Equipping young women professionals with young families to find fulfillment, contentment and joy as mothers and home makers without losing sight of who they are as women.

Volume 13, Issue 10: When God Gives You A Word

When God gives you a word, hang on to it. Travail for it. Pursue it. Persist in it.

How do you know that God has given you a word, a promise? I believe one way is He brings to your mind a portion of Scripture that aligns with what you are in need of. And then He gives you the interpretation for it, and its connection to your situation. He deposits something in your mind and spirit that you had not thought of before.

When God gives you a word, at first you are excited and pursue it with all you've got. Then time begins to lapse and you see nothing happening. You start wondering if that word was from the Lord at all. You think that maybe it was your production, that you made it up.

Other than time lapsing, you may even receive communication that those holding the keys to what you are in need of are not willing to give it to you, that they are pursuing other options. You may be promised to be updated in a week but no update is forthcoming weeks later, and you feel embarrassed to ask again.

But none of that fazes you. What you will notice when God gives you a word is that even when copious amounts of time lapse, you are at peace. You are not worried even when it seems all hope of its fruition is lost.

You will also find that when God gives you a word and it tarries and you try out other alternatives, you find that He does not give you success with the alternatives. You may find that you meet all the qualifications for the alternatives, and in some cases, your qualifications surpass what is required. But you still don't succeed.

When God gives you a word, nothing can stand in the way of its fulfillment. Not the passage of time, not your lack of the necessary qualifications, not the opposing wishes of those in charge. God can override protocols 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. Keep praying for it no matter what. Don't drop the ball just because it looks like nothing is happening. After all, faith is about believing for what has not materialized. When God gives you a word, don't give up on it unless He says so.

For His Glory,

Lillian Chebosi

Volume 13, Issue 09: He Avails Helpers

I recently found myself in a situation where I felt incompetent. As is my practice, I talk to myself and talk to God about stuff. When I got back home that evening, my self talk wound me in a place of acknowledging that I don't have to be good at everything in my profession. There are things I am excellent at that someone else is incompetent at. And there are people who are outstanding at things I am not good at.

On this evening, and while praying the next morning, I found that God had sent me help to ensure I had someone to take care of what I didn't know how to do, and didn't have the time to learn. This person had just joined the organization and I was in the process of onboarding her. Without my asking, she volunteered to take responsibility for the task.

Don't feel intimidated by other people's competence. And don't be discouraged by the realization of an aspect of your profession that is not your strong suit. Take pride in your strengths and continue to polish them. And with regards to your weaknesses, manage them and take advantage of the support from those who are strong at them. Don't miss out on the helpers God brings around you to make up for your inadequacies.

For His Glory,

Lillian Chebosi

Volume 13, Issue 08: Extravagant Restoration

Until yesterday, I had been praying for something a certain way. Then I learnt that someone had made an appeal for me, and it led to an immediate shift in my prayer. As I started praying again later that day, the Lord brought to my mind a portion of Scripture from the Old Testament. My heart is so stirred up by the story in the eighth chapter of the second book of Kings.

The story starts a couple of chapters before. There was a Shunnamite woman married to an older man. She had no children. She was very hospitable to a prophet of God whenever he was in town. She even had a room built and furnished for him on her roof for his use whenever he was in town. After some time the prophet prayed for her and the Lord blessed her with a son, who later died but was brought back to life by the prophet.

The portion of the story that influenced the shift in my prayer was a time when years before, the prophet had told the Shunamite woman to leave the country with her family to go live someplace else. God had ordered a famine in the land that was going to last for seven years. She and her family left and lived as aliens in a foreign land for seven years.

When the seven years were up and the famine over, the woman and her family went back to their country. She went to see the king about getting back her home and farm. She happened to arrive before the king just as Gehazi - prophet Elisha 's servant, was telling the king about the time Elisha had brought a boy back to life, who happened to be the Shunamite woman's son.

After hearing the full story from the woman, the king assigned a high official to take care of her, saying, "Make sure she gets everything back that's hers, plus all the profits from the farm from the time she left until now." Another version says "The king directed one of his officials to see that everything she had lost was restored to her, including the value of any crops that had been harvested during her absence."

The Scriptures present this woman as a well-off woman. She probably had the means to purchase a new parcel of land and make a home anywhere in the country. But she wanted what was hers before she left. She wasn't interested in starting over.

Not only did the king direct that her land and home be restored back to her, he also instructed that all the income that had been generated from her farm from the time she left the country until the present time be given to her. What an extravagant restoration!

It wasn't enough that she gets her farm and home back, God wanted her to also have all the income that had been generated from her land while she was gone. Our God is a God of more than enough. He set out to be extravagantly generous with the Shunamite woman's restoration. What a showcase of His glory!

People may restore to you the bare minimum of what belonged to you. But not our God. He is not only a God of restoration, he is an extravagant restorer. In this story, He undertook to restore everything that belonged to the Shunamite woman, and then some.

Wouldn't you want to ask God to assign a high official to see to it that something that was once yours is restored to you, and then some? Make your appeal to Him. May He blow your mind and give you a personal story that mirrors that of the Shunamite woman.

“When the king asked the woman, she told him [everything]. So the king appointed for her a certain high official, saying, “Restore everything that was hers, including all the produce of the field since the day that she left the land until now.”” ‭‭2 Kings‬ ‭8:6‬ ‭AMP‬‬.

For His Glory,

Lillian Chebosi

Volume 13, Issue 07: Poised Detachment

My most recent experience this month was unnerving. It left me wanting to escape to an attitude of being unbothered - to possess the ability to maintain a calm and unaffected demeanor in the presence of external disturbances. But I soon realized that I needed to do that in the right way.

Having been unsettled and disrupted yet again by someone offloading on me from one of their low moments, I realized that this was happening way too often for my liking. Seeing that I couldn't necessarily get away from them, I needed to once and for all establish boundaries for myself to ensure I don't continue being a victim of their unsettled disposition every now and then.

When I prayerfully considered embracing an unbothered demeanor, given that I was in a state of distress, my approach was selfish. I wanted to not care. But in no time, the Lord enlightened me to a better approach - to embrace an unbothered mindset that leads to compassion and empathy.

I want to no longer dread reading someone's disheartening messages or wondering what terrible things they wrote and sent to me then deleted before I could read them. Instead, I want to approach their disruptive messages in the right perspective of appreciating that it's about them, and their unresolved pain, not me. My head has always known that, but my heart has been having a hard time registering that lately. It's about time my heart got the memo.

With an unbothered mindset in my armor, when someone is fighting with themselves but expressing it to me, I would refuse to get caught up in the fight. It may seem like they are attacking me, but I should not be fooled. The fight has nothing to do with me. Instead, see their fight for what it really is, a plea to be helped with their burden and extend compassion and empathy to them. I can't do that if I get all tangled up in the fight and feeling hurt. I can only do that effectively when I know from deep down in my heart that the fight has nothing to do with me.

Have you ever found yourself in a place of needing to take cover by being unbothered? How should you carry yourself? I suggest you try to completely disengage yourself from the person's tantrums. Treat them well, don't talk behind their back and don't bother them. But most importantly, don't allow yourself to be bothered by them. Under no circumstances should we allow ourselves to be bothered by other people's tantrums.

However, we must appreciate that maintaining a state of equanimity can be challenging to live out consistently, especially in the face of various stressors and challenges. It often requires self-awareness, emotional regulation skills, and sometimes a shift in perspective. It's a gradual process of growth and development that takes time and practice to master.

For His Glory,

Lillian Chebosi

Volume 13, Issue 06: Harvesting Wisdom

I have learnt three key lessons so far this February. The first is not to take lightly what someone considers serious. The second one is not to sweat the small stuff. And the third one is to embrace the right posture of being unbothered.

When I was reflecting about my January, I had difficulty recollecting what the key lessons were for me in the month. I now realize that was the case because I was trying too hard. The truth is, lessons aren't that hard to be recognized, because most lessons come about from experiences.

One of my experiences in the month of January was being invited to a public religious ceremony. I learnt that as much as I value how I spend my down time, I also value people who extend kindness to me even when it's an invitation to an activity I would never consider being a part of.

Sometimes people invite us to activities and events that are important to them. In some cases they do it in order for them to have company, and sometimes they do it to afford the invitees an opportunity to partake of something special with them. I learnt to admit that I will not always be interested in or excited about all the invitations I receive, but for the sake of the relationship I have with the person extending me the invitation, I would consider going in their honour.

The other experience that stood out for me last month was an invitation I received to have coffee with a colleague and her family. She treated my fellow foreign colleague and I to a hearty meal in the confines of her warm cozy home, by all means my cup of tea. I felt so cared for that afternoon. I felt at home. It felt as if I were back home, visiting with friends and family.

Another experience that warmed my heart last month was when a colleague having noticed that I was returning a large sauce pan to the office kitchen on a Monday morning, she didn't say anything but the next day she brought me two new sauce pans from her house for my use at my hotel apartment for the remainder of my stay. I thought that was very caring and thoughtful of her.

From these two experiences, I learnt the importance of going out of my way to extend kindness and hospitality to people, especially when I don't have to. I learnt that I should make it a habit to every now and then extend hospitality to someone, in the comfort of my home. I also learnt the value of paying attention to the people around me and meeting their needs without their asking.

I endeavor to take these lessons back home with me and act on them. I am also geared up to keep a keen eye on the lessons that my experiences will keep bringing my way this year. I encourage you to do the same.

For His Glory,

Lillian Chebosi