A New Dawn

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Hello!

Thank you so much for stopping by today.

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Now on to today's post....ENJOY!

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Days turned into nights and multiple nights became frustrating weeks. The wait was long and hard and tiring. Have you ever felt like God has forgotten you? Well, that's how it felt...even though we knew it was far from the truth. At one point, I thought "God why did you bring us here? We were comfortable in Akure."  Go figure...I was sounding like a modern day Israelite! I knew better but I was allowing my current situation to dictate my thoughts and I had to snap out of it. If anything, I had to be strong for my daughter.

Before our relocation, I had spent months praying and confessing God's Word. By faith, I  had already received our fully furnished house, brand new cars, great jobs, awesome church members and the list goes on. Plus I was an American citizen with a master's degree, I was certain that everything would fall into place in no time. i never expected the wilderness experience or the silent season; no I didn't expect my faith to be tested. After all we came to America willingly and obediently via God's instruction. We came for the sake of purpose and we knew that God would take care of us; but we weren't prepared for the lessons that we had to learn in the process.

We tried to make the best of it; going to the grocery store, the donut shop and church when we had access to a car were the highlights our days. Despite the circumstances that surrounded us, we were not hopeless and we were beyond grateful to be together as a family. God had been too good to us; so our aim was the major of the goodness of God and minor on our situation.

One day, my husband woke up and said that he was going to go get a job. I was astonished but I didn't dare try to stop him; the determination in his eyes kept my mouth closed. I went ahead to encourage him and secretly prayed that his efforts wouldn't be in vain. When he told me that he was taking the bus, I was worried because the last time he tried that it took him three hours to find his way home from a place that was just 15 minutes away from home.

I called him a few times to check on him and he kept reassuring me that he was okay; and I went about my day. My uncle told him about a agency that could assist him with to temporary job placement; so he set out on a quest to locate their office. Unfortunately when he finally arrived at the location, he was told that only did placements for administrative/office jobs; and with him being a foreign trained medical doctor, there wasn't much that they could do for him. He left that place discouraged, not knowing that God had other plans.

As he was walking back to the bus stop, he passed by a gate where he saw people gathering. He made eye contact with a man as he was directing people to a door; he said to my husband "You're looking for a job right?" My husband was surprised but quickly answered in the affirmative. The man then directed him inside a room where representatives of the company were conducting interviews on the spot. He sat waiting for his turn not knowing what the job description was. When it got to his turn, he was asked some questions; the interviewer liked his responses and hired him right then and there! She proceeded to ask for his application and other documentation, it was then that she realized that he never applied. She asked him how he got into the room and he told her that someone outside of the gate led him in. She was shocked but it was too late, he was already hired!

He left home determined and came home with a testimony. It didn't go the way he planned but it went the way God intended it to...talk about prepared places and God's favor! Indeed be never forgets his own; he always with us...even in the midst of hard times. Those times aren't designed to crush us; they're designed to build us up and establish us. From that day forth we began to see the light that was always within the tunnel; God began to open doors for us in astonishing ways.

To be continued...

With lots of love,



- Bunmi Adebiyi


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On the Verge of Weary

Source: Goggle

Hello!

If this is your first time here, you’re welcome! And for those of you continuously return to read my posts, thank you! Welcome back!

Enjoy!

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Before I left Nigeria, my husband and I both took some time to pray about where God would have us settle when we arrived in America; we both knew that there was geography in destiny- we had to be at the right place at the right time. After taking time out to pray individually, we both heard 'Houston' and we came to a consensus. I personally wanted to return to Maryland, I felt like starting a ministry there would be "easier" since I had friends that would probably be willing to help out, etc. Plus, I had falling in love with the state, so many memories were birthed there. But atlas, God was leading us to a city where I once said I couldn't never live!

 A city where I was born and lived until my family relocated to N.Y.. A city that was just good enough for summer vacations; my siblings and I would visit our cousins almost every other summer...it was cool for short-term stay but we fought our dad relentlessly (my mom being the ring leader) when he pleaded with us time and time again to move back to Houston. "Its too hot there"; "Its too slow paced"; "The Houston accent sounds funny"; "We don't like the type of music they listen to"; We have more varieties of food here." ....The list was endless, eventually he gave up the pleading and we stayed in NY.

However, I had gotten to a point where I knew better. So I accepted the destination without much struggling. If God brought me too Nigeria and turned my life around; I could only imagine what he was set to go for, with and through us in Houston! Plus one of my closets friends and cousin lived in Houston, so I wouldn't be lonely. We arrived back to N.Y. after our ministration in MD and we had to make a decision. One day my mom beckoned me to her room and asked what our plans were. She encourage me to leave NY as soon as possible so that we can settle down. My cousin was getting married in about a week and half from that time in Houston. My husband and I decided that it was the best opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. So we booked our one-way flights to Houston.

We were running low on cash and the question of where we'd live came up over and over again from different people. We had no idea but we trusted that God will make a way since he told us to go to Houston. The plan was for me to get a job asap and put our daughter in daycare while my husband got accumulated to his new environment for a few weeks. My cousin that was set to get married offered for us to stay with her but I told her that it wasn't a good idea; she was about to be a newly wed and we didn't want to invade their privacy. My mom offered to call her older cousin and asked if we could stay with her and her husband; I was hesitant, but before I could turn down the offer, my mom already called and asked if we could stay for a month.

In the back of my mind I thought "one month is too long" . I had already started applying to jobs in Houston and I was trying to connect with people who could help me get my desired position in the Public Health field. I was certain that I would find something without any issues. Fast forward to about two weeks after my cousin's wedding; my husband and I were beginning to get weary. We had no car, there were no job leads and our money was running low. Having to depend on others to get from point A to B was so inconvenient; living in Houston without a car is a tragedy - you can't get too far. The public transportation is very limited; the taxis were unreasonably expensive and it was just too hot to walk. So we were bored and on the brink of being hopeless. Shortly after this, I got a job offer but declined because the pay was too low.

My aunt was an awesome host she tried her best to make us feel comfortable. However, I struggled with being a married woman and a mother and having to live with another family; it bruised my pride. And I felt like my daughter deserved better. I think it affected my husband more but he did a good job attempting to hide it. He would be very quiet and lost in thought at times, I know it hurt him as a man to not to be able to "provide" for him family. I tried to cheer him up but I also needed some cheering up; thankfully our pastors and families were always a source of encouragement and support and we made the best of the situation. In that season, we later discovered that God was trying to teach us something. We had to go through it so that others didn't. It was a part of our testimony; It was a part of our ministry.

With lots of love,

- Bunmi Adebiyi

Wait before you go:

1. If you have not received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, life won't make any sense, it will be cold and empty. You deserve more! Take a few minutes and click on the 'Come to Jesus' tab at the top of the page and be saved!

2. Please leave a comment below, I'd love to hear from you!

3. You can subscribe to this blog and receive email updates once a new post is published by entering your email address in the 'Follow by email' section located on the right of this post.

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5. Follow me on twitter @BunmiAdebiyi_

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Our Family: Redefined

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Hello!

Thanks for stopping by today!

If you haven’t read my previous post, please do so HERE; so that you can follow.

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Becoming a mother, bestowed so much responsibility on me. After giving birth to my first child, it dawned on me that I was responsible for how her life turned out. I must admit that I was afraid initially; I often wondered if I had it in me to lead her aright...thank God for the Holy Spirit. I wanted to do my best so that she could be her best. After I became a Christian, I realized that most of the issues that I struggled with over time stemmed from my childhood. It is a beautiful miracle when we become born again; we become brand new, our past being inexistent. However, I had major issues that I had to deal with by God’s help; and it took time. I believe that every good parent wouldn’t want their children to go through the bad things that they did...I didn't for sure!

               So here I was in my parent’s house, hogging my child all to myself. At this point, I have set up certain boundaries for myself. I was cautious about what I watched on TV, the music that I listened to, etc. In my own home in Akure, there was an atmosphere that myself and my husband had cultivated and it worked for us. Naturally, I wanted to recreate that atmosphere for my daughter. I was mindful about the power of exposure; every show, movie, song, etc. has some sort of inspiration behind it. Even though my daughter was a new born, I knew that it was possible for her to absorb many things. However, it was a bit tough because it wasn’t my house; the best that I could do was control the bedroom that I slept in. My parents and siblings started to complain about not being able to spend time with their granddaughter/niece outside of my bedroom. And to be sincere, I needed a break from time to time. It was hard for me to explain why I was keeping her in the room; I didn’t want to sound or seem super-spiritual. I eventually allowed them to spend time with her outside the bedroom while I did other things (i.e. exercise, pray, relax, etc.).

                   I was slowly learning to make the best of the situation as I awaited my husband’s arrival. I was seriously looking forward to having him around and raising our daughter together as we’ve planned. Fast forward to three months later, my husband finally arrived in the United States! I couldn’t contain my excitement. I spent most of the day cooking and preparing for his arrival. His flight was delayed for some time but the time had finally come! He was going to meet his daughter for the first time!!! And we were going to be back together after being a part for six months! When we locked eyes at the airport, we were both all smiles. My daughter….our daughter, naturally warmed up to him; it was a beautiful sight to behold. After all the prayers, sleepless nights, tears from missing him and countdowns we were together as a family! It was freezing cold as we exited the airport because it was winter time in NY; but in my heart it felt like Spring and Summer time all at once; I was beyond happy.

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After spending all day cooking, you would think that my husband would want to eat what I cooked. Instead, he requested for a burger…he wanted an American meal. For the rest of the evening, we were playing catch up; as he and his daughter bonded, she couldn’t keep her eyes off of him. It was official! She was a Daddy’s girl! A few weeks prior to my husband’s arrival, the youth ministry of the church that I attended before returning to Nigeria invited us to come and be a part of a panel for a Valentine’s Day event that they were hosting. We gladly obliged. When I was single, I always hosted a Valentine’s Day event for the teenage church; I was a teacher and eventually became a leader. It amazed me how I was doing the same thing after marriage; it felt good to be doing it with my husband. I’ve always loved to talk about every LOVE: relationships, marriage, etc.

               Off we went a few days after his arrival, going about our father’s business with our three month old baby. Getting from NY to Maryland was not a walk in the park. We had to pack extra bags because of the baby (it was our first time traveling with a baby); it was extremely cold outside, getting from point A to B was a pain (we were obviously not prepared for the weather); we almost missed our bus, we found ourselves running with luggage and a car seat in tow…it was not fun. The bus ride was smooth over all; our baby was well behaved throughout the trip. When we arrived in Maryland, it took us a while to locate our ride, for some reason we couldn’t seem to find one another. When we eventually located our ride, we were relieved. I couldn’t wait to get into our hotel room, I was exhausted!

               We finally arrived at our hotel room and it was beautiful. We awaited my sister’s arrival as she was to bring us dinner. Dinner took longer than expected and we were hungry but we tried to focus on enjoying the moment; it felt good to be alone (just the three of us). When dinner arrived, we ate so fast! And it was good! Afterwards, we proceeded to make plans for the rest of our stay; we would only be there for the weekend. But we had so many people that we wanted to spend time with us. The next day was also Valentine’s Day! Our first as parents! My sister volunteered to watch our daughter while we went out for lunch. The weekend went so fast, we had lunch together on Valentine’s day, I went to go see a friend in the evening; the next day was church service and then we had the ministration shortly after (which went well); afterwards we were invited to dinner by one of the church members…we could barely eat as we were stuffed from eating all day. The following morning, we were on our way back to NY. And that’s how our journey of doing life and ministry together began in this part of the world. It was indeed a new experience! 

With lots of love,



- Bunmi Adebiyi


Wait before you go:

1. If you have not received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, life won't make any sense, it will be cold and empty. You deserve more! Take a few minutes and click on the 'Come to Jesus' tab at the top of the page and be saved!

2. Please leave a comment below, I'd love to hear from you!

3. You can subscribe to this blog and receive email updates once a new post is published by entering your email address in the 'Follow by email' section located on the right of this post.

4. You can share this post or previous posts by clicking on the respective social media icon on the right.

5. Follow me on twitter @BunmiAdebiyi_

6. Like my page on facebook: Bunmi Adebiyi

7. Follow me on Instagram: destinationdestinyblog