Volume 13, Issue 17: Define Your Success This Season

How do you define success in this season of your life? I have found that as seasons of life change and we encounter unfamiliar territories, we run into the risk of feeling we are failing. If for instance your definition of success is tied to your job, how do you define success when you are in between jobs, or when you retire? If your definition of success is tied to being a caregiver, how do you define success when you become an empty nester?

Each of us has an overall definition of success. But life comes with seasons, and in each season, we have different things playing out in our lives. We need to develop a list of how we define success in each season of life. Whether there's one marker of success or several, you should be able to look at your list and know immediately if you are doing the things that matter in the season you are in.

Most of the past year was a very demanding season for me professionally. My definition of success in that season was ensuring a successful project and office closeout. It was profoundly important to me that I finish well, and that I help my office and the projects that I supported wrap up well.

Shortly after that, I went into another season where I lived and worked abroad. That was a unique season in my life in every sense. In that season, my definition of success was maintaining the wellbeing of my family back home through daily connections. My other definition of success at that time was putting my best foot forward at the office and showing up well for the people I worked with. Success to me also meant maintaining my daily habits in the absence of accountability structures.

And now back home from abroad, my definition of success in this initial period of being back home has been remaining vigilant in my professional life in the transition phase that I am in, and being present with my family and efficient in homemaking. I know I am doing well, but I felt the need to develop success markers to help me stay aligned to showing up well.

Last evening as I was reflecting on this, I asked myself this question. "What is the one thing that if I did would make me feel successful this season?" My answer was "Leaving my bedroom by 7.00am every morning and returning to my bedroom by 7.00pm every evening would make me feel successful."

I am sticker for keeping time. The second phase of the morning routines starts at 7am but lately, I have been running late, sometimes by close to an hour. I have also been stretching my 8pm bedtime by equal measure. As such, I have been feeling that I am not operating at my optimal levels. I feel rushed and undone. I feel that I am not doing all the things I should be doing.

Reading a post from the famous coach Valorie Burton yesterday, I have learnt that if we don't define success for ourselves, we'll unintentionally embrace a vague definition of success that we never quite live up to. So be sure to define what success looks like to you in the season you are in currently.

For His Glory,

Lillian Chebosi

Volume 13, Issue 16: Wait Well

No Season is wasted. God uses every season for our good and for His glory. Even a season of waiting can be beautiful and meaningful. When you release your care to the Lord, you wait with ease. The Lord is faithful to occupy your waiting season with meaningful activities and gladness of heart.

Are in in between jobs, trusting for a job after your last one ended? Wait well. Are you waiting to start a business, or for your business to hit it off? Wait well. Are you waiting for a spouse or for a child or for the restoration of a relationship or situation? Wait well. Are you waiting for something to come about or for something to turn around? Wait well.

How do you wait well? By surrendering your care to the Lord. When you really give your care to the Lord, you no longer carry it. It ceases to be your burden. As such, you do not worry about it. You are not impatient, and you are not concerned about how long it would take. You are just there, happily going on with the business of living as you wait for the fulfillment of your heart's desire.

However, please note that waiting well doesn't hasten God. It makes life beautiful for us. We don't make ourselves wait well to manipulate God to act quickly. We wait well because it's good for us, it's the right thing to do, and it honours God. Besides, God cannot be manipulated. He is God, Sovereign above all. He does things in His time, which always turn out to be perfect timing.

You do yourself a disservice when you let your season of waiting rearrange your demeanor and put you in a frenzy. Do yourself a favour and cast your care to the Lord and wait well in your season of waiting.

For His Glory,

Lillian Chebosi

Volume 13, Issue 15: True To Yourself

I liken living in a family to living in a community, even if your home life includes just one or two or three other people. You may be the clean and organized type, or the getting things done and thoughtful type in your family. It's unrealistic to expect your family members to be just like you.

Expecting your community to mirror your living habits is setting yourself up for disappointment. I reckon the best you should do is communicate your expectations as clearly as possible then leave it up to your community to choose to live up to them or not.

Regardless of how they choose to carry themselves, you have only yourself to live up to your standards. Purpose to do your best even when your community chooses to just get by without much thought to being considerate with shared spaces and responsibilities.

More importantly, keep a check on your attitude. Be careful to not focus on your community's "deficiencies" and be upset by them. Happily maintain the space as you like it and enjoy your life. After all, some straightening up or cleaning up after someone takes just a few seconds or minutes. It's not worth rearranging your disposition.

The same attitude applies to how we respond to people's behavior. I like how James Clear put it in a recent post. "I can't control the other person's behavior, but I can control my response. Their actions may be rude or unacceptable, but I still want my response to be measured and thoughtful. Even if they aren't doing what is right, I still want to make sure I'm doing what is right."

For His Glory,

Lillian Chebosi

Volume 13, Issue 14: When God Gives You A Word Part IV

This is a follow-on article to a prior week's post. Please read "When God Gives You A Word" and "When God Gives You A Word Part II" and "When God Gives You A Word Part III" then come back to this post. In that first post of the series, we spoke about how you know that God has given you a word, what happens in many cases and what to do. In this post, we are highlighting the last of five examples from Scripture of when God gave a word.

5. God's Word for the Children of Israel (Genesis 13:14-16; 17:7-8; Exodus 1)

God gave his word to Abraham that his descendants would live in Canaan. And he promised Jacob as he went into Egypt that he would bring him and his descendants back to the land of Canaan. A lot of time passed, and Pharaoh even tried to eliminate the children of Israel by ordering the killing of the boy child. The midwives disobeyed Pharaoh's order to kill the boys at birth and God saw to it that their numbers continued to multiply tremendously. God then raised up Moses to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt.

Pharaoh refused to let them go despite several miraculous signs from God. And even when he finally let them go after the death of all Eqyptian first borns, he changed his mind and went after them to get them back. The children of Israel faced the Red Sea, and the Jordan, and war from their enemies. There seemed to be no way through to the promised land.

Despite all the obstacles that the children of Israel faced, God made a way. He made a passage through the Red Sea and later through the Jordan river and the children of Israel walked on dry land. He drowned Pharaoh's army in the Red Sea. And he slew their enemies in battles. They could have died of thirst and hunger on the way but he provided food and water in the wilderness until they made it home. Until He fulfilled His word.

God fulfilled his word for the Children of Israel. When God gives us a word, nothing can stand in the way of its fulfillment. Not the passage of time. Not mischief. Not obstacles. God is able to make a way where there is no way to bring to fruition what He has spoken to you.

When God gives you a word, hold on to it, travail for it, pursue it, persist in it and keep praying for it. Refuse to drop the ball just because it looks like nothing is happening. When God gives you a word, don't give up on it unless He says so.

As I conclude this series, could you think of examples of when God gave you or someone you know a word and what transpired?

For His Glory,

Lillian Chebosi

Volume 13, Issue 13: When God Gives You A Word Part III

This is a follow-on article to a prior post. Please read "When God Gives You A Word" and "When God Gives You A Word Part II" then come back to this post. In the first post, we spoke about how you know that God has given you a word, what happens in many cases and what to do. In this post, we are highlighting the third and fourth of five examples from Scripture of when God gave a Word.

3. God's Word for the Shunamite woman (2 Kings 4:8-37)

In this story we see that nothing can hinder the fulfillment of God's word. We are introduced to the Shunamite woman. At the point of her encounter with the man of God, she was a wealthy woman and her husband was an old man. This is the same woman I wrote about in the "Extravagant Restoration" post.

Through prophet Elisha, God promised the Shunamite woman a son. She didn't believe it was possible for her to receive such a blessing. So she brushed it off, telling the man of God not to raise her hopes in vain. But God's word came to pass and she bore a son a year later.

However a few years later, tragedy struck and her son fell ill and died. But God had given her a word. She knew this son wasn't her own production but the doing of the Lord. So she refused to resign her fate and set out in pursuit of the restoration of what God had given her. Elisha prayed and her son was brought back to life.

4. God's Word to Zechariah (Luke 1:5-25)

God gave his word to Zechariah through Angel Gabriel while he was in the sanctuary of the Lord burning incense. God promised to give him and his wife Elizabeth a son who would be great in the eyes of God, dedicated to the service of God from birth. The child's life's purpose would be to prepare the people of Israel for the coming of the Lord Jesus.

However, Zechariah doubted the fulfillment of the word since both he and his wife were well advanced in years. Because of his unbelief, he was made mute until the child was born. But his unbelief did not keep God from fulfilling his word at the appointed time.

When Zechariah's week of service in the temple was over, he returned home. Soon afterwards his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and later bore a son whom they named John, and everyone rejoiced with them.

God fulfilled his word to the Shunamite woman and to Zechariah. When God gives us a word, nothing can stand in the way of its fulfillment. Not our doubt or unbelief or age. Not even death. Just like Zechariah and Elizabeth were too old to bear children, the Shunamite woman's husband was an old man. But their old age and barrenness did not keep God from fulfilling his word to them.

God is able to override your disqualification and unbelief to bring to fruition what He has spoken to you. When God gives you a word, hold on to it, travail for it, pursue it, persist in it and keep praying for it. Believe the word of God even when it seems impossible given your lack of prerequisite qualifications.

For His Glory,

Lillian Chebosi