Happy New Month!! 🎊🎊
Hope it's not too late to say "happy new year" too?
Better late than never my dears, I apologize🥺.
It's beautiful to write to you again.
The most anticipated story I failed to share last year is what I'm about to share right now. So grab a cone of popcorn and enjoy. Actually, be blessed.
I grew up with the fantasy of becoming a dentist. Don't ask why. I guess my mind had just created enough images of dentists and seeing myself as one felt angelic.
The regular admission process was on and I didn't make it for the University of Lagos' cutoff, but miraculously (or so I thought) the then Ondo State governor; Dr. Olusegun Mimiko had just established the University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED) right in my home town and was open to students for application. My parents were excited. They were hopeful I wasn't going to miss a school year as they felt things were going to work in my favour, being an indigene of the locality, and meeting the required cutoff.
In all sincerity, I was more excited. I had always dreamt of leaving Lagos to a far away state, away from my parent's strict supervision, and schooling at Ondo State just felt right. Traveling down there for the admission interview further heightened my excitement. Discovering how peaceful, serene, sane and less stressful the state was to Lagos made me long for resumption. I could tell this was where God wanted me to be.
My admission there wasn't supposed to be an issue, as my parents had a family friend working right in the admission office in the university, but alas, the unexpected happened. The first and second admission list came out with no sign of my name on it. I then began to panic.
My parents placed calls through to their in-house person who initially gave us the assurance of an admission in my preferred course, but later came out clear on the fact that I had to settle for another course, MATHEMATICS.
Yes, mathematics 😒.
I screamed!
Is that even a course?
What do I get to work as when I graduate?😭
My parents did the expected, as they stood against it. My dad wasn't having me study mathematics for any reason. According to him, "he'd rather I miss a school year, than study some unappreciated Nigerian courses".
Now don't get me wrong. I'm not saying studying a math course is stupid or inappropriate, neither am I trying to devalue people who study it. I'm simply saying that the diversion wasn't working for me, for us. I had dreams of becoming a dental doctor, not some dy/dx instructor. I understand how crazy Nigerian universities can be, in the sense of suggesting abstract fields of study to students, other than the ones they originally applied for, but maths to dentistry, not me.
We went on and on, deliberating if anything could be done but there was really no positive outcome. It was then I remembered I had an heavenly Father. Sad me 😂.
Don't blame me guys. We often don't remember God until we're faced with trails or obstacles, but the point is that we finally realise His presence, and we get into it.
I went to God, tabled the whole matter before Him and specifically told him I wanted an admission to study dentistry. Then He asked me a simple question: "Do you want to study what you want, or what I want?"
Confused at that question, I began to wonder if going into the medical line was even His will, but then, why would he place a desire for it in me if it wasn't his intention for me to be on that path?
Well, in so much desperation, I said "Father, I'll study whatever you want me to study. Even if it's mathematics". Yes I said that 😂. I was too desperate to sit at home a year. Then He said "I've done it". I didn't initially understand that reply, until weeks later when I got an admission into Caleb University to study Computer Science.
Note: Always seek God's counsel on every decision, no matter how little such decision might seem, and please, learn to hear God for yourself. O NECESTRI GANNN..
Hearing God for yourself gives you the ability to walk in clarity. It further gives you the right to hold Him (God) by His word and run back to Him when situations seem to look otherwise.
You might ask; but studying computer science also wasn't in line with what you initially wanted. No it wasn't, but it was obvious that was His plan, and the events that led to my gaining the admission, resuming late and still acing the semester's exams were proofs that God was in the whole process.
I should also mention that my 4 years in that school really helped improve my spiritual life in ways that might never have been possible if I had gone to a federal or state university. I had personal encounters in my place of weakness and vulnerability that I wouldn't have had in my place of self accomplishment.
Was I upset I couldn't make it into the medical school? Yes.
Did I cry over it? You can trust🌝. I mean, I'm a cry baby 🤭. I cried for years. My relationship with people suffered, due to the fact that I felt inferior. I cut off communication with a lot of friends, just to feel emotionally secure.
Did I understand God's plan? No, and I still don't, but am I learning to trust and live by His instructions? Oh yes.
Abraham might have understood the idea of moving out of his father's house but I'm sure he didn't understand the part of going to a land he wasn't given any information about.
It took me 2 years to accept the fact that I wasn't supposed to become a dentist. I often cried when I saw images of medical students on lab coats or heard them share their experiences. It was that bad.
As I got acquainted with God, I realised it was normal for me to make plans, but essential for God's will to stand. So, I gave up plan making. You see all those 5-year plan, 10-year plan, they're not my thing. I go with the flow of the Holy Spirit. I really don't have to know what's in store for me 5 years from now, but if I can obey that 5 second instruction, it'll lead me to my next line of action.
I know alot of you might consider this laziness, but if this is what works for me, then I had better keep to it. You do what works for you. Las Las everyone's success story is not gonna be the same. The koko is that you let God lead, and not your mental abilities.
It gladdens my heart to inform you that I am a BSc. Graduate!! Yes, this is the real gist.
I graduated with a first class from the department of Computer Science, at Caleb University. I cringe at telling people the "first class" part, but it is the most relevant aspect of the testimony right?
It was part of the promise God made to me in my 200 level to prove that this whole computer thing was His will. And just in case you're wondering how you could get in line with God's plan too, my advice is that you know God for yourself and hear Him speak His plans to you Himself. You don't have to keep assuming, when His spirit of assurance dwells within you.
Did I mention that my going down to Ondo State for the UNIMED interview was definitely in God's plan? I remember getting filled with the Holy Spirit and given the gift of tongues (which wasn't evident till I resumed at my destined university) at a family friend's place. That, is a story for another day lol.
In summary friends, get into fellowship with God and make a resolution to obey every and any instruction He gives, no matter how unappealing they might seem. Always remember that He had a plan even before He created you, so why try to walk around your plan which might fail when there's already a mapped out journey (plan).
Hear God for yourself (I can't overemphasize this), embrace His love today and let His counsel prevail.
Thank you for reading through my gist. By far, I must admit that this is my shortest blog post ever ☺️(ironically).
Till I write to you again (which will really be soon), stay in Christ ❤️
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