“Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for He gives to His beloved sleep.”

Psalms 127 vs 1-2 (English Standard Version)

If this Good Letter was forwarded to you and you're not already on #TheGoodPeople list, then SUBSCRIBE HERE.

Dear First name / Friend, 

Good morning. How are you doing?

Today's letter is an interesting one. As usual, I've been thinking about what to share with you this month and to be honest my mind has been full and a bit jumbled with many thoughts and I've decided to share some of them with you.

Life is happening and sometimes we just need to pause, reflect and gather our thoughts.

If you're encouraged by this Good Letter, don't forget to share it with your friends and family because I'd love for them to become my friends and family too. 😀

💭

Back in the Office

This life… there's been plenty happening at work and yet I was somewhat excited to be going back to the office, until I got to the office.

Like Superman near Kryptonite, my energy was zapped on day one and again on day two. On day three I worked from home. I couldn't do it.

It takes so much energy to just be around people… bruh! The LORD is my strength.

Initially, I struggled with working from home because I strongly believe  work shouldn't be brought home. I had the unique knack of forgetting my workday the moment I left the office. For real, I couldn't tell you what I did if you asked me after 5pm. But things have since changed, unfortunately, work stays on my mind a bit too much these days. To help me adopt my philosophy while working from home, I started packing up my laptop and anything work-related and put them in a corner of my apartment that I can easily ignore. 

Now that I'm back in the office three days a week I'm realising that the grace God gave me to work from home, is the same grace that will help me get used to being back in the office and being around people.

First name / Friend, are you team “WFH” or team office? If you're not back in the office, are you looking forward to it or not?

An Epiphany

If there's one thing about me is that I dislike “my haters” talk. It bothers me how much people are invested in exposing, identifying or shaming their haters. Like really, that energy can be used elsewhere… but then one day, I, Olayide M. sat daydreaming about how I'm going to prove my haters VERY WRONG! I dreamt of all the ways I'll show them!! *dramatic Nollywood exit*

With my imagination going wild, God showed up and asked, “Olayide, what are you doing? You know it's problematic to live your life making plans just to prove others wrong?”

“Padin'?” I replied, still maintaining my Nollywood energy.

“Think about it, at what stage do you plan your life for My Glory, which turns out to be for your good? You don't have haters or enemies. The one enemy you have [satan] has been defeated, so who are you trying to prove wrong?"

I sat quietly.

My tension, my anxiousness and the feeling of overwhelm made sense. When God builds, destroys, gifts, removes, allows, prevents, stops or starts it doesn't come with anxiousness. Shoulders are relaxed, and heads no longer ache. When we live a life with God as our motivation, regardless of the turbulence faced, there's still peace. When our [imaginary] haters are all we think about, we don't make room to enjoy God's blessings - a life of wahala (trouble) and false starts are all we experience when haters are our motivation.

Now, First name / Friend, I'm not saying human beings can't look for our trouble LOL, but we shouldn't make our life-stories about them, our life-stories should be God-stories. 

Spoiler alert: In a God-story, God takes care of our troublemakers and even in the chaos that this broken world gives, like free refills at Five Guys, He will always give us rest.

So in the famous words of Mary J. Blige, we

“Don't need no hateration, Holleration in this dancery…”

Psalms 127: Building Lives, Homes, Families, Careers & Businesses

If you've been on my website recently, you'll notice my shop and service pages are BTS (behind the scenes). When I tell you life has been happening, lol it's one of the reasons why I acquired haters… what a damn shame LOL. The wildness surrounding my situation did make me cry, but I'm starting to experience God's wisdom in 4D!

For what was wild, hurtful and frustrating, I'm trusting that God will cultivate a wilderness full of beautiful and colourful plants rooted in thanksgiving and fruit-bearing trees, grown from the seeds of praise.

I've read Psalms 127 over and over and over again, and ‘comforted’ is the only word I can use to describe how I feel.

Psalms 127 - New Living Translation

vs 1: Unless the LORD builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the LORD protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good.

It is GOD who keeps, and sustains. I've had to ask myself - who and why am I doing this for?

An earthly reward is nice, let's not lie, but Eternal reward - God's recognition is beyond nice. We build without cause, we build aimlessly and in vain when God is not the focus of what we're building. Be it a home, a family, a career, a business… a whatever, the question remains - is God at the centre? Is He the foundation on which you build?

vs 2: It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.

Yo! At the core of everything we do to earn and succeed, we're all just trying to eat. LITERALLY! We work hard to eat food. Whatever work God has given us to do, let's also embrace the rest that He gifts us with. I once heard a Pastor say that “rest is an act of worship to God. When we choose to rest, we're choosing to believe that God is sovereign and able to take care of us.” Truth be told, most times we do a lot of our work/living from a place of anxiousness, how beautiful it would be to work from a place of rest, knowing that God's got everything under control… and yes, you can work hard and work well, while resting in God - because work is a gift from Him too. The giver of both work and rest is the best person to tell you how to navigate both.

vs 3-5: Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from Him. Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior’s hands. How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them! He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates.

Often we read this in an abstract way, forgetting that we too are children to our parents and therefore making us gifts. Imagine waking up each day knowing that God considers you a gift to your parents, how much more knowing that God considers you a gift to Him? How would you live your life differently knowing this? We are His children. We are His gifts. As the amazing Father He is, God takes care of us and it's why He can tell us to rest. The giver of gifts knows how to take care of His gifts.

There's Brainstorming and There's a Brain Storm

Sometimes we sit thinking and inspiration falls one us with the brightness of glitter confetti… sometimes we think and we get overwhelmed, but one thing I've come to realise is that Christ in all His wonder speaks in both situations.

He inspires waves of inspiration and He calms the overwhelming waves of life.

First name / Friend, wherever you find yourself reading this letter of puzzle-pieced thoughts, I pray that you accept that God loves you so much.

Brainstorming or in a brain storm, rest in this truth that YOU are a Loved Child of God, and through Christ, YOU have the joy of dancing like Mary J. Blige every single day!

LOL!

Signed, The Ever Dancing & Ever Thoughtful,

P.S. Don't dance alone! Forward this Good Letter to the Good People in your life, so they too can shake a leg in this dancery. ⏩

NOTICE: Affiliate links might be included in this Good Letter. This means if you click on the link(s) and take action/make a purchase I'll receive a commission.

Registered company 12376045, Copyright © 2020, The Word of Mouth Co. Ltd, All rights reserved.