That Thing That Niggles Me…

September 27, 2015September 27, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha39 Comments

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Must Not Fail.”

The fear of failure when it comes to the aspects of life’s material wants has ceased to bother me, because I have really come to realize that we can exist on far less than we tend to surround ourselves with.

I literately and completely believe in the word of God in Ezekiel 34 v 26: that says: I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing. I will send showers in season; showers of blessing.

I have seen this proven true time and time again in my life even when I neither earned it nor deserved it.

I know that as long as life exists that hope exists. That faith and perseverance will sustain me.

It is always wise to keep in mind that failure is only a setback and not the end of the street. It is an invitation to learn from, to grow from and an opportunity to start again.

However, as a mother blessed with lovely children, there is a fear that niggles my heart each day and that is the fear in my ability to do a good job in raising my children.

With the amount of corrosive erosion in human ethics and values, I am concerned and wonder if I am doing enough to raise upright children who will be blessings to their generation. Therefore, I must continue to try.

On a personal note, I live with the fear of failing as a Christian in the true sense of the word. Not the picture of me that the World sees through the acts of Earthly Godliness but the intrinsic me that no one else is privy to.

I however remind myself that it is only by the Grace of God that I am redeemed and not by the arm of my flesh.

These two thoughts drive me everyday and if I do not fail in these two things, then I must count myself as extremely successful.

Let us not fail to remember that success is relative. What count’s as success for me, may be viewed as idiosyncratic nonsense to another.

Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

Devotions · Hope · Inspiration - Motivation · Life

Let us PRAY…

September 20, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha17 Comments

We thank you Lord for days and times such as these ones;

For your constant shield through life’s challenges.

You raise us, from deep places of despair, doubt and regret;

To higher grounds of Faith, Grace and Hope.

From places of discontentment;

To the overflow of fulfillment.

May our tedious tests become uplifting testimonies.

May the meditation of our hearts and mouths;

Be acceptable before you Lord.

May your blessings that come from the Deep and the Four winds;

Be ours today and always.

Amen.

Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

Inspiration - Motivation

From pain to prayer…

July 27, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha21 Comments

What do you do, when each day seems like a struggle?
What do you do, when you are weary?
What do you do, when you are depressed?
When you are feeling ugly with negative emotions?
And everything around you seems to conspire to make it worse?

What do you do?
When the internal turmoils seems as if they will eat you up alive, from within?
What do you do when the anguish of your pain makes your eyes turn red?
And you feel like having a tiny switch button that you can turn on and take it all away?
So that you can experience blissful silence,
All your blues taken away.

Your vitriolic pain, your shame, your ugliness, your addiction, your anger, your depression, your fear, your bitterness, your mental anguish, your lack….,
All taken away at the flick of a button.

Your family have failed,
Your friends have failed,
The system has failed,
It all doesn’t seem right,
No human love seems enough,
To erase how you feel. That addiction has you in a choke hold, But you lack the will to stop,
That abusive relationship is killing you,
But stay in it you must,
No lover of yours, can fill the empty void inside you,

No booze, no drugs, no sex, no form of addiction, seems to help you out of the rabbit hole,
Hurt and pain of feeling lost are your steady companion,
Your grief hanging like a heavy cloak,
On your bowed shoulders from dawn to dusk,
Further pulling you down.

Yet you wear your smile,
Hiding your struggles behind the mask of your face,
Which is falsified like a clay cast,
You are trying to be strong,
Pretending to be strong,
Losing the essence of your authentic self, as each day goes along,
Pervaded by the feeling that you are not enough,
And that you can never be enough.

You float like a listless buoy, cast on roiling seas,
BECAUSE you seek for constant validation of fellow man,
Forgetting that he or she is equally fallible,
A mere human like you,
Bogged down by his/her own struggles, inner turmoils and pain,
Who cannot endorse neither the wind, nor the dust they were made of.

Ponder on the courage that you have to get up everyday.
The courage to face that job, to shoulder that pain, the hurt, the hunger, the loneliness, the lack, the emotional upheaval, the addiction and all the extra baggage.
Where do you think it comes from?
It comes from no other source; but from within you.
And you can do better
You can build that courage
Into a resilient dam of an over-comer.

BY CHOOSING NOT TO WALK ALONE!
The journey is harder when you walk alone,
BUT WHEN YOU CHOOSE GOD
Through Grace and Mercy
Through Faith and Hope
He leads you to Victory
A step at a time, out of the rabbit hole
A day at a time, to joy and peace
BUT ONLY IF YOU BELIEVE…

BE still and know that there is GOD.

Creative Writing · Hope · Inspiration - Motivation · Love · Musings

God gave me something..

July 1, 2015July 1, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha3 Comments

He gave us eyes, that we might behold the splendor of his creativity; That we might see each other beyond the peripheries of physical vision. Sometimes we look, but we do not really see.

He gave us mouth that we may praise him; That we may give voice to the thoughts of our hearts; That we may speak words that bring life, succor, strength; That we may speak words that edify.

He gave us ears that we may listen and understand; That we may hear and filter through the turbulence of life; That we may hear his voice whisper in our hearts, through the sights and sounds of the beauty that surrounds us.

He gave us heart that we may feel; That we may have a depth of emotions that understands, that loves, that empathizes, that endures. A heart that can be faithful, courageous and kind. May our hearts not harden that we lose every sense of love, of joy, of peace, of empathy and reason.

He gave us brain that we may reason with wisdom and understanding; That we may use the abundance of talents to his glory;That we may gain and disseminate productive knowledge.

He gave us hands that they be busy and not idle; That they are productive and profitable; That they are helping hands to raise up, to mold and not to push down.

He gave us legs that we may walk tall in Faith, Grace, Hope and Dignity; That we may stand tall in the face of adversity; That we may flee from dangers and issues that lead to destruction.

He gave us a fully functional body, in his image and likeness and for His Glory.

Today, I stand tall and proclaim that I am/You are/We are masterpieces of the ultimate craftsman; and nobody can tell me differently.

God gave me everything….

Nota bene: Welcome to July 1st