Thankful - I reflected looked back & realized how blessed I am.

                                              Thankful, Grateful and Blessed.

I went out for a drink with a friend of mine after not seeing each other for like 2 years, (blame it on life). We talked about a whole lot of things like what we’ve been up to in the last 2 years, most especially, our individual experiences. He spoke to me and tried to make me reason differently on a number of things and I learnt quite a lot from him and was greatly motivated by his words. We both talked about the very sensitive word LOVE, touching on God’s love, what love should mean, and how love should be interpreted.
One of the things he said to me was that love needs to be beyond the physical and should be spiritual; love should be self-sacrificing and never-ending, should be everything that's different from what we see in our society today and should be identical to how our God loves us.

So who do you love the most in this world.?

My natural response was "my brother of course", followed by my mother, father, nephew etc in that order. (Lol) and then my darling friend laughed and said to me, “The person you love most in this world is YOU!”.  

Well In my opinion, loving yourself greatly before anybody else hinders you from being able to show the kind of love God showers on us. If we cannot love like God, then we can at least try to make the other person smile. Going out of your way to see someone else smile is not a very common act in our society these days and it doesn't make us too friendly. God loves those that show love to the common man without expecting anything in return but a smile.

Family and friend are people that should love you, encourage you against all odds, be there for you when you need them, and ensure that you don't doubt their place in your life. So after our conversation, I found out that whilst moping complaining and feeling rejected, I actually have that one very special friend that has taken the place of ten friends in my life. A friend that understands you without judging, whilst at the same time helping you become a better version of you. It took a conversation about the love of God to realize it, but I do know now that I am genuinely loved, not just by my family, or friends that are selfless in all accounts, but I am genuinely loved by God, His love for me top that of family or friends and He constantly remains merciful and faithful me.

I would like to encourage someone today that God loves you, regardless of who you are or what your circumstances are, everything you lack, and your limitations, your expectations, your dreams, your brokenness…..everything is like an open book before God. Remember His word that says "we should not be anxious about anything but in thanksgiving through prayer and petition let your request be made known to Him". God has engraved you and I on the palms of His hands simply because of His genuine and unending love for us.  Do you understand the meaning of that word ‘engrave’, it simply means you cannot take it out. Once it is engraved, it is the part of the skin and there is no way to separate both. Remember your life with all its boundaries are constantly viewed by God, you’re His precious child, He loves you and He sees every moment of your life.  So stand up tall, wear a crown, count your blessing and be thankful.

Until Next time… you are loved, blessed and highly favored.

Vida Amorosa

Olori Amope xx

Forgiveness - The Sensible & Healthy Choice.

Forgiveness is a vital aspect of life, be it in relationships, friendships, or in our day to day activities. We should always learn to forgive regardless of how we have been wronged after all, to err is human and to forgive is divine! I used to marvel at how someone could forgive another who had deeply hurt them, then I had an experience that helped me see the pathway to forgiveness and understand how important it is to my health.
“Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret--it leads only to evil."
Don’t fret; I am not going to start quoting the Bible to give you unending reasons why you should forgive. Forgiveness is a choice so I'll leave that choice to you, whilst at the same time, hoping you make the sensible one. See you need to realize that forgiveness actually begins and ends with you, not the person at fault. You have to be prepared to accept and come to terms with whatever it is you're mad about, only then can you open up your heart to forgive. Anger is one of the most vicious emotions we humans have, alongside love, jealousy, obsession, possessiveness, and hatred. Most times, anger affects our physical well-being and health in various ways and makes us totally irrational, if not destructive and most importantly anger generally affects our decisions.

What I have come to realize is that angry people are more vulnerable to sin and making the wrong decisions, so the earlier you forgive, the better for you to let go and that way, you can avoid your anger transmitting into depression, hostility, self-pity or snide remarks that may end up hurting more people around you than you anticipate! So in other to avoid these, try not to let the sun go down on your anger and try to resolve whatever upsets you before going to bed. Does it matter whether we forgive or not, after-all there’s nothing wrong with holding on to anger, hurt and desire for revenge?  well, According to cardiologist Dave Montgomery “If you have a destructive reaction to anger, you are more likely to have heart attacks,” anger has been said to trigger heart attacks, accelerate coagulation that causes pain, increases the total cholesterol of the body, and may lead to death as we are often not in control of ourselves while angry, which means there’s a powerful connection between being able to forgive and our health and happiness.

The holy books did not preach against anger although it preaches against the sin we may commit whilst angry. Jesus Christ had His moments of anger, and it is in the holy books the only difference is that his anger did not stop him from winning souls, spreading the gospel, healing people, and being a gentle soul. As a matter of fact, God himself (who is without sin), is said to have gotten angry a few times in the bible, yet, He forgives us...  so who are you and who am I to hold a person in debt of their mistakes (especially when we know the possible risks our anger can trigger). Forgiveness is a choice and should be principal. You can choose to forgive, move on, and live in peace and happiness; or you can choose to remain angry, and throw away the good the Lord has blessed you with via your anger. Making mistakes is a regular part of life, nonetheless you should never allow yourself to be held back by your mistakes nor should you allow another pay for their mistakes forever!

I was an emotional wreck after my own experience, however, only after I made the decision to forgive was I able to have peace and live a fully healthy life again. See it is very possible to be happy again, you need to overcome and go on to be happy and you can only do this by leaving behind your past and therefore improving your well-being. Perhaps you have been the victim or someone had offended you or maybe there is something in your life for which you need to forgive yourself.  I guarantee you can find peace and happiness in your life by forgiving yourselves or others, letting go of your past and moving forward.  No one can do it for you, only you can.  It wasn’t easy for me, but I found that by forgiving, I was refusing to allow what happened to have power over me and that was the most powerful and healthy choice I could make.
So, for the love of God and for your own welfare, comfort and happiness I beseech you to forgive whoever has trespassed against you or wronged in any way, forgive yourself of everything as the Lord himself forgives you of your sins, leave your past behind and move forward.  

Until next time…. Forgiveness is Divine!

Vida Amorosa
Olori Amope xx