Wow! What a year 2013 turned out to be. Thank you so much for traveling with us here at Effectual but more importantly, thank God Almighty that you made it to this point; it is my prayer that He will take us beyond this place and bring us to His perfect will in 2014 in Jesus’ name.
As usual, something new is happening with me; please don’t roll your eyes and ask if the drama will not stop with me; because honestly, I hope it doesn’t stop as it indicates for me that I am still in a relationship and God is still interested in all that I do, and His mercies are new everyday with me. The truth is that it is no different with you; the only difference is that I document my own experiences for all to learn from.
That said let me delve right in. Remember I told you in the last edition that I finally know why I am on earth? At least for this season I know and I am enjoying this fresh lease of life. The invitations to speak have not ceased coming, it seems everyone was waiting for me to step out, and they will begin to hold programs for their young women and their youth teams. It has been a very blessed last quarter of the year.
So imagine my rude shock when I started to feel really sick and didn’t know what was wrong with me. Considering that I hardly fall ill; I seriously had no clue what to expect. In addition to the fact that I don’t fall sick easily, I also happen to not particularly like going to the hospital. However, when for two weeks I wasn’t feeling better, Biodun insisted that we had to make one hospital visit.
When I started to tell my doctor the symptoms and all he did was smile, I started to get furious within me, then he asked me ‘when was your last period?’ hmm? Biodun gave the look of wow! This will be great, and before I knew what was happening I was having a pregnancy test done and yes I am pregnant.
Biodun was ecstatic but somehow, I wasn’t. It is not because I didn’t want to have other children; it is because I was just getting into the place where I could tell my life was coming into place purpose wise. Immediately, I became angry. I felt God and Biodun played a trick on me, how can I be pregnant when I am fully booked for the next quarter for so many speaking gigs? How will I cope standing in front of people pregnant? This will certainly cramp my style and it was the last thing I wanted!
For weeks, I neither spoke to Biodun nor to God. It felt like a child who had been given a small bag of candy only for it to be taken away because someone suddenly realised that she didn’t need that much sugar! To say the least, I was pained. Then one morning the ‘Big G’ shows up by my bed side and says, ‘Nafan, I have missed you’. I immediately began to sulk. Lord how can you make me pregnant now? The world is counting on me to deliver life changing talks, and you make me pregnant? Yes, I know very hilarious, because now that I think about it, I vaguely remember being a participant in the entire ‘shebang’. Anyways, God shocked me with his response. Rather than be angry with me, I felt him hold my hand and say, ‘the world will wait for your impact and will always be there, but this opportunity to have this special child is for this season’.
I could not believe it! then He goes on to say, ‘you always said that you will submit to my will; well this is my will for this season for your life’. ‘Nafan, you need to align with me and I will give you REST.’ As He put it that way who am I to stick to my guns right? The thing is, I was both humbled and blown away. Did He say special child? And who exactly gave me the audacity to decide what happens in my life? How did I forget that I signed this life over to the Most High years ago?
Immediately, I realised that this was my lesson in Alignments and Accelerations. How will I move forward except I submit to the will of the one who knows and holds my future. Well, I immediately went into repentance mode and by the end of that day every sick feeling left, and I have felt great since then. Biodun is still over the moon, and he is already planning girl names; I am just too happy to be in God’s will and to know that He will give me rest.
As we start this New Year, it is my prayer that you will never step outside His will and if for any reason you do; He will be gracious to you as He has been to me. Because you see, we cannot accelerate beyond his will for us, so we must first align and He will do great things for us.
From all of us here; here is wishing you the best year ever in 2014; I know that is the plan for us all. You are all loved.
Welcome to the Season of REST.
—Nafan