The Wait, a Wilderness Feeling

Sometimes I get discouraged at my journey, looking at where I have reached versus where I had wanted to be. It is not a good feeling.

For some of us, our dreams stagnated because we had to postpone many things to help others on the way. Sometimes you feel proud that God had to use you to give others hope and a shot at life. Other times, you feel downcast or low spirited seeing your present circumstance and the success of many folks you started with, and you know deep within you that you could have reached so much heights had the burdens been light.

Many times you would hope and pray that those you had to be a light to in their dark moments would stand with you in your low moments. But such a hope is also a big gamble because you have real scars, memories and histories of abandonment by even those you once shared a womb and a bed. Once bitten, twice shy, they say…so it makes sense to stop making sacrifices for people, but your nature seems to abhor “putting yourself first”. Not that you cannot make yourself the foremost and perhaps only priority, but your conscience always wins at dissuading you.

You are grateful for where God took you from to where you are now. But you are also dissatisfied with the present and dying for a change, for a new breakthrough, for quick answers to silent prayers. You feel you have long stayed in a wilderness situation and just a new wind of change will give you great joy and renewed hope.

When will that happen? When will God answer your heartfelt prayers? That is the bigger battle.  Not that you have not read many times the Biblical encouragement “do not be anxious about anything…Phil 4:6-7”, but waiting is indeed frustrating. They say it pays to wait but for now, “it pains to wait”. But hang in we must. To keep hopes alive and keep praying for a miracle and a turnaround we must.

Every once in a while we all deserve a good thing to lift our spirits up, don’t we?

©Mark Gadogbe, 2023

Setbacks

No matter how grave a setback a winner experiences in life, he gets back up, stands tall and moves on!
He doesn’t sit down nursing a belly full of regrets!

Forget that setback; forget that person that gave up on you; forget that person who doesn’t want you anymore in their life; forget all that negative energy. You don’t need all that baggage on your way to the top!

It’s not always easy, but it’s always possible! Not before long and we might realize ‘they meant it for evil, but God turned it for good’. 💪🏽🙏🏾

©Mark Gadogbe, 2022

No one is above failure

I pray for you that you don’t fail and that your integrity doesn’t come into question. But, I also pray that when you fail, you admit it, pick yourself up and move on because sometimes, no man is above failure.

We’re all failures in one thing but masters in another.

May we find grace to succeed in life. 🙏

#ShortNotes

©Mark Gadogbe, 2022

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Careful what you tell people

What you don’t tell people they can’t use against you. In other words, what people don’t know they can’t use against you. If you don’t tell them anything about your close friend, your job, your relationship, your marriage, your house, your neighbour, good news, your bad news, your sins, struggles, etc, they won’t have anything to use against you. Knowledge empowers people.

People are so nosy, asking you so many unsuspecting questions pretending to care; be weary of such people! You may not know what their true intentions are. Lately, people are not very loyal and will spew garbage about you or sell you out at the least opportunity. Some will come to you themselves with their mess…then drag you along with it; be wise and know who to trust with your most valuable information and secrets!

The trouble you are not seeking may be seeking you; you can’t escape all, but be on the lookout! The devil presents himself sometimes like an angel.

Where necessary too, you will do good leaving people’s opinion of you to them and not worry about it; just advice yourself and know how to draw the line going forward! You don’t need everybody with you on your life’s journey. Cut off the nosy untrustworthy ones. They are too much baggage.

©Mark Gadogbe (2022)

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Life: It’s okay to feel lost sometimes

Ever been at that point in life when you feel you’re just existing and nothing is really happening for you? Yeah, life does come in phases, and some phases will surely suck.

The journey life takes us on can sometimes be strange, and other times fascinating. Can’t imagine how many times we feel lost and disappointed life doesn’t take us on the exact journey we carefully planned for ourselves and worked hard for.

But somehow it eventually ends well, we hope. Maybe the harvest is nigh and we need not give up!

“It’s okay if you’re lost, we’re all a little lost and it’s alright” ~Nightbirde

©Mark Gadogbe, 2021

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Addictions

Everybody is addicted to something, said a wise man.

If you don’t know your addiction or haven’t yet discovered it, you might think you’re the best of human beings, perhaps a super being, and just go about castigating everybody else.

Look deep within, you will find your addiction, no matter how subtle. You will find that which you can’t do without. You will find that which has a constant pull on you. You will find that one thing you like so much although it does affect you negatively too. You will find that one thing you are struggling to do away with. 😊

Perhaps you are addicted to being perfect? 🤪

On a more serious note, bad addictions need to be worked on, especially when you acknowledge it puts your life in danger. Take the needed baby steps and before long, you will be walking, trotting and running your way out of that bad addiction.

I don’t know what your addiction is, but I bet you have one. 😊

Happy New Year! Be the best version of yourself this new year!

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©Mark Gadogbe, 2022

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Stand Up! Stand Tall!

Perhaps, we should not live life expecting people will always stand up for us or stand with us…because most often they won’t and we would be left disappointed. People these days don’t put their neck on the line for others. Rarely will you find people standing with you in your problems; many will only do from a comfortable distance but will not go through the thick and thin with you all the way.

We must perhaps accept the fact that life is, and gets lonely, and therefore learn to stand up for ourselves every time and when we fail trying to, just accept our fate and move on.

In the face of life’s trials, we hope to get the courage to stand strong and tall, even if we must alone. It does get so hard fighting life alone, but the reality is that sometimes life offers no other options, except being your own life support, backbone and motivator. You can’t force people to always be there for you, and even if they promise to, chances are that they will fail you; so we maybe just have to be mentally prepared to face life alone and on our own terms. The decisions or mental preparations we make today may sometimes be the difference between whether we can weather tomorrow’s storms or not when they do come.

Like a child learning to walk, we can always learn to get up when we’re down at our lowest and alone in life’s battles, with nobody standing for or with us. Our mental preparation and baby steps back up will eventually lead to giant leaps to the top. The struggle is real but to give up we must not.

Stand up, stand tall, through it all!

©Mark Gadogbe, 2021

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Unfuck Yourself 😊

What matters right this minute is that we’re still alive, irrespective of our present circumstances. Because once we have life, we have hope that we will still achieve our dreams no matter how slow it takes. All that we’ve lost that had “dimmed” our shine, we surely will get back, through legitimate means. Yes, no matter the odds, we will not give ourselves to illegitimate dealings.

We will continue to give ourselves to study, working hard with integrity and dreaming our big dreams. The progress may seem really slow but it’s better than being dead, obviously.

Hopefully, life will afford us the chance to “unfuck” ourselves and get back on track…then just maybe, we will earn some respect from those who look down on our today, just because we seem to have lost our shine. 😊

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©Mark Gadogbe, 2021

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Owning up to our realities

All there is to life is facing reality. You can’t escape the realities of life; you can only live through it (facing one reality after the other) and hope to grow through it. Nobody’s life is easier; we are all facing realities, but just differently.

Reality is always staring us in the face but we always try to look the other way. Many times, we truly just don’t want to face reality. Perhaps, it’s a much bitter pill to swallow; so, we keep trying to run away from it…forgetting that we may only be plunging ourselves into another reality in a different form.

If you think somebody’s life is rosier than yours, think again. If you think somebody’s relationship/marriage is better, happier and shinier than yours, think again. Accept yours as it is and invest in it. If you think those who are married are better and more fulfilled than you, think again, my dear. If you think those living in cosier houses, environment and own expensive cars are way much better and happier than you, think again. If you think those who are academically more accomplished than you are better than you, spare yourself a moment and think through again.

Perhaps, you also think those who have never experienced a relationship failure (“broken heart”) are better than you? Think again. Do you know what they might have lost in life? Well, maybe you might also be thinking those who married young are better than you who married late? Think again, for in this life, nothing is ever a sure guarantee.

No permutation is ever a sure bet in this life, trust me. We’ve seen young people die in their prime. We’ve seen young marriages collapse. We’ve seen far too many young people becoming widows and widowers. We’ve seen people’s fortunes turn upside down just overnight. We’ve seen and heard all the unthinkable happen! Why then do we place so much confidence in this life and worry ourselves to death, thinking we are perhaps the only ones experiencing the harsh realities of life, and trying to wish it away? You may be surprised that life is fucking everybody up!

It’s important you enjoy your own little life and be thankful for it, for the day you hear people’s full stories, you would wish you were never them. If life could be traded or exchanged, many will regret purchasing other people’s lives. People only show you what they want to show you, and trust me, there’s so much gabbage in people’s lives that you wouldn’t want to buy or even envy, if only you knew the full story. People are fighting hidden battles we are never privileged to see.

Sometimes, it is only when God opens our eyes to see what is going on in other people’s lives that we become thankful and accepting of our own realities. In such moments we realize after all, that our own lives and realities are perhaps better off than we thought or imagined.

We should make the best of our time here on earth for life in itself is not promised (guaranteed). Here today, gone tomorrow. That’s the life we’re truly living. Grace is the only differentiator.

©Mark Gadogbe, 2021

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Every man wants something in a woman

Know your man, then you’ll know his needs and how you fit in with meeting those needs.

Then, know yourself also, if you really are the one you think he really needs.

©Mark Gadogbe, 2021

Cover Image Credit: https://instagram.com/alfred_darling_art_gallery?igshid=1mxpv9n1rmnv4