Unbelievable! It’s already June 30th, 2017? How time flies, right? Seems like yesterday I was celebrating the NewYear-2017, preparing to attend induction week in London, writing FMA & OB exams, starting Strategy and Corporate Finance, etc etc. And just like that…. Friday June 30th, 2017 marks the end of half-year 2017…. I don’t know about you but I am so excited. As I look back at the last 181-days in 2017, I can’t help but ask myself – “Omon where are you?”…. This is a question that kept pondering inside my head for the last days leading into the 181st day of the year, 2017 (“today”). I found it quite difficult to answer up until June 28th, 2017 when I attended Day 1 of the Accelerate 2017 conference organized by The Elevation Church. This is a day I will never forget. Let me share my experience with you…..
Dr. Mensa Otabil (it was my first time hearing of him but trust me I’ve watched a number of his talks since then) gave an empowering talk on the subject “WHERE ARE YOU?” The message was eloquently delivered and left me thinking of no other but myself!
Dr. Otabil, his description of life is that – Life occurs both in “Stages” and “Seasons or Cycles”.
The “stages of life” is better understood if split into three parts:
- Children and Young people – who are continuously learning
- Adults – who are living and exploiting life
- Elders – who aim to leave a legacy and also empower people
The “seasons or cycles of life” is better understood in several parts:
- Seedtime – time of making sacrifices, investing, digging deep, doing things that will make you achieve your goals
- Harvest – the time to bear fruits, growth period, reaping your rewards, it’s the joyful outcome of seedtime
- Cold/Winter – time of dryness, loneliness, rejection, where everything seems like it’s going wrong when actually it’s the opposite, it’s just that God is preparing you for your own “harvest”
- Summer/Heat – time of warmth, joy, when everything is going just right and bright
- Night – time of darkness, not been noticed, you are working so hard but no one is seeing you, here you are simply incubating a ‘dream’
- Day – time of light, exposure, recognition, people now notice and appreciate you, rewards keep coming, you are been celebrated but be aware of target enemies who will envy you
At every point in time in your life, you are either exiting, entering or existing in a particular season within a certain stage in life. You must understand the stage and season you are, enjoy it and just appreciate it. The truth is no stage or season in life is a disadvantage or a curse. You are there because God wants you to be there. So don’t be upset, angry, depressed or sad that the season you are in isn’t where you want to be. In due ‘season’ you will cross over to favored seasons of life – day, harvest or summer.
Dr. Mensa further explained that sometimes what may appear to be logical isn’t spiritual. Sometimes where God wants you to stay is a command of his blessing. So be alert that wrong actions and response to seasons of life (especially those you may not favor) can destroy what God has in store for you! I have grown to learn that the struggles of life mostly results from the ignorance of the seasons of life. Asking for reward when you are in the wrong season can be detrimental. The truth is when you are not in a season of harvest, harvest becomes a temptation!
One thing I took away from this message (amongst many others) is that when you are about to shift seasons, things get really tense and is at its highest peak. These are the times when the struggle seems so severe that you just want to give up or try to control the “seasons of life”.
So I am here to tell you, do not curse the season you are currently in. Better still, celebrate it. Like the weather, no season is permanent. The weather will always change and so will the stages and seasons of life. Everybody’s season of acceleration greatly differs. So don’t envy someone else who may be in a season of harvest or summer. Enjoy your seedtime or night time and prepare for your own harvest. Truth is you will not always be where you are even if right now it seems so permanent.
Watch the full video of Dr. Mensa’s talk here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbjdVexiEpE
So again, let me ask my earlier question – “WHERE ARE YOU?” 