A story is told of Jimmy (not real name), he comes from a poor background. For him to study he had to be enrolled in a school that is housed within one of the churches I know. His family would some days go hungry, if things were so bad, they would sleep when they have taken a cup of tea without sugar. However while listening to Jimmy's story he said that he envisioned something good coming out of him irrespective of the circumstances.
This picture depicts the kind of work Jimmy did
He would get home, boil maize and go sell it along the market streets of a suburb in Kampala called Kitintale. He said the money from the maize would help contribute to his school fees and besides that he would also go dig and plant potatoes and do other things to improve his lifestyle and that of his siblings. As I write this article Jimmy is in University and he is a big testimony of what it takes to believe that "You Are Not Less Than What You Out To Be".
Jimmy gives back to the school that educated him by sharing his story. He once said, "I knew that hawking maize was a temporary thing I had to do, but that wouldn't be my final destination". This young man through hard work, determination and the great opportunity to study at a cheap rate, did not sit back in self pity but chose to create his own path, I can boldly say he is destined for good and greater things. He prayed but also knew that prayer wasn't enough, he needed to put his talents and ideas to work, he needed to study while working to fend for his family and fees. Nothing really comes easy.
This proverbs says a lot about our lives
Proverbs 26:11 As a dog returns to his own vomit, So a fool repeats his folly.
12 Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him. 13 The lazy man says, “There is a lion in the road! A fierce lion is in the streets!”
12 Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him. 13 The lazy man says, “There is a lion in the road! A fierce lion is in the streets!”
One of the worst things that can ever happen to man kind is to devalue themselves. Devaluing oneself is happening a lot on the premise of comparison. It is like putting a final say on your future and put a nail to the coffin. Someone looks at another person and says that, "they have everything". They start shooting themselves down by saying, "I am nothing", "I can't add any value to this life and the life of others", "I am not as beautiful or educated like that person or my background is the one that has caused me to be like this, I wish i was from a rich family".
I have come to discover that I am uniquely created and that there can never ever be anyone like me. I have changed my mindset towards myself and I declare that "No One Is Better Than Me" so is no one better than you. What makes us look at others in a different lens in relation to our lives is always the sense of competition. People become great or better in their lives because they know their IDENTITY, they have knowledge that you don't know, they use their time well and convert it into tangible results.
Ben Carson's Story
When I read the book THINK BIG by Ben Carson , his story moved me and one of the lines that stuck to my head is the words his mother told him. She said "Only You Can Do It Better". Ben and his brother Curtis were doing so bad in school that their grades were not the best. His mother was a janitor and while cleaning the homes of the rich people she worked for, she observed their lives and realized that they hard more libraries than TVs, she cut down on how much Television they were watching and told them to go to the public library and after every read up, they needed to give her a report not knowing she was illiterate, however her gamble worked out and the man I am writing about became the best in school and was the first Doctor to separate co-joined twins. Some times we need to show people their worth and tell them, "What others do, they too can do and only do it better". In telling them so, we are igniting a fire and a passion for them to rise up from the pit of despair to the top of the mountain of possibilities.There are certain standards the world gives that our parents try so much to model us into. There are times you will hear people say that if my child doesn't go to such and such a school then they won't fit in society. I agree that some schools are below the standard but not all schools are bad.
There is also a certain mindset of who our children should relate with, the kind of company they should grow in, it is good for us to be cautious and teach our children about bad company and also about good company however sometimes we shield our children from those who are suffering and they grow up not appreciating that we need to reach out to those who are hard pressed, we need love without holding back, but we teach our children to shun, abuse and walk out, some of the worst things children learn is actually not from school but from their parents who bring them up.
My prayer is that my wife and I will parent our children with better understanding, they can't have everything they want when the money isn't there to buy. Many times we would ask our mother and father this or that, but they weren't able to afford, and the pressure would come because our friends had bicycles, they had colored TVs while for us we had a black and white TV with no bicycles.
If Children aren't taught the truth, they end up thinking life is only about accumulating things for oneself. I wouldn't have been able to learn how to ride a bicycle if my child hood friends did not share and teach me too.
This is what the bible says about me and you #ValueYourSelf and Get Out Of Self Pity and Re-write Your Story, God's Plans For You Are Amazing (Jeremiah 29:11)
1. Created In The Image Of God Genesis 1:26-27
2. Child and Son Of God John 1:12, Romans 8:14-17
3. Crowned With Glory and Honor Psalm 8:3-5
4. Given Authority Psalm 8:6, Genesis 1:28
5. All Things Are Under My Feet Psalm 8:6
6. God's own special person 1 Peter 2:9
7. Am called To Be Fruitful 2 Peter 1:5-9
8. Called To Make My Calling and Election Sure 2 Peter 1:10-11
To be continued.. part 2
#Impact #Empower #Transform