Lessons from a Big Baby #2

Hey everyone.

I’m very excited to continue sharing my ‘Lessons from a Big Baby‘ series as compiled in 2009, a very defining year in my life. Yesterday I shared the first five lessons. Today, I share five more, with little commentaries accompanying them. If you missed yesterday’s post, you can CLICK HERE.

I hope you find some pearls for keeps today.

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Lesson 6: I realize that most times I feel out of place spiritually, in my speech most especially, and it’s because I’ve got God in my heart, but hardly on my mind. (Ref: Phillipians 2:5)

Have you ever ended your day feeling guilty, like you went through each moment of it doing every wrong thing in the book? Or have you ever caught yourself feeling sorry for something you said that you shouldn’t have? This lesson showed me that most times my love for God and His commands can somewhat be likened to my love for my extended family. I know I love them in my heart, but they’re not always the first thought on my mind. So if I ever wanted to make them my standard for right-living, I’ll flop every day, especially because they are never always around to keep me on my toes. King David spoke about hiding God’s word in his heart so he wouldn’t sin against Him: I interpret this as keeping God constantly on my mind, knowing He’s always there, loving me even in my unfaithfulness. So if I truly love Him, my awareness of Him must keep me ever wanting to please Him . . . if I truly love Him.

Is this also true for you?

 

Lesson 7: You’ll get over it, don’t lie to yourself.

I laughed reading this again, mostly because I know I was telling myself what I didn’t want to hear at that time. Looking back now, I see truth splattered all over this statement. Many times we go through stuff that threatens to break the very fibre of our being and we think that from such experiences we might never recover. We become mental slaves to our pain and allow its chains hold us down, keeping us from moving on. If we will only admit to ourselves that life must go on, not in the denial of the pain, but in allowing the grieving process last its course and not one day more, we will pick ourselves up and go on to be better versions of ourselves. And many times, years later, we wonder why we stayed longer than we did dwelling in the pain. So tell yourself: ‘This, too, shall pass!”

 

Lesson 8:

I still remember like yesterday the day I posted ‘Lesson 8’ on Facebook without any content. Every single person who read it went up in arms demanding a reason for the empty lesson. I didn’t respond. The comments kept coming and I only watched as they poured in, until I saw one from a very dear friend and brother of mine. To show you how important his comment was to me, I went up on Facebook to dig it out just so I could share it here. Here it goes:

“Knowing Tosin, she most likely will not respond to this thread. She, however, might, just to prove me wrong. And Lesson 8 is “In silence, one learns a lot from the many who can’t keep silent.”” – Francis A-G.

His comment was the lesson, and he said it better than my silence did. Now we have a lesson 8.

 

Lesson 9: Guilt and shame are the adhesives that seal the lips of the boaster – the one who has fallen before should find it hard to criticize the fallen.

I read this lesson and think very fondly of the media; I say this with as much sarcasm as I can afford. These days, they spend a lot of time reporting about who done what and who messed up. The reports come in like a flood and we begin to feel like no one is doing any good in the world anymore. It might seem like they’re only doing their job, but I watch them with crossed-eyes wondering how they would feel if they were the ones on the headlines. Everyone online has an opinion, hiding behind their computer and phone screen as they criticize and insult and judge just about anyone and any story they come across. But we forget that we all are in the same boat of life floating on the river of sin, lies and deceit; and for some of us, only GRACE has kept us from sinking deep into the waters beneath us. Oh, we have drowned many times, but the hand of Jesus was always there to lift us out of despair. So say to yourself the same thing Jesus said to the people who tried to stone the woman caught in adultery: “He who is without sin, cast the first stone” . . . (I hear the stones hitting the floor . . .  there you go . . . )

 

Lesson 10: A man is hired because of his MBA, but is fired because of his DNA. Your degree may get you a job, but it’s your character/attitude that will keep you in it.

We watch a lot of videos these days of people who have lost their jobs just because they decided to either be rude or be discriminatory. I believe it’s easy to get a job or get to a position of authority, but it’s harder to keep it if our work ethic or our attitude do not reflect the best characteristic of one wielding such a position. But we must keep on growing, as we strive to be the best versions of who we have been called to be.

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Thanks for taking the time to read today’s lessons. I look forward to sharing more in the coming days.