day Zaccheaus was going to make a difference to me, was the day I read his story through the lens of seeing how a short man did not allow his height stop him from getting what he wanted. I imagined that there must have been a great crowd wanting to see Jesus and here comes short man Zaccheaus who also wanted to see Jesus but is probably in a position where he cannot even get to the heads of the people around him, so stretching his neck or seeing above their heads was not even an option for him. I believe he must have asked himself what he could do to ensure he achieved his goal despite his height, so off he went to climb a tree.

When I was thinking about the scenario, I was wondering how funny Zaccheaus might have looked trying to climb the tree, how his short legs would go branch by branch till he got to the height where he would see Jesus. Was it possible that people around him were laughing at him because he had to climb the tree? I don’t know, but I do know that whenever a person has something considered a form of stigma, there will always be people ready to laugh at them or make snide or hurtful remarks.

The story of Zaccheaus showed me the determination of a man who was not going to let his physical condition detract from him achieving his goal. I wonder if Zaccheaus was the only short man in the crowd who could not see Jesus, but did the other short men do something about it? Or did they accept that it was their fate not to see Jesus because they were too short or worse did they have entitlement mentality, were they expecting that people would allow them go to the front, since they were short or were they expecting that someone would give them a stool or something to climb on to see Jesus.

Is this not how we as people think when it comes to conditions or impairments that have some sort of stigma attached to them? Are we not so bothered about what people think about us or worse have we told ourselves we cannot achieve or do something because of that condition? Is this mindset not what prevents us from being confident about what we can achieve or become creative enough about our situation to think of or look for a “sycamore tree” to climb?

The beauty of Zaccheaus story to me is not just his determination or his resourcefulness in achieving his aim of seeing Jesus but that because of what he did,

Jesus saw him!!!

It is amazing to me when I think about how the condition that should have kept him hidden and lost in the crowd was what caused him to make a radical choice which then caused him to attract the attention of Jesus. This attention led to such great honor that Jesus chose his house to dine. Of course, this blessing and honor attracted comments from people, like why him? He is a publican, a tax collector, a thief, a sinner but they failed to acknowledge his determination and actions that caused Jesus to see him.
Is this not the same thing we experience from people today? They look at your life or what you are doing and say why him? why her? (S)he’s fat, (s)he’s ugly, (s)he’s short, (s)he’s deaf, (s)he cannot speak well, his/her accent is too thick, (s)he’s not qualified, his/her pedigree is not right and all other opinions they have that makes them think your achievements or blessing is unjustified and if we allow ourselves to internalize this, is it not easy for us to start thinking of ourselves as less than or not deserving of our achievements or the honor or blessing we have received, which can then have an indirect effect of us subconsciously aiming too low or avoiding things that can put us in the spotlight.

This is not a campaign for ignoring conditions that can impact your health, instead it is recognizing that there are lots of conditions, impairments, backgrounds, situations etc that cannot be fixed and even the ones that can be might require a process that make the way you define yourself and your abilities become skewed. Rather, this is a call to say why not be a (wo)man like Zaccheaus, instead of letting whatever it is define you or cause you to shy away from achieving your goals, instead of letting it work against you, why not work with it as you improve what you can, why not let it propel you to look for sycamore tree type of solutions that can end up setting you apart from the rest.

When the artist was done and he handed me my drawing, my first response was this is not how I look, although I can see some slight resemblance and my friend said to me, that is why it is called a caricature.

Some weeks ago, I was clearing up some parts of my house and found this drawing that I had forgotten about rolled up in its case and I brought it out to look at it. My first thought when I saw it again was this is not how I look. I rolled it out and pinned it to the wall and kept looking at it till I started to draw some parallel with how the picture looks to me and what a lot of us carry about as a picture of ourselves.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a caricature as an

“exaggeration by means of often ludicrous distortion of parts or characteristics”

While the Collins dictionary defines it as

“a likeness or imitation that is so distorted or inferior as to seem ludicrous.”

This explains why when I looked at the caricature, I could see clearly that my facial features were drawn in a manner that made them look out of proportion to the other thus distorting the reality of how my face truly looks. In reflecting on this, I began to realize a lot of us are actually carrying caricatures of ourselves in different aspects or areas and believing them to be the true reflection or representation of who we are in that aspect. Life has a way of becoming an artist through experiences, conditioning, expectations, failures, situations, losses and even some successes. All of these paint a drawing of us that if we are not careful can distort the reality of who we are in such a ridiculous manner leaving us with an perception of ourselves that do not meet up with who we really are.

Just as our idea of how our face looks comes not from our ability to see our face itself but from our ability to see a reflection of our face in a mirror or through the comments and opinions of others, so also our idea of who we are is formed by the representation we hold, through what we see, hear and think.

The way a caricature looks is defined by the way the artist wants it to look. The drawing can change depending on how and what feature the artist chooses to exaggerate or distort. Therefore, an artist can draw plenty caricatures of you, and different artists can draw different forms of caricatures. This is the same way different life experiences and situations can draw you different caricatures and place in your mind as a representation of you. If you do not understand that the picture is one drawn in a manner so distorted or inferior that it tends to be ludicrous, you can go about never coming to a full realization of who you really are and ultimately what you are capable of.

This then brings me to my next question

What do you see?

Or more importantly

What are you looking at? An authentic reflection or a caricature?

God made it clear in the first book of the Bible that He created us in His image and likeness. This means we were created to look and function like God, and this should be the representation we carry of ourselves. It is in coming to a deep revelation and understanding of God as our father that we can begin to see ourselves as He sees us. This revelation changes everything about our perception and outlook. It is in understanding this truth that we can start to cast away every caricature that has been placed in our mind. We can begin to examine and question every thought or opinion we have about ourselves and look at them through the lens of God’s opinion about us and discard them when they do not match. We are able to separate who we are from what we go through, truth from facts and our reality from our circumstances.

Until we get to this place of deep understanding that a caricature is not a true reflection of us, we can find ourselves engaging in deep internal conflict when a caricature is presented to us through life experiences. We see one and say “oh I have such funny eyes” “my nose is weird”. I am this or that, which is usually something negative that can be summed up as “I am not good or worthy enough.”

A “life caricature” does not just give us a representation to have of ourselves, instead it manipulates and prevents us from seeing the real deal. It can cause us to live at a level way below who God made us to be and can lead to so much anxiety and worry when we keep defining ourselves through the lens of every happening, failure, rejection, negativity, hurt, betrayal, loss and setbacks.

In order to switch to a true reflection of ourselves, we have to start by asking some introspective questions about what picture we have been carrying, whose opinion weighs the most in our lives, what is our understanding of who God really is and who we really are. It is in seeking the answers to this questions that we start to confront patterns and drawings that do not align with who God says we are, we start to drop every drawing that is not a true reflection of us. These answers are easily found through studying God’s word and opening up ourselves to His Spirit which gives us a clear revelation of who God is.

The beauty of this revelation is it gives us a heart experience that surpasses all other life experiences and becomes the anchor upon which our self-definition rests. It gives us a mind switch so profound that we can laugh off every kind of caricature life tries to show to us and most importantly gives us stability, strength and hope to go through all of life’s experiences with an unshakable understanding of who we really are.

I left the office and started to reflect on my fear of dogs as I was going back to my apartment. I acknowledged that my fear of dogs was actually getting awkward because I lived in a community where a lot of people had dogs and I always looked funny trying to avoid these dogs! If I spotted a dog owner coming afar, I would turn and go another way even if it was longer, all I would be thinking about was this dog can bite me. Infact I had to acknowledge my fear of dogs was hampering my ability to enjoy walking or jogging on the running trail not far from my house, because a lot of people walked or ran with their dogs on it and I would rather take a walk or jog within my apartment complex early in the morning or at night, when I knew there was a lower risk for meeting dog walkers. I then remembered a situation where I had gone to visit some people and I screamed and nearly ran out of my seat when the owner’s dog came near me unexpectedly. When I put all these together, I realized my fear of dogs was not just putting me in situations where I had to avoid roads or places, it was also preventing from enjoying the running trail and was becoming embarrassing.

As I walked back, I started a discussion with myself. I would call this a discussion between me and my inner me.
Inner me; so I think it’s time we get rid of this fear
Me; I don’t love dogs anyway, I would just keep avoiding them.
Inner me: Well to overcome the fear of something is not the same as loving that thing.

I stopped in my tracks and said wow. I realized anytime I thought about overcoming my fear of dogs, I had thought of it as the same thing as needing to love dogs. However, I realized consciously for the first time, that I do not have to start with loving a thing to overcome my fear of it.

I then thought to myself, that this must have been my subconscious thought when I started to overcome my fear of public speaking. I reflected that anyone who sees me engaging in any form of public speaking would not realize there was a time I was mortified to stand in front of people to speak. Although I enjoyed having conversations with people, I would become nervous at the idea of standing in front of a group of people to speak, I would worry even about things that seem little, like my gesticulation. Infact there was a time when standing up to give vote of thanks in an extended family meeting would seem too much for me. I would write and prepare materials for outreaches and give it to someone else who felt better speaking to groups. This continued until the day I decided my fear of speaking in front of people had become a big hindrance and I said to myself, these people are also human beings like me, the issue is not that I am afraid of speaking, it is the public I am nervous about. It is that I am so concerned that the people I am speaking to perceive me in a certain way. So, I started to put myself up for speaking in front of people and although it was nerve wracking the first time I consciously did so, with time and experience, speaking in front of people has become a thing I actually love and enjoy doing and I recently found myself standing in place as an impromptu master of ceremony for an event. As for my gesticulation, I keep learning how to balance keeping my hands still when necessary and using my hands to emphasize the story my voice is telling.

When I got back into my apartment, I told myself, I think I am ready to start the challenge of tackling my dog fears, but I was not sure when I would start. Surprisingly, the next day I stepped into the courtyard of my college building and I saw a group of people with dogs and another conversation started with inner me
Inner me: so you know how you said yesterday that you were ready to tackle your dog fears?
Me: yesss?
Inner me: well your prayers have been answered, the dogs out there is a starting point.
Me (laughing to myself): when I said I was ready, I meant I was ready to start thinking about how to tackle it, not like I was ready to go near a dog or touch a dog immediately. I haven’t touched a dog in over 20 years, you don’t expect me to go from thinking about it last night to doing it today.
Inner me: Well, it is now or never
This argument continued until I finally said okay, let me try. This is a season where I am deciding daily to live as fearlessly as possible and I guess this has to be dealt with too. I stepped into the courtyard and kept staring at the dogs so scared, till one of the carers saw me and encouraged me to come closer. After some going back and forth, I ended up kneeling by this beautiful white dog with my heart beating so fast, then I ran my hands down its back once and again and again and in that moment, I felt the fear leave. The moment was so emotional for me, that the carers and students around me volunteered to take my picture to remind me of the day I lost my fear of dogs.

I have since continued to progress in my courage to remain unafraid of dogs. I no longer run away when I see them and my heart does not beat as fast again, nor do I start thinking of dog bite when I see a dog. Some dogs look more ferocious than others and those still make me pause for a minute but then I remind myself, you are no longer afraid of dogs. I do not yet consider myself a dog lover and I don’t know if I would become one in the future, but I know that some months prior to this time, I would have said I was highly terrified of dogs, but today I can say I am no longer afraid of dogs and that feeling of not been bound by the fear of a thing, no matter how small or great can actually be more empowering than the feeling of liking that thing, which may later on lead to loving it, as is the case with my public speaking.

Different people have different fears and we may not be able to overcome every single thing we are afraid of but when the fear of a thing begins to hinder us from certain things or experiences, then it is probably time to think of it in terms of what you would gain if you lose that fear and not just how to like or love that thing. For example, if your fear of driving has put you in a situation where you have to be so dependent on others to take you around or you have to take public transport if no one is around to drive you, then maybe it is time to stop thinking about how you don’t like driving, how you are afraid of driving or how you can come to like driving and start to think about what you would gain by overcoming that fear of driving.

What are some of the fears you have? Can you identify the ones that have become a sort of hindrance or keep you from progressing? Can you think of what you are likely to gain by overcoming them? Then take a step, no matter how little towards overcoming that fear.