For all the Lord has done, He’s doing and He will yet do, I am grateful. I am a product of grace and nothing else.

When I was born, people gathered to mourn for my parents, saying, ‘a girl? What will she become?’ To them, girls did not amount to anything. Growing up, I remember there were times when we didn’t know where the next meal will come from; and sometimes when we had to eat, we would eat from our palms because we had no plates. Those were the days of one pair of shoes per year.

By God’s infinite mercies, we sailed through those trying years and survived by God’s grace to tell the story- if not for God. I got saved in September 1978 and got married in 1984.

The privilege of being married to Bishop Felix Adejumo is one grace I will never be able to thank God enough for. I call him my coach; my collaborator; my friend; my confronter, and my lover; a man whose kind is rare. Truly, God is good to me.

And by the grace of God, the little girl who should have been a boy, the one-shoe-a-year girl; the may-not-amount-to-much child, has seen this God turn her ashes to beauty, sorrow to joy, and shame to shine.

Over 30 years of walking with God, I have learnt some lessons but two major things have defined my life; worship (gratitude and thanksgiving) and giving.

Your background does not mean your back should be on the ground! We all have something bad in our background but the bible tells us, “therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV).

This means as a Christian, your culture is the culture of the Kingdom and no longer that of any homeland you may have belonged to previously. Your heavenly background and heritage now take precedence over your earthly background.

Have you been criticized? Allow your critics be your top motivators in life; let every critic show you the way to a further obstacle you’re well able to overcome. Let every criticism thrown at you work like water on the back of a duck.

You need to invest in and prepare for the areas in your life you are praying to God about. Are you single and looking to become a husband or a wife? What are you doing to become that ‘completer’ whom God will smile on? What are you doing to prepare yourself for the role of a spouse? Are you believing God for a child? Do you know the stages in the life of a child, have you read books on how to train up these children to be a champion for God and a blessing to this world?

What do you have that you have not received? I hope you are not ‘acting’ as though you have not received it. Life in its entirety is a privilege; the people and resources God surrounds us with are privileges; let us be thankful for all we have.

Some people say ‘when I’m rich,  I will bless my world’ but remember the widow in the bible who gave up her last meal to feed Elijah the prophet. Some say, ‘when I get married and have my own home, I will start blessing my world’ but remember Paul did not have to be married before writing more epistles than any other apostle, he made an impact that cannot be erased because he didn’t give room for excuses.

No seed is too small; a smile costs you nothing but lightens up someone’s world; a word of encouragement does not cost you money but yet it restores someone’s faith and hope. Let giving be a lifestyle for you. Start living, start giving.

Above the whispers of critics and self-doubt, let your voice be heard and your impact felt in your immediate environment; let someone go to bed blessing God for your life!

And as I move on in this year of flourishing, my mantra is the same- God’s mission for my life remains my focus – ‘honouring God, blessing humanity’ for there is no greater calling.

Revd Mrs Funke Felix-Adejumo is an accomplished pastor and teacher with deep insight s into God’s word. She is the President of Funke Felix-Adejumo Foundation whose mission is restoring dignity to womanhood and equipping women from all over the world.

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