Errors and failures

Growing up as a rural folk was one of the moments I will always treasure because it was both great and amazing. It was the serene environment that I most liked. It was green, quite and life was like a routine. Rural areas are different from the capitals where people are in a hurry, careless about their neighbors and life is unpredictable. Rural areas is where you just hear the same radio station tuned on by almost everyone, the only noise is from birds, cattle and babies crying. Life here is a routine; you can almost predict how your day will be. Wake up in the morning, milk the cows, feed them, walk to the fields, in the noon you are back home, water the cows, take lunch and walk back to the fields before milking them in the evening. But all these are done daily perhaps with the exception of Sundays which are the Sabbath days. People take rest and gather in houses of worship before meeting in shopping centers and markets to catch up with others. This is completely different from towns. You can hardly predict how your day will be. But life in rural areas is just that simple and fantastic.

The other day when I thought of such life I told myself I really miss such a life. I would like to life in such a place. But then just before I entertained such a thought I realized something else that almost made me shoot down such an idea. You see mummy and daddy committed almost everything they earned to send their son to school that in the future I may not live in such a rural environment which is characterized by poverty and under development. I wondered what would the villagers’ think of me who have attended university go back and settle down in the village. It is unheard of. But wait a minute, if I will do a mistake, then I just thought of the many other mistakes and errors that I have made in the past. Some which were grievous.  Some I may have considered them greater than this.

As a young boy in primary school I dreamt and hoped that I would score at least 400+ marks in my final primary school exam so that I may secure a place in a national school. And it was not me alone who hoped the same, my parents, teachers and relatives too waited for that. I was just a bright boy. But I failed to score. I score slightly lower marks and did not earn a place in a national school. I was however admitted in a relatively good school, which was also an academic giant. Here I studied so hard and smart than everyone again was sure that I would score straight A’s. Surly I did not disappoint. I could easily have repeated the same in the final exam but again I missed the straight A. just missed with a point. It was disappointing to me. Twice I have missed the mark. Then I made one more mistake. Having such a good grade I would simply have settled for a prestigious course in an engineering field of my choice of a medical field. Instead for me I settled for one which was relatively unknown and new that is what I am pursuing even today Business Information Technology. It was an error which no one thought I would make.

However at this moment I need put a disclaimer that I need not defend my choices. For time will tell if I failed or achieve. But as I pen this down so that you can read it online, I wonder of the many times we thought we have missed the mark and made errors in life. You know all of us are prone to making mistake that do not prevent us from missing targets. Think of a business person who targets to make a profit for a year but ends up making huge losses. What of a priest who targets to have grown his congregation to a certain number by the end of the year by reaching out to lost souls and sheep but fails even to add a few more people at the end of the year? Or what of a student who fails to achieve a target they set at the end of the term. A young man hopes to have married before an age but he has not before then since his fiancée has left him. Or take an example of a driver who wants to make a number of trips per day to earn more but he does not meet the target.  I would add more and more examples of such situations which I think we can all identify with.

As I think of such situations a case study comes to mind of Columbus. Christopher Columbus was on a mission to find a shorter trade route to India, but he missed it by over nine thousand miles. Nine thousand miles! However, that failure put a spotlight on new lands that motivated future explorers, attracted settlers, and eventually resulted in the creation of great nations. It was one of history’s biggest blunders.  I want to help you understand that there is no magnitude of an error of failure you cannot recover from to be heroes like Columbus is in America. In fact he is the only other hero who has a national holiday together with martin Luther king Jr. other national heroes in America are celebrated on one day but he is celebrated on his own day dedicated to him only. Yet this happens despite the fact that he was a victim of failure. He made an error which is beyond the expected margin. It was far off. The path that he proposed to India was too long by about 9, 000 miles. I cannot imagine how they honor such a failure.  Sometimes you have to make an error and aim again if there is a second chance but if there is none then move on. Try something new. Ultimately you will achieve. You should not fear trying making a mistake in parenting, studies, business and financial management and spiritually because you will fail. Know for sure that we will actually cheer you up when you fall, dust yourself and move on. Failure is just something that is meant that if it occurs then we recover from it and move on. It’s not sealed in you.

It should not that lower your self-esteem, erode our faith, and reduce our hope or think it’s where we were meant to be. Do not fear failing because if you do then you will never try. But if you fail evaluate where you went wrong and seek to revise this. The next mistake you make could actually to your next time we honor you.

Even the bible records of such instances of men of faith who failed but woke up and moved on. Abraham the father of faith, he miserably failed but choosing to use a shortcut to establish a family using Hagger who was his slave girl. Yes he did against God that his descendants would be from his own body. Though God was not pleased he was gracious to him and a chance was presented to him to mend his ways and thus today he is still the father of faith and father of the Jews. Another hero was David. He did commit adultery. He sinned against God. But he was restored because he chooses to repent and still pursue God. He is still the man after God’s own heart. It is unimaginable that you would think that you have fallen beyond restoration. Let not failures label you because you will doubt what your ability is that the Lord has granted to you. Failures are not supposed to tell us what we have not and what we cannot do. Appreciate the fact that you made mistake. Do not defend it. Cheer up friend you made a mistake but we celebrate you.

DEALING WITH ‘BARRENNESS’ IN LIFE

Some of the most intriguing stories of all time are those that are associated with what we may refer to as ‘first ladies of faith’. By this I mean the lives of Sarah, Rebecca and Rachael. They are all dramatic and interesting to learn from. For once I do not know the reason why God would withhold them from giving birth. Sarah was ninety nine years when she supernaturally conceived and gave birth to a son that the lord used to make a people for himself. God fulfilled his promise to her of having a son when she was too old to bear. Rebecca did not give birth to her twins until she was married for twenty years. On the other hand Rachael’s womb had been closed by God for some time until later and she was unable to have a baby while her elder sister had many of her own. All these ladies are familiar to us because they are from a family of Abraham who is referred to as the father of faith. Despite that their husbands were men of faith; they struggled with infertility for better parts of their youth where the medical personnel will remind us it’s the best time for reproduction. That notwithstanding still God closed their wombs.

However their story should bring us to the recognition of the fact that there is hope after all in life. Though it seems that God has not opened a door for us as at the moment, he will surely open one for us. Their story is one which we can identify with. To a greater extent their ‘unproductivity’ condition is our condition. Their struggle is our struggle. And our struggle is their struggle. Sometimes we move through life with many questions, not questions but complain of why God seems to have opened ‘the wombs’ of some people that they seem to be doing well than we are. They have just affinity for more wealth, favor, power, are more happy than we are, are progressing in their career than were are or they have better children who are obedient than ours. The matters are made more badly when we realize that we are doing more than they are. We go to work earlier than them, we pray than them, we are much diligent at work than them and we sleep later than them. For this all we wonder why God would choose to bless some and not others. Why would he choose them and not us?

Perhaps we will never be close to answering some of those questions because those are the deeds of God. It is his way of doing things because our ways is neither his ways nor his thoughts our thoughts. And though we are justified to complain when our business is having a downward acceleration while our friends is doing better or when we are stagnant in our finances we must remember that for once God works without consulting us. Our lives are in his hands. But I must assure you that he knows the time when he will open ‘our wombs’ and refreshments will come to us. He understands when they will stop scorning us because we do not have ‘sons or daughters’. It’s all in his good plan. We can rest assured that we are in his agenda and calendar. He knows that we ought to be productive but we are not. At least for now, but at the fullness of time we will and DOTS WILL START JOINING.

God is surely leading us to fruition. We have to believe that he will not let us remain always as trodden people or a people without hope. He cannot start a work that he cannot bring to accomplishment. You are the work of his hands. One he has started and he is determined that he sees you complete in his glory both now and in future. We just need to remain steadfast in hope and faith not anxious or troubled. Let your faith not fail you before he comes to bless you because he is about to. Just a little more patience. Just a few more days and he will come in for you. But as you wait on him, be diligent in your work. Be faithful with what you are doing now. Yes, set you gaze directly ahead of you. Say it with me and mean it: I know the lord is on my side and he will remember me even after this storm. Even if it’s too fierce and I do not know where it came from and where its taking me to I know this is in the plan of God. So help me God to wait on your promises. I know I will be surely productive in life. I know my season of hope is coming. Yes, I will not remain barren again in life. Because he has opened my womb.

And if you are doing well remember its God who gives the power to make wealth and be productive in life. Be grateful to him. Be a good steward of what he has placed in your hands. Do not scorn those that do not seem to have. Be happy that their day of blessing is coming and they will receive a full measure of their blessings not to compete with us but that they too may enjoy as we are too.

And now as I conclude this piece, those whom God have not endowed please cheer up because you have known that God id joining dots for you in your life. Do not remain gloomy again. In the due course of time all of us will receive our own sons’ wheat her in old age or now. At the appointed time we will. He will be gracious to us all at the very time he has set in his calendar to bless us. He will remember you. Common cheer up its about your time to receive your bundles of joy from God. A portion of your blessing, of your promotion, of good health and a happy family. I trust now I have helped you join that dot on why we are sometimes unproductive while others seem to be more productive than we are. The “infertility” issue in life.

WITHIN OUR REACH.

You see, men for thousands of years walked across the Sahara desert and other deserts totally unaware of what lay under their feet. And as they wandered in those trackless wastelands, they were oblivious of the facts that under their feet were ‘golden deposits’ which were rare on the surface of the earth. The deserts where most oil deposits are found in North Africa and Middle East have been in existence for at least some centuries. The inhabitants who were mainly nomads considered the large dry areas to be of no great economic use except perhaps for cattle keeping though not so much profitable. As men walked across these deserts they never were able recognize of the fact that perhaps what would change their life economically was right there with them.

To some extent, technological levels limited them. It would not allow them to make such assumptions as existence of oil and its use. Prop ably there were no heavy machines to be driven by the oil. I do not blame them for that but it does not make us wish away the fact that oil was just below their feet and the surface. But as I think of this time that man lived veiled of the great opportunity, I just lament that they lost too much. Some died poor, some died still crossing the deserts with less water and food. I must however put a disclaimer at this point that I am not worried about them but about us in our generation.

I always wonder do we still miss the opportunity as they did. Are we still walking with our own feet on what would change our economic, social, and economic or education status? Wait a minute I wish to restate the questions. Am I walking in familiar grounds unknown to me that this would change my fortunes? Are there signs that are i too walking on oil deposits? Well, I do not know but after you read this then you will realize if it’s so. But I strongly suspect you will find it to be so. You see this article and the whole blog is to help you join the dots.

Most times, life is just what we want it to be. And to be more specific most often, life is just what we wish to see it to be. It’s not that what we view it as. I mean the sophsticated and complicated thing we think it is. Real life is just in our eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin. It’s on what we can see, hear, smell and taste and touch. It never that hard. The opportunities to earn money, build a happy family, live happy life and even live with good friends are a close as we would probably think and image. It is just near us to sound to be true. It’s just a distance within reach. But unfortunately we never seem to grasp this simple truth. Just as I was oblivious to the desert dwellers that below their feet was oil.

Behold we think and say what I can see with my naked eyes, hear with my ears and smell with my nose is never too good and is not what things ought to be. Fueled by the new philosophies of ‘thinking out of the box’ and such other charismatic sayings that urge us to think really hard, we have no clue that our own environment that we live in would ever be important to us. Thus we will only think of the sand and its content and composition but not beyond its depth. Sand is just sand and nothing more. It’s for building and construction. We are simply wishing to find other uses of sand beyond that but we fail to scope it and expose the resources that it hides from us. We concentrate on its scientific analysis and forget that other underlying part where it rest.

I challenge us to be critical thinkers just applying a few logic to what we know because worthy opportunities are within us. Do not be ignorant or shallow sighted to think that too must sophistication is what brings the most brilliant opportunity. No this is not the truth. There is nothing that is ‘hidden’. It’s just that the sand reduces our ability to see beyond the surface where good tidings lie. As you remove it then unbelievably the precious oil will be in sight. In fact these ideas are in abundant. Where we live, where we sleep and among people who we live with. They are in things we come across each day as we work. They are in things we just think about but reject them as no super ideas.

This dot is to emphasize this simple fact yet which we easily ignore. It just import that you just look around and see all the opportunities that are around you. They may not be in things that you so much esteem but just a little scratch on the surface will do a miracle. It will be a Eureka moment of our life. It will transform your lifestyle and that of the society. Believe me what is out our reach with our physical organs, is simply supernatural. But in that awkward place you reside will the magnificent idea you have been looking up to will it be found. Now you see I have told you. See if what I assumed is true.

Cheers because you can now do it with what you have.