Welcome to the October 9th edition of Faith & Life Lessons.
You will see this email full of tidbits from my week. My goal is simple. I hope that from how I live my life, you can find a thing or two that helps you as you try to live a life that matters. I am always trying to do one thing - make Christ-focused decisions in love, work, and life. And this was my week.
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The Story of My Week
The first few days of the week were the first holiday we have taken as a family since we moved to Senegal.
We didn't do anything during the long holidays as we were still settling down.
The mid-term holidays provided an opportunity to take a quick holiday without disturbing school studies.
We took a 1.5-hour drive out of the city to a beachfront hotel.
I discovered them via a google maps search last year.
A few reviews later, and backed with a friendly price per night, I jumped on them.
It was only when we got there that we discovered it was better than I initially thought.
One of the reasons why we opted for a hotel and not an Airbnb was based on advice from some family friends.
They had gone for a short rest getaway and taken up an Airbnb. Doing the cooking made it an unrestful getaway.
Their advice? If it's short and the rest is what you want, get a hotel.
And that's what we did.
What we didn't know was that the hotel we stayed at did not need us to buy our meals.
The cost of the hotel came with three buffet meals, an evening snack and an all-access pass to get as many soft drinks as we needed throughout our stay.
Staying in the hotel also highlighted how much wonders countryside air can do to one's health.
We left the city with some members of the family fighting sneezes and runny noses. 48 hours later, these had stopped.
Thank you, Jesus, for the short rest.
Things I Learnt
1-Becoming the Answer in Prayers: One of the practices I developed over the years during my prayer times is to listen to the answers that God is bringing to the problems I am bringing.
I know what most of us have been told is to put the problems at the feet of God during prayer and just leave it there.
While it's an interesting metaphor, it minimizes the full value of the collaborative role we have in our relationship with God.
I believe that because I am God's hands and feet on the earth, I may even have a part to play in solving my problems.
And that is why I listen for ideas that God will drop at me when I drop the problems at His feet.
I had a bit of that happen during the week as I was "dropping" a couple of professional and personal issues at His feet.
He gave me ideas to pursue.
And it is my confidence that He will bless those ideas.
But I have to go out and execute them.
My role may be less than 1%. Notwithstanding, I have to do it.
My less than 1% becomes my part in being part of the answer to my prayers.
2-In the Multitude of Counsel: I was trying to work on something during the week. I kept getting stuck.
I spent about 1 hour on the phone with a more experienced friend of mine running through the matter.
I came out of the call with a clear solution to work with.
I also came out with something else - having the right support structure can help break through long-standing barriers.
Another thing popped up in my mind.
Don't always expect higher-value relationships to come free.
The friend I referred to - the first time we spoke, I had to pay for his time.
I still pay for his time now and again but I get more of his time than I pay for.
I don't minimize the value of his wisdom by assuming I have to get it free every time.
I commit to paying for it.
And this deepens our friendship because he knows I value what he brings to the table.
By the way, as I'm planning for the new year and years ahead, I know that I will need to pay for some additional relationships.
Relationships that would be essential for my growth and progress.
Postscript
May you never devalue the relationships that God has brought into your world to make you better by giving nothing of value to them. May you show respect for them by giving value to them. Amen
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Tola - The Everyday Disciple
I help Christians like you who want to live intentional lives incorporate their faith into everyday life so they can make Christ focused decisions in all areas of life and truly live to make an impact and make God happy.
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