Happy Birthday to me!-Birthday reflections.

I hardly remember people’s birthday. So, I don’t expect gifts on mine. (Laughs) don’t mind me. I laugh at my self sometimes. I hope you aren’t mad at that. Yes! Today is my birthday. And I rejoice… Come to think of it. I have been so favored. I appreciate the grace that has brought me thus far. I acknowledge that I was not smarter, better or stronger. It was the Grace of God that came to me in my lowest estate. It was because there was a good God somewhere. He is the one who sees. He saw me just like Hagar the mother of Ishmael, the maid of Sarah had recalled: “the God who sees…” God saw me where I was; there I was lying down on my back, so weak and helpless. He saw my frail body dying. He saw me-a young man, He saw one nobody, one helpless man whose heart was crying for help. When He saw the “sincerity” of my struggles and the reaction of men based on their heart that is desperately wicked; He had mercy. I was struggling and He has decided to have mercy on me. I understand that this is not fair because there are some other people who have been more diligent, faithful than me. They are doing much more. I figured that It’s not in the doing but the in His Grace. I am just a product of mercy and grace. And that is the only thing that has distinguished my life from others. My joy and boast is therefore in the Lord. In points of fact, the Lord loves me in spites of me. He chose to preserve my soul to see today…And I say thank you Lord Jesus; thank you sweet Holy Spirit. I thank you Lord God. All the glory must be to you oh my Father, my friend and my God. I just wonder where I would have been without you…probably missing, dead and lost! But lo! I was found by Grace and Truth. I’ve been rescued by Truth.
I’ve been talking about my God for some time. Do I need to introduce my own God? Because I figured that there are several kinds of gods these days. And North America and Africans can boast of million gods. My God is the God of Heaven and Earth who sent Jesus to this World to die for the sins of men over 2000 years ago…As I rolled back in my mind all that I have been through and who I have come across. I remember you who are reading these lines. You are most precious to me than anyone. Why? -Because you appreciate me and my thoughts enough to read my works. Although, I may never know you intimately; I may never have been so close to you. I may not have understood your struggles. I may no longer be a part of your life; I may have fallen from among your friends, old or new. I may have been dropped from the list of your favorite friends. I may just be your acquaintance. It doesn’t matter. I appreciate the fact that you are here.
As I clocked another year today; I have decided to take an inventory of my life. In taking stock, I realized how I have really changed over the years. Some of you can confirm this. [Laughs] Somehow, some of these changes were not good enough for some people. [Oh! Me! How I can be so weird?] Sorry, they were good for me. They were changes that have come with a price. Most of them were not without tears. Somehow, the tears were not only found in my own eyes but in the eyes of my families. Although, the power of my decisions may have brought tears to the eyes of others; they have brought more than that to mine. In retrospect, it has been worth it in all. So far, I have nothing to regret... I give God all the glory for that. Even my mistakes are becoming more of miracles in guise. I have unavoidably lost good friends. I have unexpectedly found greater friends. I have been despised, I have been tolerated but I have also been more celebrated. It’s true that families have no choice. They are destined to remain as a part of you. I have realized that your true friends will still stay with you come what may… just as Ticks fall off the cattle’s back on fields; there will be some displacement of some relationships. Success and failure have a way of redefining us. For me, that has happened and it is happening daily. Successes have a way of shrinking or enlarging our circle of friends. Those who are not meant to be in your life will leave you whether you like it or not. Hmn …it’s so sad to lose people right? -Especially if you are like me, who believe in relationships…how I love to keep my friends both old and new. Most of the times, I keep them in my heart more than they can ever imagine. I hardly forget people. Not even their simple deeds. They are all in my heart more than on my lips. Somehow, I realized that some friends love to be kept on the lips through lies and flattery. Too bad, I am not good at that.
As I flipped back in my mind to my past; I think its okay to say happy birthday to me. Whew! It’s been a very long drive here. Wait. Just before you think I am trying to feel cool with myself; I have not yet arrived. But I am glad I am on the right path. Sometimes, the joy that comes from realizing that one is pursuing a right course in itself can be as satisfying as having reached the goal indeed… I am always stretching, moving, aspiring to be better than where you saw me yesterday. I daresay that i have been shaped by my family and friends. My mum has played a very great role. My wife took over from her. And she is playing her own role already. My siblings have taught me to strive so that we can all break down the limitations together. You will never believe this: that those who dislike me most have even taught me more lessons than those who love me. They taught me humility, to rethink my actions, to be more careful with my next decisions, to be focused (perhaps they may change their mind about me), they taught me to be diligent. And above all, they have taught me to chant the lines of an animated cartoon character in Lion King- Simba- “Acuna matata”.it means don’t worry for the rest of your days…So, according to that African proverb that: it takes a whole community to raise a child indeed. Although, 31st August is my birth date; I am not freaked by it. I have never been a birthday person. It’s not in my culture to celebrate my birthdays. Rather I celebrate projects. I try to paint a beautiful artwork, write a book, shoot a video, get a manuscript published or even join some other people on their projects. Let’s push it to completion. For this year’s birthday, I have chosen to simply blog this long entry.
For me, life has been in multiples. I have been writing, speaking and studying for some time. Recently I got married. I have more responsibilities. In a way, my life has been so full of activities as usual. To me; life is like living in different multiple worlds at the same time. Words are not enough to describe them all. We are juggling several balls together at the same time. If you have been there, you will realize how it can be so funny. People exit and enter into these multiple worlds like they are moving in and out of their bed to washroom or from their bedroom to their kitchen, or living room. And then they rush to school, enter their classroom from where they end up in all kinds of rooms! It’s like travelling… I understand that we often experience the same things, issues, challenges. We all aspire to be better, to become successful, and to be significant and great. We are sometimes challenged by the same things. These provocations of our souls, these doubts, these challenges are all tools with which we are shaped for greatness. I daresay that you are going to get there if you stay on course. Therefore, don’t worry concerning the confusion, or the complexities of your life. As much as you can, try to appreciate diversity, embrace tolerance, avoid factions. Just believe in the commonality of man all over the world... we are all united, divided souls…we are united by the same mystery of death, challenged by the world poverty and the imbalance of world’s wealth distribution. We are faced by the same weather and climate depending on where you live, how you feel and what you see. We're like a unity of spirit. We are alliance of one thing. At the same time, we are somewhat different. We are all unique. We are combination of more than one soul, we all merged into one. We are more than one divided souls. We are never divided but by our interests, race, culture, environment and destinations. Nevertheless, we are connected by destiny.