Lessons from my 3-year old

On this day three years ago, God gave me the best gift ever in person of my amazing daughter. 
Even though the first year came with a lottttt of work and drama; plenty crying, giving up, getting back at it and encouraging myself in the Lord (literally), the year leading to her third has been so amazing and transformational, not just for her but for me. She has grown so much and on countless occasions, the Holy Spirit has taught me some of the greatest lessons I've learnt this year through my daughter.

Because I'm relishing the moments with my daughter as a mum for 3 years and counting, I won't waste too much of your time, neither will this blog be long (so help me God). I just want to share 2 of the greatest lessons that the Holy Spirit has been teaching me, using my daughter as the relatable guide and case study (since I'm only human and sometimes spiritual things are not as easy to grasp. I'm still growing in my walk with God, so it makes sense that the Holy Spirit uses things I can easily understand to knock some sense into my head when I begin to do 'skoin').

Ask!
There are so many parts of the bible where the principle of asking from God is broken down - how to ask, when to ask, what to ask for and so on. But I struggle with asking as a person. I struggle with asking for help of any sort. I'm only just getting better with asking. I was that girlfriend that my exes didn't have to worry about pleasing with material things because I was never bothered about them and I never used to have a response when they ask me what do you want? My husband forcefully gave me gifts while we were dating, because I was such a pain whenever we went to any mall. I will never ask for anything o. And even till now, I don't know how to ask for things, even when I need help the most. When money or any material thing is involved nko, just know that I will suffer in silence till Jesus comes to my rescue. 😂 Sometimes, I assume that people (those closest to me or around me at a particular time) should know what I need and just do it or be led by the spirit (because I get those prompts to help people without them asking too. So I'm always like "are people not sensitive in the spirit? Talk of playing the spiritual card😂). But I'm learning to open my mouth these days, because I actually believe that popular saying that 'a closed mouth is a closed destiny.'

Anyway, there was this month I needed help, really badly. I needed a miracle and I was desperate for God to come to my aid. But because I was so immersed in praying for other people and interceding for them, and I was just getting a grasp of Matt 6:33, and all I was doing during that period (still doing) was seeking God and praying for everyone else but myself, I felt it would be awkward of me to bring my requests to God since the formula was to seek God first and all other things will be added unto me. My mindset was 'God knows what I need. He would come to my aid, Let me focus on seeking Him and figuring out what I can do for Him'. This mindset is so great and I recommend it for everyone (I will write about this in another post), but while I was praying during one of those days, the Holy Spirit dropped John 16:24 in my heart and it was a gbas-gbos moment.

"Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full" - [CEV]

"Until now, you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy will be the fullest possible joy [complete; fulfilled]." - [EXB]

"You haven't tried this before, but begin now. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and your cup of joy will overflow" - [TLB]

I didn't have to be defensive about the word by saying 'but I've been asking for things in your name or I've been praying for other people in your name.' I knew what the Holy Spirit was telling me, but just so I won't have to second-guess, he brought different scenarios of my daughter asking me for things, and not relenting till she got it. This little girl will sing my name, dance around me, wake me up from sleep to get what she wants. And sometimes, when we (her dad inclusive) delay and she sleeps off in the process, you will think she has forgotten or would change her mind once we have her time or she wakes up. But no, her requests per time stays the same till she gets what she wants and her joy is full, literally.

Asking (using my daughter as the case study) was one module of my training for about two months this year. And every time I'm struggling with truly asking God for things, my little girl does something in that line and the Holy Spirit nudges me with 'oya, ask just like she did' thought.

You may be familiar with other scriptures that talk about asking and you shall receive (Matt 7:7); asking according to the will of God (James 4:3), but the above verse is one of the biggest lessons my daughter my taught me this year. 

Ask; keep asking, ask in the name of God. He's a good father that won't withhold any good thing from you as long as you walk uprightly before Him (Psalm 84:11). He desires the best for you. Don't be like me that is always afraid to ask God (or anyone for things); instead be like my daughter who stays asking and unwavering till she gets what she wants and her joy is full.

Things that be not as though they were!

Are you familiar with the cartoon called Blaze and the Monster Machines? It's an engineering/mathematics-based cartoon (where the main characters are huge trucks with huge tyres and all) that teaches kids how to calculate a bunch of things using figures and some principles of physics (I think 😅). Anyway, Blaze is the lead character and he's always using blazing speed to get tasks done, while building various machines (attached to his own body) to surmount an obstacle in the process of completing a task. And every time he has to build a new machine, he literally calls things that be not as though they were, by asking his team to call each part of the machine. Blaze will go: 'to make the tractor, say tractor', and his team will respond with 'tractor', and all of a sudden a tractor will be attached to his body or he would transform into one. 😂

Now, my daughter is a huge fan of Blaze and the Monster Machines, and she has taken a liking to Blaze's signature "say (whatever you're trying to build). So she randomly imitates Blaze by saying the signature line, but most times she uses the line when we're driving to school, by identifying every animal she sees (especially chickens), and then she tells me "mummy, say chicken", and I'll say chicken.

On one of those rides to school, she starts her Blaze anthem, asking me to say things after her in the manner that Blaze would say it, and I did. After mentioning things she could see, she started mentioning random things; some I could pick, others I didn't understand. 😂 But she insisted that I repeated everything she said  and she was very assertive. As a good mother that I am, I said everything, from ice cream to dinosaur to (think of those weird things babies say that we don't understand). And we went on and on all through the drive (which is about 15 minutes).

My favourite time in the mornings is right after I drop her and I'm heading home. It's my solemn time to pray or meditate on a scripture or word that I wake up with. And as I drove back home that morning, I caught myself smiling as I remembered all the weird baby language I was saying some minutes back. And while still smiling, Romans 4:17 dropped in my heart. The preceding verses talk about Abraham's unwavering faith in God and verse 17 ends with:

"... God ... who gives life to the dead and calls nonexistent things into existence." - [CJB]

And I smiled even more, and since then the Blaze anthem has meant more than repeating weird things after my daughter. It has taught me to exercise my authority in Christ, and exhibit the same traits as my father in heaven - calling things that do not physically exist (but I want to come to pass) as though they were, and honestly, it has helped me decree with more confidence, knowing fully well that I have that authority to decree and be established (Job 22:28).

Now it makes more sense when Jesus asks us to be like children - so innocent, not overthinking, just asking for things till their joy is full and calling things nonexistent things they desire into existence.

This Blaze/Rom14:7 anthem is what I'll leave you with, with hopes that this has blessed you in some way.

See you on the next post.

💛 x 💡

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