Inspirational – The Storytela

Jan 27, 2022

Why did God bother?

Dear Lord, why did you bother creating this world?

This was my sincere question to him this morning as I read Genesis Chapter 1 vs 1.

I had wanted to continue reading from the book I was studying previously but I felt the Holy Spirit leading me to read Genesis. I went like “for real? Genesis again?”

I had been studying the book of Corinthians and was getting inspiration from Apostle Paul’s teaching and ministry. I didn’t think Genesis would inspire me that way, I practically knew the book by heart (we start every year with Genesis and whether we finish the entire Bible by the end of the year is topic for another day)

Anyways, I went to Genesis and started reading it with this “let’s shaa be reading” attitude. After verse 1, I went to verse 2 but the Holy Spirit asked me to pause and took me back to verse 1.

I read it again.

He said, look away from yourself, look at God.

I read it again and asked him to show me what he wanted me to see.

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭1:1‬ ‭KJV‬‬

I thought about THIS present world. The chaos, the pain, the sickness, the death, the confusion, the suffering, the deceit etc. And I asked, “Dear Lord, why did you bother?”

In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth…

I read it again and this time, I saw purpose. I saw intention. God is a creator and he intentionally created a beautiful heaven and earth.

In the beginning, it was all beauty, order, excellence, peace, perfection. No pain, no sickness, no suffering, no death. Then God created man and gave him dominion over everything good he made.

I saw love. God created the world out of love. Just look at nature! Beautifully orchestrated and excellently in order!

I read the notes in my study Bible and a line stood out;

God did not need to create the universe, he chose to create the universe, because God is love and love is best expressed towards something or someone else.
Life Application Study Bible (Gen 1:1)

It all started to make sense. The world as we know it is NOT the way God designed it to be because sin came in and with sin came corruption. God is not the creator of chaos, sickness, evil, death, wars, etc. The devil is!

“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”
John‬ ‭10:10‬ ‭KJV‬‬

What the devil stole, Jesus came to restore. Jesus brought us perfection and a beautiful, super abundant life.

Just take a look at nature, and you would understand God’s original intention. A perfect self sustaining world with everything in abundance.

The life we are living now may not entirely reflect this beauty, it’s possible that it might even be a far cry but then God has given us another opportunity through Jesus to experience his purpose and enjoy our life everyday.

How? Accepting that Jesus died for us takes care of the sin nature and gives us the God nature which is righteousness. This qualifies us to take a hold of the good life, which God has made available to all that believe in his son.

“And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”
‭‭
1 John‬ ‭5:11-12‬ ‭KJV‬‬

So while I’m in this world, I do not have to be subject to disorder, chaos or pain in the world. I live a beautiful life in Christ Jesus, and I’m glad that God took his time to create a beautiful world in the first place.

I understand that I’m created beautiful, I have an inherent sense of order and excellence and I would intentionally allow this reflect in every area of my life.

Peace!

The Storytela

Sep 27, 2021Sep 27, 2021

Please Step Back…

We were all dressed in white, a few number of us mixed up with the crowd from the village. As much as we tried to stick together, the road stretched out long, winding and narrow like a snake, leaving us to mingle, but then we didn’t mind.

It was a Sunday morning, the feast of Christ the King and one of those few days we were allowed out of school to worship with the Catholic Church at Nise. It was usually a long procession, with Priests in front, the Mass Servers following and then others lined up. They made space for us students in-between.

We enjoyed every bit of it. Well, I did. And I loved the songs and the solemnity of the occasion. One of the songs that stood out so well to me goes like this;

When Pilate asked Jesus are you a King, 
Jesus said yes I am a King. 
Jesus is a King, he rules forever. 
Jesus is a King, he rules forever.

You see, back then as a teenager with absolutely no care in this world, I simply loved the rhyme, rhythm and lyrics of the song. But, recently in this journey called life, the song has come to mean more.

This morning, a friend sent me a write up about trusting God and letting him take charge amidst all life’s concerns and again this song came up in my mind.

Jesus is King, so why not step back and let him take charge?

“casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭5:7‬ ‭KJV‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/1/1pe.5.7.KJV

The Storytela

Jul 10, 2019Jul 10, 2019

A Suicide Room For Kings

Right in the 19th century expansive palace of King Toffa, in Porto Novo, Bénin Republic lies a room which nobody enters till date.

The many chambers of the palace

We had just arrived Bénin, our first stop was at Porto Novo, Le Musée du Palais Honmé.

The tour guide was quite detailed and we had an interpreter from GOTA tours who translated into English.

King Toffa who built this palace had about 120 wives and was quite instrumental in allowing the both Christianity and Islam co-exist with the traditional Voudou religion.

The Palace court where important meetings are held

Now, one of the rooms the Tour guide showed us was the ‘dark room’ marked with signs saying ‘do not enter’. We asked why it was called the ‘dark room’ and he told us that Kings would usually go in there to commit suicide. This was quite alarming.

He explained that different poisons and objects for suicide were kept there and a King who probably lost a war and didn’t want to be captured would go in there, drink the poison and then step out of the room and die.

Statue in the courtyard

The King needed to die outside as nobody was permitted to enter that room even if it was to bring out a corpse. Interesting, isn’t it?

The feeling of despair that makes one commit suicide. Choosing to end it all instead of spending one more day in confronting the situation.

Bringing it forward to the 21st Century, one question to ask is, is suicide really worth it?

Considering that there’s a life after this world. Whether we believe in this life or not doesn’t mean we would not experience it because there’s more to a man than the body we see or the mind we think with. There’s a spirit inside the body that would continue to exist in the spirit realm after the body dies.

So if suicide just kills the body, what becomes of the spirit? The real you?

Suicide starts from a thought, that lie that says ‘just escape, end it all and it would be over’.

The truth is ‘would it?’

Don’t wait to die to find out. Get help.

The fact is, no matter how dark or bad things look, they can still change for the better. Keep your hope alive.

And if you don’t know what else to do, close your eyes and say ‘Jesus, help me’. It might sound ridiculous at first but keep saying it and help will come in ways you can’t even imagine.

And like the sign outside the dark room says, do not enter the Suicide room please.

Need help overcoming those suicidal thoughts?

Email us at info@thestorytela.com

Interested in visiting Bénin Republic?

Indicate in the comment section and I’ll link you up with a tour operator.

Warm Thoughts,

The Storytela

Feb 21, 2019Feb 21, 2019

Wait!!

Just one minute please…

Something just hit me right now. Like a mind-shift.

How do I really see myself?

Beyond what I’ve been taught or told about me by others.

What thoughts do I think about me?

Do I think I’m organised? Or disorganised? And trying to get organised?

For years I’ve been trying to change somethings about me but I always started from the outside which is deciding to do those stuffs like adopt a beauty routine, be more this or that but in reality I never saw myself as someone who would actually maintain a beauty routine!

No wonder I’ve been finding it challenging making some lasting changes in this area.

Change should always start from the inside, first of all see myself as being, then I can!

So, I’m immediately changing my thought patterns about myself…

I’m organised. I’m a fashionista (this got me giggling). I care about my looks. I can maintain a beauty routine. I can run this business. I’m strengthened. I’m not overwhelmed. I have a solution. I’m a great Mom. I’m a great wife. I’m great.

I am. I can. I will. I do.

It would take a while to get used to these thoughts but I’ll meditate on them and say them to myself until they automatically become my thoughts steadily and then I blossom from the inside.

As a man thinks… So is he!

Nov 15, 2015Nov 15, 2015

Hurray!!! Today is My Fifth Anniversary

Well, my fifth anniversary as an off and on blogger.

I registered with WordPress.com this day, five years ago to chronicle preparations for my weddings and other spin-offs under the title ‘Help!!! I’m getting Married!!!.

Well, I was quietly discouraged by someone who thought I was putting out too much info. I later made a come back in 2013 with my blog ‘The Blossoming’ posting mainly inspirational articles. In 2014, I moved to The Storytela and that’s where we are right now.

It’s been an awesome experience blogging. I’ve met other great bloggers like
http://unwalled.wordpress.com,

http://www.eziaha.com and

http://ladyicons.wordpress.com to mention but a few.

I’ve also been greatly encouraged by my sister and mentor- Chika http://chikaforafrica.com

A huge shout out to all our followers and readers from all around the world! Special recognition to:

Funsho Oloidi and Kim Sweeting, they’ve not only read every post, they’ve either left a comment or pressed the like button. Thank you so much for making the journey interesting.

So what to expect from The Storytela in the next five years? Lot’s of inspiring stories about people like you. Sit back, fasten your device belt, pick up a virtual bowl of popcorn and let’s take you for a ride!

Cheers to 5 years of blogging!!! Glory to God Most High!!!!

The Storytela