Take That Step, No Matter How Small

“I will not go to my grave with my dreams. I will either accomplish them or pass them on as a legacy for others to complete. Either way, my dreams will not die unaccomplished.”

My dear Sista and friend wrote the equation below in a message shared with me and other Sista:

Dreams + execution = Destiny in motion.

The words hit me like a thunderbolt. It was at a time that I was pondering on all my many dreams and wondering how I was going to accomplish them. So I modified the equation and kept it in view as a constant reminder of what I need to do to live my dreams.

Dreams + Action (even if baby steps) = Destiny in motion.

Dreams – Action  = Daydreaming / Wishful thinking (a waste of valuable time).

Identifying the actions to take and how to manage all of them within the time available in each day, however, is not and has not been an easy task. In fact, this is the real task. Believe me, you don’t want to know how many times and how much valuable time I have spent in conflict with myself trying to figure out how to keep myself on track and focused on all the things that I know I need to do.

I resolved to keep taking one step after another, no matter how small, on each of my tasks and assignments towards accomplishing my dream. I kept myself reminded that someone is waiting at the other end to be a recipient of what God has asked me to do. I cannot afford to fail God and I cannot afford to fail that child of God waiting for me.

It is a constant and daily prayer, asking God for guidance and wisdom to know what to do, when to do it and how to do it. And also grace to limit and avoid distractions.

Another Milestone Reached Touching Lives:

On Tuesday, September 16^th at around 7:30pm, my resolve received a monumental boost. I was hollering Hallelujah, praise be to God…..!!! I had opened the dashboard of my blog to check the statistics and apparently twenty minutes earlier, the number of page-views on the blog got to 20,000!

I love counting numbers, because numbers established milestones for me. With every milestone reached, I feel a sense of accomplishment. But more importantly, it is a reference point for me to stop, look back to see how far I have come, AND to give praise to the Almighty God Who brought me thus far. Honestly, every reason and opportunity to give praise and thanks to God is well worth it.

My heart is full of gratitude to God for this milestone for a number of reasons. Let me share some with you:

-          When I started this blog less than three years ago, I had no clue where God is taking it to. It was simply a step of faith. I am overwhelmed, amazed and astonished at what God had done with the blog in thirty-four months.

-          Sharing the story of my life so publicly was not an easy decision. I knew once I put it out there, I could not retrieve. I could not have shared our lives this way without the support of my husband and our sons. They believed with me that God wants to use our story to touch lives for good and to inspire hope in the lives of those who read it.

-          Through the blog, God has given me a platform to share the message of His amazing love and sustaining grace with so many people that I could never have reached in person. I am blown out to note the places where visitors come from. From Norway to New Zealand and over 100 countries in-between. From big countries like USA, Canada, Russia, China, Nigeria to Islands in the middle of the Oceans,

-    I am particularly grateful for the many people who have been inspired to hold on and not give up on hope through this blog and for the many new friends I have made on the platform.

I am so full of appreciation to God that this blog is touching lives for good. My heart is overwhelmed when I read the comments. Sometimes what I struggled the most to write is what God has used to touch someone at their point of need. Then, I turn my face towards heaven and say. “Thank You, Lord, for helping me to release that piece.” I am so grateful for every single one of you who visit the blog and interacted with it. You give me a reason to keep taking each step forward every day.

Beyond Writing A Blog:

Two weeks ago, in a land far away at 7:38am, someone got on the blog and read at least ten blog post within a short space of time. By the end of the day, this precious child of God had sixty-seven page views, perhaps more than one of them but it was all from one country—Ukraine, and at the same time. I look through the blog posts read and wondered what this precious child of God was going through at the time he/she came to the blog.

Until recently, I could not have located Ukraine on the map. But I heard of their crisis in the past over the gas from Russia. Checking further, I found that Ukraine is one of the top ten countries from where I get the most visitors since I started the blog. And now in the midst of the current crisis in that country, someone there found something to read on the blog, which I am trusting God to use to minister to him/her.

I stopped and gave thanks to God for the situation that He took me through and the grace He gave me in it, which inspired each article that is posted on the blog. Then it occurred to me, that there are many Christians out there not only in Ukraine but in many other countries such as Iraq, Sudan, Northern part of Nigeria, who need encouragement during this difficult and challenging times they are in. I stopped again and obeyed the nudging of the Holy Spirit to pray for them.

It is written in Acts 1:18:

“but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."

It is an honour and a privilege to be a witness for Jesus in all these countries from where visitors come to the blog. This is the Great Commission to which we have all been called.

“And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come” 

– Matthew 24:14 (NLT)

The pivot of my dreams—the foundation upon which they are anchored—is to fulfil my God-ordained destiny. Central to that is to accomplish God’s calling and mandate for my life—being a witness for Jesus and taking the Good News to all nations is primordial in this. Every single one of my dreams has to be anchored on this goal—to turn lives towards God and His Son, Jesus Christ.

This must be the driving force for me and for you, my dear friends—for us to keep taking steps each day, no matter how small, towards accomplishing those tasks and assignments God has given us. And taking those actions that will lead us towards fulfilling our dreams.

Someone out there is waiting for what God has placed in you—the talents, skills and gifts—and the dreams you have conceived by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Don’t let the dreams and talents go to the grave with you. I encourage you to work on them and use them to touch lives for good and to turn hearts towards God.

I, Irene Olumese, resolve today that I will not go to my grave with my dreams. I will either accomplish them by the grace of God or pass them on as a legacy for others to complete. Either way, my dreams will not die unaccomplished.

What about you?