Welcome to the April 24th 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 high points of my week were two updates from some friends of mine.
On Thursday, one of my friends told me about a new development at his office.
They had been acquired by an American investment banking firm.
As a staff, he had shares in the company. The payout from the shares he held and the vesting period post-acquisition is good enough for him to retire.
My excitement for him was that he had told me in the past that he wanted to reduce the pace of his work life. He has a young family and I know him as someone who wants to invest his life and time in his family.
This event is definitely going to make this possible.
On Friday, two of my friends who lost their jobs during the Covid shakeup and had taken the plunge to start up a new business gave me cheery news.
After over 1 year of knocking at doors, they eventually got investors. They have now reached a stage where they can earn a salary.
I was so excited for them. I let them know that if they needed any assistance, they could holla at me.
One of them said, “we can’t pay”.
To which I responded, “for you guys, I’ll do free.”
I love the opportunity to help them make their vision come to life.
These two updates were huge for me.
I love it when my circle is prospering
Things I Learnt
1-A Faith Worth Dying For: I met up with our Ukrainians friends over the weekend. It was a mixed experience.
We were happy to catch up but uniquely felt their pain.
The area the father of the wife lives had been overrun by the Russians. Most of them living there are old and retired. Her dad is 80.
The prices of necessities had more than doubled. Most people were braving for a period of starvation.
Eventually, Russia brought humanitarian supplies in.
The next problem - people were refusing to take up the supplies.
Some were taking it but the sentiments are hot.
The wife said that during a conversation with a family member, the family member lamented that they were losing their country.
She responded to her that a country is not just a place - it leaves in the heart. And by loving God, you can carry the country wherever you go.
The family member screamed, "Without the love for country, there can be no true love for God."
It grieved my friend's heart.
She continues to pray.
She told us about Christians who continue to serve at the risk of their lives.
Some stayed back to try and help rescue people who want to leave the country. They drive them across roads without any protection.
Some of them have died while doing this.
Some stayed back to care for the old who need help - at the risk of their lives.
My friend was speaking with another Christian friend in Ukraine who was getting calls from people to leave Ukraine. She also had an aged parent in the country.
Eventually, she said she was staying - she couldn't let another person risk his/her life to care for her aged parent.
People show that their Christian faith is worth living and dying for.
2-When Work Requires Courage: I was speaking with a friend who is a Human Resource professional.
I asked him for his thoughts on a couple of things I was considering for my team.
He took the time to talk to me about some other similar experiences in other institutions.
One of the things we realized is that a lack of courage by leadership stalls the implementation of some of the best ideas for an organization.
He joked about how the COVID pandemic had forced many initiatives he had wanted to push in a previous company he worked with.
These would have been in place well before the pandemic if leadership had the right courage.
I left our conversation with a bigger need to show more courage at work.
Work requires true courage to succeed in making the right change.
Postscript
May you never run away from the courage God has given you to create the right change in the places God has planted you. 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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