Discombobulation🙃

Peace be Still

A few months ago, my family and I relocated abroad.
As glamorous as this may sound, it actually can be very draining... emotionally, financially, mentally, physically, etc.
Moving from a place where you have always known as home to a society that is heavily guided by rules to the T!
Little did I know what was ahead of me😪 I was faced with a lot of legal distractions that I even found it hard to pray or connect with God 🤦🏽‍♀️
Thankfully, we got the support of family here, and settling down was quite easy. We got a house that I believe was set aside for us by God, and the kids got into good schools, and they have been thriving.
God planted us into a beautiful church family where we have been learning what it truly means to love our neighbors just as we love ourselves.
Before we left my home country, Nigeria, I had said to myself that I would try all I could not to get sucked into the system, and I would prioritize settling the kids over getting a job for myself. 
In a few months, the kids were settled, and the questions started coming in... "So Folake, what are you going to do here", "what's your plan", "when do you start work? " ... and every time I heard one of these questions, I was filled with so much unrest 🙃 I started to question myself "Folake what do you want to do???" I prayed a lot about it but didn't get any pointers to work with 🤦🏽‍♀️ I didn't want to start something that He wasn't part of, so I NEEDED to hear from him desperately!
I knew I wanted to do something that would give me enough flexibility to serve God and also focus on my home, but I needed God's guidance.
One day on my way to London for a hospital appointment, I was reading a Bible plan where I got to read Matthew chapters  5,6, and 7. 
I then decided to study the book of Matthew, which I started the day after, and I got to Matthew 6 and haven't gone past it since.

The first time I read it,
Matthew 6 : 31 - 32 was highlighted to me

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.
Matthew 6:31‭-‬32 NLT

I could resonate totally because I was in that mind space thinking of what to do to bring in money to support the family.

I felt really strongly about it, and I decided to do a short post to remind and encourage others. In the post, I also stated Mathew 6 : 33, being the best way to go about it.
I stated that we humans are in the habit of putting the cart before the horse, i.e., starting a mission and then asking God to support us☹️
I opened my devotional for the day, and the bible verse highlighted was Matthew 6 : 33

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
Matthew 6:33 NLT

🙆‍♀️🙆‍♀️🙆‍♀️ It was at that moment I realised that the message I had put up for people was indeed for me!
I was the one putting the cart before the horse😭
I felt God was giving me a knock on the head! He was telling me to seek Him first, and all that I am searching for will be added unto me!!!! Kai 🙆‍♀️

Even though I had read this, it didn't stop me from worrying! I still needed to know what I had to do in this new country that I now call home. 😔
I kept reading Mathew 6 over and over again because I hadn't gotten the release to move on to chapter  7 yet.

One morning in my sleep, I heard the Holy Spirit say two things to me "Mission and Vision."
In my subconscious, I tried to make sense of it and just pushed it aside.
Some time after my morning devotion, I went on IG, (can't remember what for) and noticed Tomi Arayomi of Rig Nation was live with someone else, I joined and tried to make meaning of the conversation till the anchor told him to touch on the last 2 points of their discussion.
Next thing, Tomi said the next point he needed to talk about was on mission and vision!!!!!
What??? 😱😱😱 my eyes and ears stayed glued to my screen as I listened to all he said with rapt attention!
In summary, he spoke about spirituality and balance at home, like worklife balance as children of God. How God planned for us to live to get the best from life and how we are all sucked into the systems of the world, chasing after our daily bread and neglecting the very things that are most important to us.
He referred to a particular book a few times that gives more insight into the topic.
The book talks about how we can not serve God in a hurry and how love and hurry are like water and oil ...they cannot mix!
By the time he was done, I knew why God was talking to me, and I knew I needed to buy and read the book!!!

I tried buying the book immediately on Amazon but couldn't get it delivered to me that same day as I was going on a surprise trip the next day planned by my darling husband!
As the "sharer" that I am, I started telling a few people about the book (the book that I haven't read o 😅) and one of them advised that I get a Kindle version instead 💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻 I bought it less than a hour after and even though i'm just one chapter into the book, it has been a BLESSING!🙏

The following night, a beautiful mum on a group a few of my friends and I manage raised a question about exhaustion and I was able to use a few of my learnings on the book to encourage her and other Mums on the group. We talked about how we mothers need to "slow down" so our families and circle of influence can enjoy the best of us.

I woke up the next morning feeling quite refreshed and in no hurry to get out of bed. It got better when I opened my devotional for the day and saw the title "GET SOME SLEEP." 😁 I read the words below from the devotional,

"And when we wake up the next morning, God will give us exactly what we need for the day ahead, just like He gave the Israelites fresh manna each day when they were in the desert. It’s also hard to pray when we’re lacking sleep. "
I knew my daddy was out there pouring out His love one me🥰
Such beautiful words to read after waking up from a long and refreshing sleep 😴

I prayed, praised, and read the Bible and decided to read my Matthew 6 again, and as I was reading, the Holy Spirit highlighted verse 24

“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can not serve God and be enslaved to money.
Matthew 6:24 NLT

Ha!!!! My father in heaven hallowed be Your name!!!! 🙆‍♀️🙆‍♀️🙆‍♀️
I want to serve you with all I have, and all I hear you say to me right now is I have to choose which master I want to serve!
One has to give way for the other.

As I laid in bed relaxing in the presence of God, He opened my mind to  endless possibilities, but one stood out, which was to go back to writing and compile my write-ups on a blog, and I ran with it immediately! 😁

Even though we all have the free will to do as we want, I love the way God gently nudges us to tow the right path.

There is a path before each person who seems right, but it ends in death.
Proverbs 14:12 NLT

How do we even hear God's voice or feel the nudges if we are living a life of hurry by craming into our 24-hour day, activities that should last a week!

In the bible, Jesus would always move away from distractions to a quiet place to talk to God.

Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.
Mark 1:35 NLT

In these times, this could be maybe praying with our phones and gadgets switched off and in another room or praying when you are home alone or alone by yourself anywhere...long and short is pray when and where you know distractions will not occur.

If Jesus is our model on how to live here on earth then we should not only set out that special time to converse with our father, but we should also make sure we are in constant communication with him because according to the bible,

One day, Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.
Luke 18:1 NLT

As simple as this sounds,  it can never be achieved living a life full of distractions. I have experienced this, and I know you have to.
I knew what God wanted for my life and in some cases I verbalized it to people around me but the enemy tried to distract me with "legal activities" Activities that were not wrong in the doing but will eventually pull us away from our relationship with God! This is why the bible says

...so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes.
2 Corinthians 2:11 NLT


According to the book Tomi Arayomi mentioned, The Ruthless
Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer

"Satan doesn’t show up as a demon with a pitchfork and gravelly smoker voice or as Will Ferrell with an electric guitar and fire on Saturday Night Live. He’s far more intelligent than we give him credit for. Today, you’re far more likely to run into the enemy in the form of an alert on your phone while you’re reading your Bible or a multiday Netflix binge or a full-on dopamine addiction to Instagram or a Saturday morning at the office or another soccer game on a Sunday or commitment after commitment after commitment in a life of speed. Corrie ten Boom once said that if the devil can’t make you sin, he’ll make you busy. There’s truth in that. Both sin and busyness have the exact same effect—they cut off your connection to God, to other people, and even to your own soul."

I have decided to share this with you all because I know some people are experiencing life's distractions and still don't know how to navigate their way out of it. God's truth set me free only after I decided to slow down (thanks to my husband) and Immerse myself in God's word, peace, and wisdom.

And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:32 NLT