Reflecting on Strength-Based Wellness
Through the lens of my life's experience
The struggle is real; I agree.
Also, I agree that life doesn’t give resistance to people who are not going anywhere.
After a landmark victory, one should go on a happy-go-lucky journey spree.
But that wasn’t the case for me!
After my recent victory, I expected to bask in the glow of success. However, my happiness was fleeting, leaving me to ponder why.
Instead, I felt weak and dry from head to toe, so I stopped doing everything I enjoyed.
I went into solitude.
While I’ll not explain in detail what happened and how I got the victory in this post, I want to express how I felt after my victory.
I felt and knew I had a big journey ahead of me—a trip I had been preparing for spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically even before victory was in sight.
As a matter of faith, I continued preparing in the thick dark of my night season when there wasn’t a light to signal if I would ever have victory.
During my night season, I saw nothing but a deluge of toxicity coming at me at once!
My adversaries worked hard to bring me down, both internally and externally. Guys, they came after me all at once from their hiding places.
I went through an existential threat!
How did I handle my situation?
By the grace of God, I walked by faith, and I was strengthened by it.
By faith, I challenged myself to restart blogging and writing online even if I couldn’t muster the energy to revamp my website, which was down and still is.
By faith, I chose to work in a way that aligned with my life’s purpose despite the temptation to select a route that seemed to offer job security.
By faith, I strengthened myself physically by exercising at my local gym, spiritually by praying and fasting, mentally by reading and writing almost daily, and emotionally by encouraging myself in the Lord.
As a footnote, those are my daily habits/ routine regardless of the season in my life. However, faith enabled me to continue doing them when I could have stopped and caved in to one of the worst times of my life.
The joy of the Lord is my strength
Don’t get me wrong.
I could have been afraid, and I was scared. I could have been sad, and I was unhappy. I could have been angry, and I was furious.
Listen, my late father bequeathed an invaluable asset to me, an immaterial one.
A long time ago, while he was still alive and I was younger, he told me:
“For a man to be whole, he must strive to develop his spirit, mind and body.”
Since then, and until today, I’ve been feeding from this asset as a way of life.
In other words, I’ve been on the journey of developing these three essential human faculties.
Therefore, despite all that was crumbling around me, I was persuaded that I, Ola, was built upon the foundation of Christ.
Though not perfect in every sense of the word, my foundation is solid and perfect.
And that remains sacrosanct.
Yes, my life is a life of struggle. Given my life’s story, it’s embellished with one form of resistance to the other. But I've always found a way to push through, which makes my journey so inspiring.
Interestingly and internally, I’ve adorned myself with the coat life has made for me.
It’s a coat of many colours. It’s my image. My identity.
It’s my strength.
And here’s why.
Despite the struggles, I am resolute. I have a destination in mind, and I will not be deterred.
Thankfully, I’m prepared for the journey ahead. I've equipped myself with the tools and mindset to face whatever comes my way.
To be continued.
Culled from my Sunday and Monday, September 23 and 24, 2024 journal.