This morning as I was going to work, I saw this man in his sixties. He was dressed up in a military uniform complete with a hat. He had this bright, straight from the heart smile and you could see how proud he was of his uniform. When he started walking, I noticed he had a limp. This led me thinking of how he got that limp.Well I don't know how this man got his limp but I am sure he has a story to tell.
Its interesting with the human body that every time you get hurt, lets say you get a cut or a broken bone, or any injury on the body when it heals you always have a scar. Each scar always has a story, most of the times painful stories. But as I said in my previuos post when one lives to tell a story on their scar or scars that means they have healed.
You know apart from the scars that are visible, that is the ones on the body, there are even much bigger scars that we carry which may be no-one knows about. These scars are from painful memories when we were hurt by the people we love (d) and trust (ed). Could be our famillies, friends, partner, the list is endless. These scars run so deep that at times they change our whole life. The way we view life, the way we view people, the way we view society even the way we view the world. These scars take a long time to heal because unlike the wounds on the body that can be treated at home or at the hospital, a wounded heart, no one will know until the victim opens up to tell the story. As such most of these wounds in the heart, they create such a big scar because they take the longest time to heal.
I dont know what wounds you have or what scars you carry with you, I can not say I can even begin to understand or imagine how much pain you have endured from that scar, but all I can say is tell the story of that scar. Let it out, if you cant tell anyone then just tell it to yourself once more and let it go. You will be amazed at what you managed to go through, how strong a fight you put up, and just how strong willed you are that you were able to overcome and live to see this day.
The bible says that there is no temptation that comes to man that can not be overcome, you can never be tempted beyond what you can bear or manage. Have faith and beleive that God is by your side and is with you all the time.
The scars in your life can be an encouragement to someone. Think about it, if you can, tell the story of your scars.
All the best!
Friday, 20 March 2009
Monday, 16 March 2009
APPRECIATE EVERY DAY OF YOUR LIFE
Hello again, I thought we share some thoughts and insights today. Do you ever look back to your childhood, or let me say your past? Well I do, and I thought we encourage each other today by these words.
Even if the day has been so hard, the week has been so difficult, the month has been the longest and the year has been the most difficult and terrible year and you are able to look back and say this, then you have all the reason to be thankful for you have overcome.
Overcoming does not mean always winning, overcoming is when you accept your situation and you focus not on the problem but finding a way forward. Overcoming is when you accept defeat and work towards a second chance. Overcoming is when you can look back at a painful past and be thankful that you managed to live through it. Overcoming is when you have the faith and stand on what you belive in even if the whole world thinks otherwise. Overcoming is when you accept that you are not in control of your life but that there is GRACE that sees you through every situation in life. Overcoming is when you believe that all things are possible even when everything seems so impossible.
The Bible says "All things are possible, only believe"
In chrsit we are more than conquerers, I believe in God and I beleive that if it was not for His Grace and Mercy, I would never be where I am today. I appreciate everyday of my life and I look back and thank God for where I have come from and where I am going.
Life is a journey, even though everyone walks alone, one can chose to walk with God. In that way even if one encounters the highest mountains there is always someone to hold your hand, when óne is in the deepest low, there is someone to pull you out and when one is so happy and high in the clouds, there is someone to hold you down so you are not carried away by the wind.
Life is interesting, depending on what angle you look at it, it always looks different.
All the best as you walk your journey!
Even if the day has been so hard, the week has been so difficult, the month has been the longest and the year has been the most difficult and terrible year and you are able to look back and say this, then you have all the reason to be thankful for you have overcome.
Overcoming does not mean always winning, overcoming is when you accept your situation and you focus not on the problem but finding a way forward. Overcoming is when you accept defeat and work towards a second chance. Overcoming is when you can look back at a painful past and be thankful that you managed to live through it. Overcoming is when you have the faith and stand on what you belive in even if the whole world thinks otherwise. Overcoming is when you accept that you are not in control of your life but that there is GRACE that sees you through every situation in life. Overcoming is when you believe that all things are possible even when everything seems so impossible.
The Bible says "All things are possible, only believe"
In chrsit we are more than conquerers, I believe in God and I beleive that if it was not for His Grace and Mercy, I would never be where I am today. I appreciate everyday of my life and I look back and thank God for where I have come from and where I am going.
Life is a journey, even though everyone walks alone, one can chose to walk with God. In that way even if one encounters the highest mountains there is always someone to hold your hand, when óne is in the deepest low, there is someone to pull you out and when one is so happy and high in the clouds, there is someone to hold you down so you are not carried away by the wind.
Life is interesting, depending on what angle you look at it, it always looks different.
All the best as you walk your journey!
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
A GOOD and TRUSTING FRIEND WHO CAN FIND
Hello again, as usual I am back with some thoughts I thought we could share. As you read from the title, today I want to discuss on the issue of friendship.
I am blessed to have a few friends, and when I say friends, I mean those who pick me up when I am down, those who are there for me and with me be it in good times or bad times, those who love me when I am at my best and love me when I am at my worst. The list is endless, but the most important of all is that these people whom I consider to be my friends, they are those who will tell me the truth even if it hurts, because they do it out of love.
Living away from home I have realised that in the multitude of people that surround us and laugh with us, the multitude that we meet on different networks, be it facebook, hotmail live, yahoo live, my space and many more, only few are real friends.
One preacher put it simply that in the world we have different types of people, we have confidants, these will be people whom you can trust and discuss your life matters and important issues with because you TRUST them and they TRUST you.
Then you have comrades, these are those friends who are with you for a certain cause, simply you are fighting the same battle, and when that battle or common cause is over so is the friendship.
Then you have colleagues, these are people you find yourself with at work, in church or other gatherings. People you can chit chat with about nothing really than just the things that you share in common, work, church, sports, politics and all common social matters.
From this list of different people that we meet everyday it is very important to know whom you are dealing with, whether its a confidant, a comrade, or a coleague.
A comrade will leave when the cause is over, a coleague will be with you only when its comfortable to be with you, a confidant will always be there to listen and talk to you, and a true friend will always be there for life.
True friends will still remain whether you be separated by distance, whether things are good or bad in your life, they will find time to be with you, to care for you and love you.
When you find a true friend you are blessed, becuase they are a rare commodity.
I am blessed to have people who have been friends and are still friends and have stood with me through the test of time. I cherish them so much. We have stood by each other through so many situations.
May we cherish the friends we have and also know what type of people surround us, so that we know how to relate with each one of them appropriately.
Until we meet again, cherish the FRIEND (S) in your life.
I am blessed to have a few friends, and when I say friends, I mean those who pick me up when I am down, those who are there for me and with me be it in good times or bad times, those who love me when I am at my best and love me when I am at my worst. The list is endless, but the most important of all is that these people whom I consider to be my friends, they are those who will tell me the truth even if it hurts, because they do it out of love.
Living away from home I have realised that in the multitude of people that surround us and laugh with us, the multitude that we meet on different networks, be it facebook, hotmail live, yahoo live, my space and many more, only few are real friends.
One preacher put it simply that in the world we have different types of people, we have confidants, these will be people whom you can trust and discuss your life matters and important issues with because you TRUST them and they TRUST you.
Then you have comrades, these are those friends who are with you for a certain cause, simply you are fighting the same battle, and when that battle or common cause is over so is the friendship.
Then you have colleagues, these are people you find yourself with at work, in church or other gatherings. People you can chit chat with about nothing really than just the things that you share in common, work, church, sports, politics and all common social matters.
From this list of different people that we meet everyday it is very important to know whom you are dealing with, whether its a confidant, a comrade, or a coleague.
A comrade will leave when the cause is over, a coleague will be with you only when its comfortable to be with you, a confidant will always be there to listen and talk to you, and a true friend will always be there for life.
True friends will still remain whether you be separated by distance, whether things are good or bad in your life, they will find time to be with you, to care for you and love you.
When you find a true friend you are blessed, becuase they are a rare commodity.
I am blessed to have people who have been friends and are still friends and have stood with me through the test of time. I cherish them so much. We have stood by each other through so many situations.
May we cherish the friends we have and also know what type of people surround us, so that we know how to relate with each one of them appropriately.
Until we meet again, cherish the FRIEND (S) in your life.
Monday, 26 January 2009
IT IS WHAT LIES WITHIN THAT MATTERS!
Yesterday I managed to find myself enjoying a great dinner with a company of friends.
Several things happened at this dinner that challenged me and caused my mind to get to work.
The first thing that set me thinking was when the couple that invited us out to the dinner said that "you are our friends and we thought we could treat you to a dinner in a nice restaurant". I did not know that that's how this couple felt about me. They considered me a friend even though we only interacted a few times at church, I was humbled.
Then I started thinking how many people love and care for us that we don't even know about? Is it possible that there are people whom we ignore and yet they could be the very people that love and care for us the most? How can one tell? I thought of how many people could be hurt by our actions when we do not pay attention to them and yet in their hearts they consider us as friends but we don't realize it. Life is interesting.
The second thing that set me thinking was one of the conversations that we had around the table. I don't know how many of you are familiar with the Durian fruit, it is a fruit from Southeast Asia which is famous for its strong odor and great taste. You can read more from Google about the Durian fruit. So the story was centered at how bad a smell this fruit has and yet its insides are so delicious. The Durian fruit has a very rough coat of thorns which cover the outside of the fruit and a soft and fleshy inside with amazing taste.
This sent me thinking about the people we interact with in our day to day lives. Some of them have the best looks outside that everyone thinks they are very nice people characterwise on the other hand you have people with scary looks and difficult to approach and everyone would associate them with being terrible characterwise.
And yet the opposite could be true most of the times. The story of the Durian fruit made me think that there are people who could be the sweetest and kind people behind the scary mask and at the same time there are also people who could be the inside out of the Durian fruit. What I mean is that there could be people who are sweet in appearance but they could be the most terrible people you could ever meet and vice versa.
As the saying goes "you can't judge a book by its cover", I hereby agree that may be we could consider learning and knowing people more before we judge them.
Try it, you will be amazed at what lies within!
Several things happened at this dinner that challenged me and caused my mind to get to work.
The first thing that set me thinking was when the couple that invited us out to the dinner said that "you are our friends and we thought we could treat you to a dinner in a nice restaurant". I did not know that that's how this couple felt about me. They considered me a friend even though we only interacted a few times at church, I was humbled.
Then I started thinking how many people love and care for us that we don't even know about? Is it possible that there are people whom we ignore and yet they could be the very people that love and care for us the most? How can one tell? I thought of how many people could be hurt by our actions when we do not pay attention to them and yet in their hearts they consider us as friends but we don't realize it. Life is interesting.
The second thing that set me thinking was one of the conversations that we had around the table. I don't know how many of you are familiar with the Durian fruit, it is a fruit from Southeast Asia which is famous for its strong odor and great taste. You can read more from Google about the Durian fruit. So the story was centered at how bad a smell this fruit has and yet its insides are so delicious. The Durian fruit has a very rough coat of thorns which cover the outside of the fruit and a soft and fleshy inside with amazing taste.
This sent me thinking about the people we interact with in our day to day lives. Some of them have the best looks outside that everyone thinks they are very nice people characterwise on the other hand you have people with scary looks and difficult to approach and everyone would associate them with being terrible characterwise.
And yet the opposite could be true most of the times. The story of the Durian fruit made me think that there are people who could be the sweetest and kind people behind the scary mask and at the same time there are also people who could be the inside out of the Durian fruit. What I mean is that there could be people who are sweet in appearance but they could be the most terrible people you could ever meet and vice versa.
As the saying goes "you can't judge a book by its cover", I hereby agree that may be we could consider learning and knowing people more before we judge them.
Try it, you will be amazed at what lies within!
Sunday, 18 January 2009
WHEN DO YOU LET GO?
Hi friends, I hope you have started the year at a good note.
I was out with a couple of friends today one of the topics that we had a good laugh on was at indicators in a relationship. To simplify what I mean by indicators in a relationship one could just put it in a question "when do you let go?"
Yeah, that is one tough question to ask especially if it concerns someone you have grown to love and like. Ideas were bouncing back from one person to another with bursts of laughter in between as we chatted.
On my way back home I thought more and more about it, when should one let go, should it be at the flash of a red light or should it be when the light is amber (the red being no turning back and amber meaning one still has to decide, more like 50:50 situation).
In my experience letting go is one of the toughest thing I have and had to do, it hurts, you wish things could have gone the other way, you think if only you had done things differently, it is painful.
Does one really have to go through this? In letting go people can lose their self confidence or gain it, in letting go people's lives either get better or worse, in letting go sometimes peole's perceptions about life and love, respect and joy, happiness and sorrow change forever.
The main question still remains, when do you let go? Should you wait until you get a slap in your face and then you know its over or should you just let go when the signs start showing?
Have you ever had a feeling that someone likes you and or loves you then suddenly you get this slap right in between your eyes that its not like that. Ouch that hurts! What do you do then, do you still hang on or its time to let go? Do you take another chance or do you just walk away?
Well I suggest one has to follow their heart, when you feel its time to let go, then let go, and if you have to persevere and try to work on it, then go ahead and take a chance. Whether one has to walk away when the light is amber or red that is a personal choice.
The most important thing is that when you see the signs to let go, then its good to let go. It is very important though never to jump into conclusions, try to understand the situation well before you make a conclusion.
All the best as you go on in life and make the decisions.
I was out with a couple of friends today one of the topics that we had a good laugh on was at indicators in a relationship. To simplify what I mean by indicators in a relationship one could just put it in a question "when do you let go?"
Yeah, that is one tough question to ask especially if it concerns someone you have grown to love and like. Ideas were bouncing back from one person to another with bursts of laughter in between as we chatted.
On my way back home I thought more and more about it, when should one let go, should it be at the flash of a red light or should it be when the light is amber (the red being no turning back and amber meaning one still has to decide, more like 50:50 situation).
In my experience letting go is one of the toughest thing I have and had to do, it hurts, you wish things could have gone the other way, you think if only you had done things differently, it is painful.
Does one really have to go through this? In letting go people can lose their self confidence or gain it, in letting go people's lives either get better or worse, in letting go sometimes peole's perceptions about life and love, respect and joy, happiness and sorrow change forever.
The main question still remains, when do you let go? Should you wait until you get a slap in your face and then you know its over or should you just let go when the signs start showing?
Have you ever had a feeling that someone likes you and or loves you then suddenly you get this slap right in between your eyes that its not like that. Ouch that hurts! What do you do then, do you still hang on or its time to let go? Do you take another chance or do you just walk away?
Well I suggest one has to follow their heart, when you feel its time to let go, then let go, and if you have to persevere and try to work on it, then go ahead and take a chance. Whether one has to walk away when the light is amber or red that is a personal choice.
The most important thing is that when you see the signs to let go, then its good to let go. It is very important though never to jump into conclusions, try to understand the situation well before you make a conclusion.
All the best as you go on in life and make the decisions.
Thursday, 1 January 2009
NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS????
Friends, country men, brothers and sisters, let me start by thanking God that He and He alone by His love, mercy, faithfullness and kindness has seen us through into this new year 2009.
Thanks to all of you for being part of my blogging community and I look forward to being with you this year.
Well most people, if not everyone make new year resolutions, which are either followed or broken within the very first few days or weeks into the new year. Whatever resolutions you have made, I wish you all the best as you follow them or break them. Most important of all is to start this year with a purpose. Live every day as if it was your last day, dont miss on loving others, showing kindness to others, and dont miss every oppotunity to do the best you can in every situation.
Be the best you can be to others and to yourself, thinking carefully on each and every move and decision that you make. Remembering that its not only about you always, there are other people too.
Learn to appreciate others and make use of each and every opportunity that you are faced with. Whether good or bad a situation may be, there is always a lesson to be learned, something to look back to and most of all, it is an EXPERIENCE.
Life is full of different opportunities and situations, going through everyone of these always leaves memories and marks in our life. This is what I call life EXPERIENCES. You can never put them on a CV for display, you have them within you, chapters and chapters. As you can use a CV to find yourself the right job, use your life experiences to find out how well you can help others in the society who need someone with your kind of experience.
I wish you all the best as you start this year 2009.
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009.
Saturday, 13 December 2008
How Grey is your Grey Day?
Coming from the tropics where the sun shines almost 10 months of the year, I couldn't help noticing how grey it can be in the Northern hemisphere especially as you get closer to the arctic circle.
During this time of the year, here in the northern countries during the winter if you have 1 hour of sunlight, it is like winning a lottery. The daylight is scarce and the days are mostly grey (like when heavy rain clouds cover the sky in Malawi).
During this time of the year, here in the northern countries during the winter if you have 1 hour of sunlight, it is like winning a lottery. The daylight is scarce and the days are mostly grey (like when heavy rain clouds cover the sky in Malawi).
As the amount of daylight reduces every day due to the sun moving southwards from 21st June to 21st December, one can not help to appreciate what a great weather we have at home.
When I first arrived in Sweden I could not understan why people would run out and lay themselved in the sun during a beautiful summer day. With time I realised what an expensive entity and a scarce commodity the sun is on this side of the world. I learned to appreciate what I used to take for granted like a beautiful sunny day with clear blue skies, a beautiful spring day, a golden autumn day and a snow white winter day. I learned to appreciate the little things that happen each day as it came and just be happy for another day that went by.
Sometimes just like me, I am sure we miss on some of the most beautiful opportunities in life because we overlook them or we think they are not so important.
Its just like how we take walking, breathing, seeing and quiet and calm peaceful moments for granted until we meet someone who cant walk, or cant breath without a life support, or one who has an ailment which cant allow them to stay still, you can add on to the list.
So if you think your day id GREY, know that someone else could be having a much more GREY close to BLACK day. Therefore let us learn to appreciate every moment of our days.
All the best as you appreciate this day, for the Bible says " This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it". There are no conditions that have been put in this verse, for example that "I will only rejoice and be glad in a day when ......."
Let us learn to be thankful eveyday.
Enjoy the weekend
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