Friends, Family & Forgiveness

Hi everyone,

It's another week already! Where did the time go? Time does fly when you're having fun doesn't it?  The past week was busy but it was fun. I hope you had a fun filled even if busy week. Busy's good but if you weren't busy and that wasn't your choice, don't despair. Whatsoever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might. Refuse to stand still, find something you can do, even if it's seemingly unrewarded and help someone somewhere. Sow a seed of time and effort.

God places the lonely in families, His Word says. I have had the privilege of experiencing the love of my family (physical and spiritual) and friends in the past year like never before. One thing that problems do bring out is love from true friends and a loving family. I still remember with fondness all the calls, Texts, whatsapp messages, bbms, Facebook messages and emails I received from friends as far flung as Canada, Kenya, the UK, the USA and of course Nigeria. As many as could visit did so. My family was a rock, moving in with me to keep me company, calling daily, helping with tasks big and small. A friend went as far as arranging a plumber to take care of some plumbing work that had been planned to be done in January. Work colleagues, business associates, too many to count. Gifts of time and otherwise. Can I seize this opportunity to say THANK YOU! once again to you all. You know yourselves. God bless you richly. I realized during that time that distance and time doesn't diminish real friendship and true love. It was also one more way that God told me he loves me.

Friends, let's always remember to make time for the people God places in our lives. The story about what you would care about on your dying bed is almost cliche but it is true none the less. Work is great and fulfills a major need BUT prioritize your relationships - family and friends. Be a good friend and lovingly receive friendship. Give of your time and open your heart to those in your circle. Care for your work/business colleagues. Technology and the Internet has made keeping in touch much easier these days, take advantage of the resources you can to nurture your relationships.

Talking about being a good friend reminds me that there are also terrible people out there who can pretend to be "friends". I pray God delivers us from those kind of people. He delivered me from one such. I'll quickly share the story. This person wasn't a friend in that sense. He was someone that used to work for me, let's call him Mr. W. Like everyone else, he was sympathetic and seemingly helpful during those first few months of widowhood. I decided to sell some things I no longer needed and kept them somewhere in storage pending their sale. 

I was at the airport waiting for my flight enroute one of my MBA sessions when I got a phone call. The security person in the place I had stored those things asked if I had sent this person to take away one of the items stored there. He said Mr. W. Showed up, claimed I had sold that item and he was collecting it on behalf of the person I had sold it to. Mr. W went as far as calling a woman on his phone and the woman on the other end pretended to be me and confirmed that W was authorized to pick up the item. Thank God, the security was inspired by God to insist on calling me himself to confirm. You can imagine my amazement. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I said I hadn't sold the item and W wasn't allowed to take it out. That was the second incident on the same day by W.

What shall we say about W? He obviously had sold his soul to the devil and choose wickedness . Unfortunately for him, God was on the lookout for me. He got away with the first incident earlier in the morning, where he had collected money for an item and never gave it to me nor returned the item when I told him to. The second item of the day however was much more significant and valuable and I'm grateful to God for his deliverance.

I have since forgiven him and I want to ask that if any of you have been similarly treated, please forgive such a one. They will reap what they have sowed. For your part, release them to God and move forward. Trust God to restore whatever was taken from you and He will. Forgiveness isn't easy but it is necessary, for your own sake and not even the other party. Unforgiveness is a stone that weighs us down and makes it impossible to see clearly. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, let me remind you again that God is Faithful. He only allows that which we can recover from. Look up to Him and move forward.

Friends, It's the beginning of a new week, just one day gone. Let me wish you a prosperous week filled with love and affection from the people in your life. 

Till next week. Blessings on you and yours,