Gratitude And Obedience

I have had a few weeks of marveling at God's goodness, faithfulness, and above all, hearing and seeing Him acts. You may be wondering how does that happen, well here it goes. My friends and I started our "Friday Prayer Requests" whereby, we would each talk about the areas in our lives that we want to see God work. My first prayer request was for me to be grateful and boy did I go through hell. My second prayer request was for me to forgive and not hold offence, that too didn't go so well. 

What I realized is that, when I asked God to give me something for example, a spirit of gratitude or a spirit of forgiveness, that was when I faced issues that required me to act in those spirits when everything is telling me otherwise. But in the midst of it all, I did take time at night as I prayed before ending my day, and I told God how grateful I am for walking me through whatever I had been facing. 

As I continued praying for other areas of my life, and just thanking God for what I have and asking God to help me surrender in areas where I clearly felt that He was asking me to surrender, I saw His greatness even more. Long story short, I have seen God align things for me so strategically that there is no way on earth I could give credit to anyone but God. Everything is so vivid that it's His hand at work. 

Then I decided to analyse everything that has happened in the past few weeks, and I realize that God does answer prayers, God is faithful, God does make a way where there seems to be no way. Everything God promises does come to pass, but there is catch, God does want us to also do something, it can be to have faith that He will do what we ask of Him, it can be for us to surrender to Him, it can be for us to be obedient to what He is telling us to do. It's a two-way relationship. 

I remember reading something a while back that said, God's answers in various ways, He can say NO -that's not good for you, or NOT YET- it's not time for this yet, or YES - you can have it right now. We like the YES response best because it always happens so quickly. No one likes listening to the "Not yet" and "No" answers. Not yet can mean, continue to have faith, what you are praying for will come in due season. It can also mean, I am waiting for the other person to be obedient so that you will receive what you have been praying for. NO is very clear, no always means DANGER. No is perhaps the best response you can receive from God no matter how painful it can be. Be okay with all the responses God decides to give you. Above all, be obedient in all responses. 

Love,

MamaTembo Safari.

You Need to Fail to Succeed

How to Heal

Image from google.com

Growing up in Tanzania, I never heard of any family member, neighbor or a close friend that went for counseling. I don't know if that was because there were not as many counselors around or it was just not part of "our" culture. This however, does not mean people did not find healthy outlets when faced with challenges in life. I do remember hearing my mother talk about people going to Priests and Pastors (spiritual leaders) for advice in matters related to marriage, or if a family member acts abnormal due to being demon possessed (as it's widely believed in our culture). 

Little did I know counseling is not a foreign concept in Tanzania, I was just among the unfortunate few who were not exposed to it. I would have never thought of this topic if I were in Tanzania, beacuse needing a professional help to heal from certain issues never crossed my mind. I have enough people around while in Tanzania, people that I can approach when I need someone to talk to or when seeking advice. And it has worked very well all these years, until I was struck by grief for losing my dad. 

The first time knowing what counseling is all about, was in a movie. But I still related counseling to something that people with "crazy" issues do. Not once did I think someone can go to a counselor because they need grief counseling after losing a loved one or for going through a divorce / separation. Not once did I think someone can need to see a counselor because their habits cause them to self sabotage. I always thought those who need counseling are broken. I later realized that seeking help means you are in need of advice from someone with textbook knowledge on what you are going through, and might help you through your journey of figuring things out, for your betterment. 

I have heard and read articles about people looking down on those who seek help from counselors. But my truth is this, this stigma will not go away if movies keep portraying characters with extreme or severe conditions as the only group of people that go for counselling/therapy. We have to normalize counselling in order to save lives. We need to support those going through issues that don't fall under the "crazy" issues category, because mental health struggles are real no matter the cause or intensity.

In a world where we are so easily misunderstood and judged, we don't stand a chance of survival if we can't express our issues whether big or small. We have to have a place where we can share our frustrations, concerns, worries, doubts, etc, without the fear of our 'issues' being gossiped about. We need counselling.

Love,

MamaTembo

Pain