My Birthday Message

Love greetings everyone! I decided to pick my fingers and type today. And I am super excited, more like super thankful! Why? Its the 7th of September! My birthday! The thing is today hit me differently. I mean I have an awesome feeling today. You know, instead of waking up all gloomy and sad about the things I don’t have that I have tirelessly prayed for, I find myself so happy and thankful to God for His Love, for all the awesome things He has done to and for me in the very recent years! Let me share one with you. He brought me out from dark places where the enemy would have been happy to keep me (tongue out at the enemy) into His marvelous light, a place of love, joy, peace and so much more! Hallelujah! So the ‘Mobolaji’writing this piece today, is a very very thankful one! Please join me in giving thanks to God Almighty. 

Therefore, instead of writing what I would if it were September 6 or 8, like “the I just wish that every idea I put down on my Evernote gets to be published” story; and I am always wishing this! I am beginning to sound like a bad CD even to myself. I am sorry about that! 
Today, I want to remind myself of why I did this? I mean why I got myself a blog. It is not to make money, it is not to gain popularity, it is not to be one of the fast growing list of ‘successful Nigerian bloggers’. It is a fact that I care less about driving traffic, though it would be nice to get the message out there. It would be great to have some quality, inspiring blogs sharing substance! It is not for these reasons and many others. 

It is simply to share with you the things I stand for, the causes I support, my beliefs, my thoughts, my interests, my faith in order to create a specific picture of who I am and what I am about, the things that are important to me! I have found that if you don’t show (by your way of life) and tell people (with whatever voice you have) where you stand, they are likely to be mistaken about these things. And maybe, just maybe I can inspire others to do the same. 

We are in a world where everyone is concerned about all sorts of things, where niches are being formed, focused on and blown out to become industries in their own right. I see a need for us to maintain sanity. A need to remind ourselves that the most important thing in life is Love! The Love of God, the love of ourselves and each other. Don’t ever forget it, God is Love! There is a lot of change we can bring to this world if we will just find a way to live a life of love. 

So, love hugs and kisses to everyone out there today. Thank you for reading my birthday post! I hope it makes some sense and I am able to pass my message across. It would really be nice to hear from you! Till the next time we see, chat or read about each other, stay blessed. 

Tribute to Yeye Bolanle Dare

A few hours ago, on the 4th of February, 2016 I find myself shedding tears involuntarily for a woman I have never met before in my life. One of our local stations kept running the announcement of the burial arrangements of Yeye Bolanle Dare. I had just come in from work and since the local tv comes up first when you switch on this TV, set, I settled for AIT. I could not believe what I was hearing. For me this is another case of the good people not staying around for long.

This woman has 4 biological children and over 40 adopted kids. She owned the Mother Theresa orphanage close to my present office at Asokoro Extension. She had those kids enrolled in a school that I can only at this time aspire to send my kids to. She left her own home in that choice area of Abuja metropolis for the orphaned and abandoned kids and went to live in a rented house elsewhere. I mean who does that? I don’t know a lot about this woman and never got a chance to meet her (I wish I did). She doesn’t know me and has never heard my name mentioned. But I had to stop in my tracks when I heard the sad news. This is one of the few names I have etched in my memory. Why? Simply because she comes across to me as a rare gem. A woman who is an epitome of love. An embodiment of compassion and kindness. A symbol of selflessness! In a world where people barely think about the next person talk more of showing a non-existent love, this woman is a breath of fresh air for me any day, any time and anywhere. A lot of good things were being said about her and for me, that is a fulfilled life.

The feeling of great loss that is felt when a person leaves the world is priceless and is an indication of the level of impact made. I don’t have a picture of her to post here, not that I can’t be bothered with getting one because I would really love to. However, she paints a picture in my mind that I would like for the world to see. If Jesus summarized the ten commandments as loving God and loving one another as presented in Matthew 22 verses 37-40, it simply means love is the most important virtue in the world. Without love, we are nothing. It is our primary assignment in this world. It is the only cure to a sad, dark, downtrodden, failing and falling world that we live in. Sadly, as major as love is, it is very scarce to find or experience in our society.
So when I see love exhibited in many ways than one, I am naturally compelled to celebrate it, because it takes a heart full of love to put others before yourself. So today, though I have not posted in a while, (the why of that can be answered another day), Yeye Bolanle Dare inspired me to pick my instrument at 2 in the morning and write or type. She brings me to my knees to ask that the spirit of love which we have already been given by God (2 Timothy 1 verse 7) will begin to manifest daily in our lives. Yeye Bolanle Dare gives me a reason to write and post immediately (without waiting for days for I-don’t-really-know-what). Yeye Bolanle Dare gives me a nudge to get off my couch and comfort zone and reach out with love to the people connected to my life. Yeye Bolanle is the reason some children smile and have a future. Till that time we know will come soon, sleep well Ma’am.