AN UNEXPECTED BLESSING

I had wanted something in particular for some time now, but wasn’t willing to spend on it (as like almost every other national service personnel, finding ways to save our little “allawa” has been one of my main priorities since I started service), so I just forgot about it and moved on.

Some days later, a colleague needed a favour, which I could help out with. As we were talking, I mentioned my ‘unfulfilled want’ to another friend in passing, but to my surprise this colleague I was helping out said I should come with her; she’ll get it for me. Initially, I thought it was a joke so just laughed it off, but she insisted she was serious. Still surprised, I went with her, but I was a bit hesitant in choosing exactly what I wanted when we got there because I definitely didn’t want her to spend too much on me. So I kept looking out for the stuff with the lowest price; she somehow realized what I was trying to do and told me to just choose whatever I wanted, as this won’t always happen…

You know me; this brief experience taught me a few lessons which I won’t be able to sit still if I don’t share with you:

-Don’t hesitate to help others when you can

We don’t always have to have enough before we can give, because as human as we are, we can never have enough. The best time to help is now, and you’ll certainly reap some rewards sooner or later.

Imagine I had come up with an excuse not to help out. I’d have missed out on a blessing, no matter how small it may have been. Sometimes it may even feel inconvenient when you’re helping others out, but that age-old line: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” remains timeless and true.

-There are still beautiful people out there

Sometimes, life’s situations cause us to shut people out because we have been pushed to believe that people generally don’t care about others anymore, and that no one does things for others without any strings attached. To an extent, that isn’t really true, as there are still genuine people out there. We just need to be discerning enough to identify them and stick with them. We don’t need many people in order to make it; just a few genuine ones are enough. Trust me; there are still wonderful people out there, including the one reading this right now :)P.S. Don’t allow the situations of life to make you bitter, but rather better.

-With GOD, there’s always a blank cheque!

I was hesitant to choose whatever I wanted and if my friend hadn’t encouraged me to go ahead and ‘feel free’ I would have missed out on what I really wanted. More than once, I have missed out on great chances simply because I wasn’t bold enough to ask or speak up. Unconsciously, we take this habit into out relationship with God as well. Too focused on how limited we are, we think God is limited too by how huge our dreams and desires are, and we simply put Him in a box. What we forget is that He actually owns everything and promises to supply ALL our needs not according to our limited nature but according to His limitless riches in glory. This was my favourite lesson out of the three I learnt from this experience. Don’t be afraid to dream big or ask big. You never know which opportunity or blessing is knocking at your door right now.

I hope you’ve been inspired today. If you really have, don’t hesitate to share this with a friend, family member or even business partner. Let’s keep the inspirational wheel turning. I’m sure I’ll be back again with another lesson (or two) I’ve learnt over the weeks. In the meantime, stay blessed!