When Strange Storms Rage

On the 9th of February 2022, I woke up at about 4:30 am and had a strong push in my heart to pray for my mother who was battling gastric cancer. I was still in my prayer mood when I got a call from my elder sister that my mom was in a critical condition and had been placed on life support.

I sent messages to some of my friends to pray for my mom while I set out to go see her at the hospital.
By the time I got to the hospital, she had passed on. I wept bitterly looking at my mom’s lifeless body on the hospital bed. I refused to be consoled until I sensed a divine atmosphere around me and I saw my mom smiling in heaven. I quickly wiped away my tears knowing that she is in a place of eternal bliss where there is no pain or sickness.

I remembered that I still saw her the weekend before her death, I never imagined that I won’t speak to her again. God knows best.

We had to bury her three days after her death. After the funeral, I had to resume back to work. The pressure became too much on me and I started having some strange symptoms. I was scared for my life because of the backlog of health issues I was dealing with before then.

I was recommended to go for two major medical procedures barely three weeks after my mom’s burial.

In all of this, I was dealing with a toxic work environment. It was as if all hell was let loose. I couldn’t pray as I used to. I became emotionally numb. I had to resort to deep Bible study and occasional worship.

It’s tough to sustain a joyful atmosphere amid strange storms and painful experiences but I constantly had to remind myself that joy is my perpetual atmosphere and I can’t lose it even if I’m going through hell and high waters.

I’m still trusting God for victory over all the situations that are threatening my joy but through it all, I rejoice.

While I was meditating on God’s word this morning, I was inspired to write this short piece.

Joy is the seal of God’s presence.
It’s the atmosphere of heaven.
Heaven is where God lives.
So, because God lives within me.
I am heaven’s expression on earth.
Even if I am going through hell,
God still lives in and with me.
I will never forget who I am.
I will never lose my joy.
I am heaven’s expression on earth.
I perpetually host God’s presence.
Joy is my eternal atmosphere.

I hope to fully get back on my feet emotionally. But in the meantime, I will keep basking in the joy of God’s presence.

Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:
Habakkuk 3:17 KJV

Have a great one, friends.
Love and light,
Adeleke Adeite

Love is Calling Your Name – A Poem

You are a legendary love letter
written with the pen of paradise.
You are an epic epistle
written by God to mankind,
every line carries His gift of grace
birthing endless ecstasy everywhere.
Every word offers a warm embrace,
brewing hope and healing for all.
You may be decked with scars
but that does not define you,
you are God’s priceless work of art
– a perfect blend of divinity and humanity,
You may be crowned with thistle
but that should not deter you,
you are remarkable royalty
bred from the bloodline of self-healers,
rise gallantly from the ashes negativity,
shake off the shackles of neglect.
You won’t live like this forever
and, certainly, you won’t die like this.
If you sometimes feel lonely,
it is not because you are deserted,
it is because you are alive.
Rise to hope and healing,
banish every negative feeling.
Love is calling your name,
step out and show up,
answer with grit and grace,
you are worthy of epic love,
this is your moment,
today is yours to shine,
You are loved eternally.
© Adeleke Adeite

Happy Valentine’s Day lovely friends. What’s your plan for Val? 🥰

Portrait of Possibilities – A Poem

I choose to be a sacred sanctuary.
It does not matter
whether I am a cottage in a slum,
or a castle with a luxury lawn.
Whatever I am,
I will welcome divinity into myself
with arms open wide.
I want heaven’s glow to be evident,
as a signal glimpse of the bliss within me.

If my roof is thatched,
let it be the shadow of the Almighty.
If my tank is half full,
let its content be the water of life.
If all I have left is five loaves of bread,
let it be blessed by Jireh.
I want to hungry, thirsty and desperate
for more of God’s love, light and life.

I want to shine with shalom
when my heart quakes with cares
or when the rod of life breaks my passion
that I silently crash
into a million broken pieces.
A million messy pieces, a million scars
proclaiming God’s mercies
every morning.

I want to lie down in green pastures,
and make God’s promises the pillows
on which I lay my hurting head.
When my thoughts are nothing
but a colourful crown of thorns
that fuels grief and starves my faith,
I will hold them with hope,
and nurture them with truth,
until they evolve into a wreath –
a diadem of grace around my head.

I will not plunge into the pool of self-pity,
panic and pressure.
With joy, I will draw water from the well
of hope and salvation.
Whether the day is dark
or the twilight stars sleep in despair.
God is in this temple, heaven is here.
there is light in tunnels and dark alleys,
there is joy in the valley of shadows.

I am a portrait of possibilities,
I am here to happen, and made to manifest.
I am salt, I am lustrous light,
I am God’s sanctuary.
I am enough.

© Adeleke Adeite

I Am Enough

I was sauntering,
desperately searching for perfection,
I got broken while passionately trying
to fix this perpetual puzzle.
Who said there is a missing piece?
Who said I need some unravelling?
I wish I had known that I am enough
and everything I crave is within me.

Struggling to prove my worth,
I became blind to my uniqueness.
Some said a facelift is all I needed
to finally find and deploy my gift.
Who said I am broken beyond fixing?
Who said I need to be flawless?
I wish I had known that I am enough
and everything I crave is within me

Craving for validation,
I became a slave to conditional love
starved of authentic attention
till I became bereft of inner bliss.
Now I filter people’s opinion about me
with the lens of pure love and light.
I wish I had known that I am enough
and everything I crave is within me.

With the stars I now see within me
never would I be defined by my scars.
I am weak but not worthless,
even if I’m bleeding, I’m still a blessing.
With wisdom, I will fix the fixable,
I won’t mess it all to mend some.
I wish I had known that I am enough
and everything I crave is within me.
© Adeleke Adeite

Hey friends, I trust you are doing great. I have been ill for a while but I’m taking medications and praying to recover soon. How are you all doing?

Kindly share in the comment section how you handle negative opinions and undue pressure from others. I look forward to reading your comments. ❤❤❤🤗🤗

Trading Tears and Facing Fears

When our hearts are filled with tears
and our spirits stifled with guilt and fears.
God is always there to see us through;
His peace and love are timeless and true.

When bright days get dark and deary
and we seem to get weak and weary;
God is always ready to see us through,
His grace and light are limitless and true.

When sin and sorrow sting our souls,
and blunders make us blind to our goals.
God is always there to see us through;
His mercies are matchless and true.

When it’s hard to stand and understand
why life sometimes feels like quicksand
God is always there to see us through,
His strength in us priceless and true.

Trade your tears and face your fears
God loves, sees, knows and hears…
Go borrow vessels, not a few
God’s provision is matchless and true

Arise and look within, God lives in you,
Even if You can’t feel it, He stands by you.
No matter what like takes you through,
God’s promises are timely and true.

© Adeleke Adeite

Hey friends, thank you for reading this. I’ve been feeling low for quite some time now, I found strength in the promises of God and His power to perform every promise.

What do you draw strength from whenever you feel lost, limited and lonely?

My Sweet Friend – A Poem

Who taught my weary soul to smile,
and helps me go the extra mile
whose arms of love make me agile?
My sweet friend.

Who gives me pleasure in my pains,
and holds my hands in tough terrains
till I harvest sweet golden grains?
My sweet friend.

Who never leaves me in distress,
and always lifts me out of stress
who always sows seeds of kindness?
My sweet friend.

Never will I this gem deny!
whether I fall, fumble or fly,
our lovely bond will never die.
My sweet friend.

Under the sun and in the rain,
in fiery furnace and fountains
our love will rise, radiate and reign.
My sweet friend.

I love converting happiness and hurts to hymns, I love turning pain and pleasure into poetry. Today, I decided to turn the tales in my head into tributes, eulogizing every sweet soul that has been a blessing to me. Thanks to all my sweet friends and family.
© Adeleke Adeite

Do you have sweet friends? How do they make you feel?

Winning Over Worry

I always get tempted to worry about the things I can’t change, but at the end of the day, I discover that there has been a ready-made solutionn for those things, and my worry was worthless.

We all get tempted to worry about certain situations on our lives, and it seems Covid has made anxiety a more acceptable way of dealing with issues.

However, we all must realise that the major difference between worry and concern is this: a worried person tries to carry a mountain, and a concerned person tries to climb a mountain.

This reminds me of this old parable.

Death walked toward a certain city. The watchman of the city stopped Death and asked, “What are you going to do? “I am going to kill 20 thousand people,” said Death. The watchman went into the city immediately and warned as many people as he could. The next day, it was reported that 80 thousand people had died.

The man met Death again later that day and said, “You told me that you were going to kill 20 thousand people, but 80 thousand people died yesterday.” Death replied, “I only killed 20 thousand people, the other 60 thousand were killed by worry and panic”.

Anytime I have cause to worry, I remind myself that worry is not only a waste of time but the graveyard where peace and joy are buried. Why should I worry when I’m not a mortician?

Seven Features of Worry.

Worry is a profitless pressure.
Like a rocking chair, worry will give you an activity to do, without a real achievement to show for it. It offers motion without movement.

Worry is a pointless pursuit:
If you treat every stormy situation as a matter of life and death matter, you will live once and die a lot of times.
We are born again every day, we all have more than one life to live: the good life, the better life, the sweet life, the old life, the new life, the impactful life, the beautiful life. Add yours. Life is vast.

This is how I win

Worry is a pitiable prison.
Don’t turn a problem into a perpetual prison. Worry traps people in their old truth and stops them from rewriting their old story. Worry prevents people from enforcing necessary endings and enjoying new beginnings.

Worry is a painful paradise.
The looming tragedies that worry projects are imaginary. They are not certain. Your worst fear may never happen at all.

Worry is a pathetic pastime.
A pity party is not fun at all. No person will come knocking at your door asking to join your worry hang out. Worry puts you in a position where you feel comfortable with confusion and complications.

Worry is a pressure cooker.
Worry saps a great deal of a person’s emotional energy and can leave him completely drained and depressed.

Worry is a parasitic partner.
Worry never solves a thing, it makes you focus on the things that has gone wrong, and how they can get worse. Worry robs people of their peace, sleep, joy, hope, faith and love, and sometimes, it saps the life out of them.

How To Win Over Worry.

Tackle the trigger.
Identify the root cause of your worry and find resources or people that can help you deal with it. The antidote to your greatest worry is sometimes just a call, a counsellor, a click away.

Fix your focus.
Your priority matters. What you pay attention to will determine what you get. Life is operated on the ‘Pay As You Go’ system. If you pay attention to solution, you will get it.

Partner with Peace.
Peace is not the absence of trouble but the presence of God during troubles. We cannot control everything but we can create a system that sustains peace in the storm. Piece is always present but we need to position ourselves to enjoy it.

Pay attention to God’s promises.
We do not hold the world in our hands, but if we can hold the hands of the God who holds the world, we will be safe.
Life’s storm rages on its course, thriving through it all depends on our staying power and what we pay attention to.
“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in you.” Isaiah 26:3.

Pray and Play with passion.
Worry often makes people pray less. However, you don’t have to do long hours of prayers to snap out if worry.
Panic is a wrong response
to the things you can’t control.
Prayer is the right response
to things under God’s control.
Take time to have fun too. Like people say around here “Problems don’t finish”. Success is a product of problems.

Arise and Affirm
Study God’s words and find out the promises that take care of the problems you may be facing. Speak love, speak life, speak blessings and speak victory over yourself.
You can get a copy of Whispers of Winners here for daily doses of affirmations that keep worries at bay.

Declaration of Victory Day 95

And are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, Romans 3:24 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people Luke 1:68 Declare this I am rescued, restored and redeemed, Nothing is permitted to hold me bound. I am empowered and […]

Declaration of Victory Day 95

Declaration of Victory Day 86

Lead me in the right path, O Lord , or my enemies will conquer me. Make your way plain for me to follow. Psalm 5:8 He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. Psalm 23:2 Declare this I find favour to swim in sweetness,I grow in grace and greatness.I enjoy […]

Declaration of Victory Day 86

7th Blog Anniversary

Having been so busy lately, I couldn’t publish a blog post to celebrate my seventh blog anniversary on the 1st of March.

Time has flown and I still can’t believe it’s been seven years of pouring out my heart to generate international influence. It’s all because of my loyal and loving family (followers) who are simply the sweetest. I thought of doing something spectacular and so I will be sharing 7 things you don’t know about me. I’m not a mystery guy, so let me share my history with you all.

Growing up.

I was born on the 29th of August 1986 into a polygamous family in Lagos, Nigeria. I believe that my name, Adeleke is God’s greatest gift to me through my parents. Adeleke is a royal name which means ‘The crown triumphs’. I was born into battle, and I needed a prophetic assurance that I am wired to always win. My parents separated shortly after I was born. I was raised by my mom who was a devoted Christian and disciplinarian. She raised me and my siblings to be contented and steadfast in our quest for success. 

I had to peddle goods with my siblings till I was 16. However, amid the hustle and bustle, I created time to read books and write articles.

Writing journey.

I started writing at age 10, but I wrote my first poem at 17 and it’s titled ‘Hope For Tomorrow’. In 2005, I started publishing my poems online despite my limited access to the internet at that time. My resilience paid off as I received my first international poetry award on poetrysoup.com in 2008. I have written over 10 songs and 8 has been produced by both locally and internationally.

I get all my support and encouragement from divine connections outside my family. I believe that my family find it hard to encourage me because they believe that I should focus my mental energy on a financially regarding venture. I was discouraged by their actions and apathy even after I won 30 USD for my fourth place win in the Poetrysoup international poetry contest in 2008.

Publishing my first book was a major miracle, God gave me vital connections that made me realise that family is more about bond and affection, and not blood-connection. God blessed me with a community that gave me all the necessary support to publish Whispers of Winners during the total lockdown in 2020. I draw strength to keep writing from God, the voices in my head and the great community I belong to both online and offline. 

I am also surrounded by an amazing Church family who celebrates and appreciates my budding writing skill. 

Relationship:

My experiences while growing up made me comfortable with solitude. Loneliness was my closest friend until I started drowning in the ocean of depression at 18. However, a vital part of me is extremely open and friendly. I don’t keep a lot of friends but I try to be loyal and loving to the few folks I’m able to bond with.

I had my first girlfriend in 2009 when I was in my final year at university. The relationship lasted for about three years. It ended due to infidelity. For me, honesty and loyalty are sacrosanct, if they are lacking in a relationship, I’ll jump out of the ship. I had a few random relationships until 2018. 

In December 2018, I proposed marriage to a lady but we had to go separate ways because I was very impatient and she was extremely dishonest and disloyal. Since then, I’ve decided to stay single and celibate, and also use my time and talent to serve God and humanity. It’s not been an easy journey but it’s been rewarding and blissful.

What I do for fun.

I love seeing movies and hanging out with my closest friends.

My biggest fear/greatest goal.

Poverty.  I tasted real poverty while growing up and I dread it like the plague it is. I have dreams that are bigger than my brain and my budget and I want to generate the king of wealth that will make me have a transgenerational impact

I want to get millions of people around the world out of poverty and hunger; two things I suffered while growing up. I want to bring hope and help to those in need. I desire to make the world a better and happier place. 

My greatest achievement so far

I would say bagging MSc in Measurement and Evaluation is my greatest achievement so far. Not only because I sponsored myself with my meagre income at that time but because I sacrificed a lot with the help of God to achieve the kind of grade I desired. at was during my master’s degree program that I developed Ulcer. It’s worth the sacrifice. (Smiles)

My greatest regret:

I’m not sure I have regrets anymore. I’ve learned to leave my past errors0 where they belong and live my best life, right here right now. I regret nothing and worry about nothing.

Thank you for reading my anniversary blog post. Do well to get a copy of my book, Whispers of Winners here. 

Kindly suggest a theme you would love me to write about.