Letters to God #2: Going through the motions

 

Hi reader,

Let me properly return to my blog page; something I didn't do in my last and first blog post for the year 2021.

It was a rough day; or had been a series of rough months and I had run out of ideas to calm myself down when I thought of my trusted therapy that works every single time - writing - which I had abandoned somewhat intentionally in the past couple of years, because life.

So here's a quick reintroduction of myself and this blog page to anyone that may read this post. I know it's quite tricky getting old readers back but hey, new beginnings aren't bad, right?

My name is Faith, I'm a lot of things, including a Lawyer, Human Rights researcher, Men's Personal Stylist; YouTuber; Social media manager; Content creator; Designer and Writer Whew. It's a lot right? I know.😀

I've been blogging actively since 2013 and writing fiction short story series for that long as well.

I also love to sing a lotttt, and I have documented some 'songs that made me' on this blog. Check out labels to different categories of writings on my page; labels like Short stories; Music's in my soul; Faith's musings; and my recent Letters to God label, which brings me to the focus of today's blog post.

You'll find 'labels' when you click the menu bar

On the 15th of this month, I had a ton of questions for God and as is my practice, when I have a ton of questions or unsettling thoughts about anything, I pen them down. So after praying and fasting and hearing a deafening silence, I decided to write an open letter to God, which honestly felt like a rant and was quite hilarious when I went back to read it after I had calmed down a bit. Missed the first letter, read it here.

The open rant did not work on God, so I brought out my laptop and typed a second letter on the 17th, but I never got around to finishing it because I was actually tired of ranting, so I went to drink cold water and slept.😂 Here's a snippet of the letter:

"Dear God,

There is no fulfilment in having numerous talents. It actually stresses me out. I’m seated here in the dark, wondering why the man that was given one talent got so envious of his colleagues and went ahead to hide his talent; when in actual fact, he should have been the most grateful. I mean, he had just one thing to worry about – one talent; one gift; one line of expertise – just one! I’ll do almost anything to be him right now.

 Does it sound like I’m ungrateful, irresponsible and lazy, to wish I could do just one thing, and only that thing? If it does, that is not my intention at all. It’s just a whole lot to handle being a "multipotentialite" and having nothing concrete to show for it, except bits and pieces of good work here and there; some seen, some hidden, and the accolades of men whose intent cannot be judged on the surface.

 

My second letter to you is to ask what one is expected to do with numerous talents. Does it not overcomplicate the choices you’ve freely given us? Now we have to choose between life and death, then also choose between a thousand and one things to focus on..."

A few days later, God sent me my answer by speaking to someone who was calm enough to hear what He had been trying to tell me. There was no judgment in His message to me; because just look at that letter and try writing same to a typical Nigerian parent in that tone.🙆 

He just made me see that verse we always quote about not being given more than you can handle (in which the context was about temptations and tribulations - I Corinthians 10:13) as being so much more than that. The Message Translation says:
"No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it."

So today's letter to God is not actually directed to God but to everyone going through the motions. It can be frustrating having many talents and skills, putting them into good use and not getting the desired results you want at a particular time. Especially in these times when there's so much buzz about increasing your skills bank because nothing is certain anymore.

There's also the issue of actually seeing results but being caught in the middle of deadlines and finding it difficult to achieve work-life balance; or is it the uncertainty that comes with fragile economies across the globe, which makes talent to be highly insufficient these days.

Whatever it is, whatever motion you're going through right now (those mentioned above and so much more peculiar to you) is not exclusive to you.

That was the first hard truth I had to face, and it actually encouraged me to stop whining and just do whatever my hand findeth to do very well. Thankfully, God is faithful, so much so that He did well to speak to me through various means. I saw a post around that time on Instagram, that talked about creating without inhibition - without anticipating a certain type of response/feedback/buzz/whatever it is. This way, you're focused on the value and quality of the work you're putting out regardless of who will see it.

The second part of the encouragement is God will NEVER let you down; Never.

Does it mean I didn't know this when I was whining? Of course I did. When going through the motions, your judgment is blurred; your emotions are high; the truth of God's unending love and constant support will be staring you in the face but you ignore; your attention is shifted to humans that have supposedly let you down, as if they owe you anything... Don't be hard on yourself, you're only being human.😃

God will never let you be pushed past your limit and He will always help you come through the motions till you achieve a certain stability, before you go through the next phase of your motions, because trust me it's an unending cycle but you need it to constantly trust in God.😉

So that's my message for today.

I feel quite better now than how I was feeling in my last blog post. I'm still going through the process but God and I are in a good space; and I've stopped questioning why I was given 5 talents instead of 1 talent like that guy in the parable. 😁

It's time to drop my pen in the basket of love.😀

Let me know if you can relate to going through the motions as described above and if this has helped ease your mind a little bit.

Do subscribe to my blog (you'll find the 'subscribe' button when you click the menu bar) so you can get updates when I drop a new post.

See you on the next Letter to God.

Till then, keep winning.💥