21 Days of Lenses & Scribblings
A Glimpse From My Journal Through The Stories We Do Not Tell.
The Day Before. {17.03.2024}
Today’s Sunday, and I have just returned from spending time with my family. Amidst the reminiscing moments and Polan trying to convince us all to take more pictures, he mentioned he’s been taking a photo of himself daily.
“Why?” I asked.
“To look through the days and remind myself how far I have come.” he replied, sparking a light bulb in me.
As I sit by my desk tonight trying to plan the week, I think back to this moment and how life often whirls by in a blur, with countless moments slipping past unnoticed amidst the chaos.
Now inspired to approach life differently, I glance at the calendar and notice a mere 21 days remaining until my birthday!
Woah! How about an opportunity to make each moment in the next 21 days count and forge a new habit?
I decided to start this nightly journal ritual; reflecting on the day’s highlights or lessons learned… something about living intentionally through each day.
So, welcome to snapshots from my life through the next 21 days.
To nothing and everything, Enjoy!😊
Day 21. {SLIDES OF LOVE}
SLIDES OF LOVE
I woke up this morning wrapped in Wole’s embrace. He told me about a dream from last night, painting a picture of the days ahead, emphasizing my worth and encouraging me to persist in my efforts because they would soon pay off.
350+ applications with loads of daily rejections in the past month, God knows this was exactly what I needed to hear. His words were a balm to my soul, coming from none other than the best guy in the world!
Funny, we were recovering from a scuffle and I wasn’t ready to let go yet. The plan was to still pout around and spend the day focusing on my work while ignoring him.
But what happens when my “mumu” button is pushed so hard?
I couldn’t help but smile and melt into his embrace. Love always wins.
Anyway, I ended up working from home alone because Wole rushed off to handle an emergency call at the office. Lol.
Today, I was reminded of the essence of love: its rollercoaster of laughter and arguments, tenderness and offense, fights and forgiveness. Yet amidst it all, there's a steadfast commitment to stand by each other's side, no matter what because that’s what keeps the slides glued together.
And as Cinderella’s song goes, “So this love”…
Day 20{Little As Much}
LITTLE AS MUCH
Today, I want to talk about Mrs T.
She is our cleaning staff who comes once a week to take care of the house. I watched her as she worked today, mumbling songs under her breath as she slowly cleaned through small lines of the bathroom tiles.
You see, watching her work is like witnessing excellence in action. Recommended by a family friend as “the best you’ll ever have,” Mrs. T lives up to every word. She doesn’t need much direction; she meticulously cleans every nook and cranny, painstakingly arranging everything to perfection; week after week, never having any issues with us.
As I saw her off to the door today, I slipped some money into her hand, thanking her for her hard work. “Something small for you and the girls.”
Her response, a tearful smile, spoke volumes. “Ahn! Thank you, madam. Please thank Oga for me too. God bless you.”
And she was gone. (To the next house, probably)
As I write tonight, I think of Mrs T and what a night like this would look like for her. Exhaustion? Family time or maybe even still working again…
Mrs. T teaches me the essence of excellence in the smallest details. She exemplifies the phrase “Good work” for me. And on tired days like this one, when I consider giving up, her example inspires me to press on.Shoutout to you Mrs. T!
Daye 19 {What’s After Failure?}
WHAT’S AFTER FAILURE?
I remember my first-ever failure vividly. It was in SS1 when I scored a dismal 8/20 on our first Maths test.
The question? A quadratic equation to be solved using the Completing the Square method. Throughout junior school, I’d breezed through using other methods, but this time, it had to be the “Completing the Square” method.
What made it unforgettable was our teacher’s assurance that he’d include similar questions in the test. Yet, I struggled silently to own up to my struggle of not understanding the concept, fearing ridicule from classmates.
“Olamide! How can you not know this method?”
“Sir, she’s just holding us back. Olamide already knows this.”
So, I stayed silent, dreading the impending test. Faced with the exact questions and no clue how to solve them, I simply rewrote the questions as my answers. I felt like a failure and while others celebrated the simplicity of the test, I ended with the lowest score in the Science class (ironically, I came out Best in Mathematics that year).
Tonight, as I sift through my pile of recent rejections, I chuckle at this incident from about 13 years ago. Back then, I thought failing a math test would end my world. Little did I know, it was just a part of the journey. More importantly, it taught me that the fear of ridicule is nothing but fixating on the wrong things compared to the milestones ahead.
So,
You failed.
You get rejected.
And so what?
Who cares, than knowing you kept trying and succeeded?
Day 18 {Blank Pages}
BLANK PAGES
Some days are blank.
Some pages have no words to tell.
When we encounter a blank space while reading a book, we don’t throw the book away. We simply turn over and continue reading because we understand that it’s sometimes part of the author’s plan to make the book more organised.
In sentences, there are word spacings. In performances, there are intermissions. In broadcasts, there are breaks. In songs, there are interludes.
Until the author is done, the story hasn’t ended. The blank sheets are still part of the book. In the end, all we would see is the beauty of the entire piece and it wouldn’t matter how long it took between the spaces.
So like today, some days may be blank, and that’s okay.
Tomorrow, we’ll turn to the next page and try again.
Day 17 {The Sometimes}
THE SOMETIMES
Saturdays are mostly for spending quality time with Wole; talking, sleeping, playing games and watching movies.
So today, I cleaned and watched season 6 of the movie ‘One Tree Hill.’ Somewhere in between, the scene with the image shots above caught my attention.
Perfect words to end the week, I’ll say.
Sometimes, the beauty is in the attempt.
And again, that’s okay.
Day 16 {Finding God}
FINDING GOD
Today in church, my pastor concluded his sermon with a story:
He had to fix some things at the office in the past week and when he got there, he took extra turns to get the needed items across, attracting giggles from the nearby staff. When he got tired of their bickering, he asked why they were laughing and they responded.
“Didn’t you know there’s a shorter route through this door?”
At that moment He realized how much time and energy he had wasted simply because he did not “know.”
Then he asked us, “Do you know how many things we might have missed in life simply because we do not know?”
Then He asked us to pray: For eyes that see, ears that hear and specific leading to the answers that speak to the questions of our heart.
One of my most profound stories in the scripture is that of Hagar and the Angel showing her the well of water in Genesis 21.
Everytime I read, I wonder how that the well had always been there but Hagar never saw it and was almost resorting to death from thirst.God is always speaking. The question is where are we seeking?
I know of only one place to find the perfect answers: In God.
And today again, I prayed with all my heart, never to lose this place of seeking in Him, because that’s only how we keep finding.
Day 15 {Prioritising Priorities}
PRIORITISING PRIORITIES
Early Monday morning, Twitter began with so much noise (as always though).
Top of the noise was the question:
“It’s the last Monday in Q1, Celebrate your wins!”
My first reaction was “Yen-Yen-Yen-Yen”… But then as I went through my day, my mind kept drifting, “Last year was different. I could easily roll out my wins because they were right out there and I was on a roll too...
This year has been different. I’ve been slowly gliding my way through the days and getting myself through this new phase of my life.
Finishing the day and looking into the new week, I asked myself what would be my focus going forward instead and I remembered something I once read about how Progress isn’t always linear. It also includes the twists and turns, curves that sometimes take us up and bring us down.
It’s just the end of a quarter, not the end of a life. Every new day is a reminder to make a difference.
Tomorrow, we go again.
Day 14 {How close is God?}
HOW CLOSE IS GOD?
I don’t think it’s meaningless, the story that God sculpted us from clay. Of all the things He made, humankind was the first He touched. The first breath we tasted was His exhale.
I don’t think it’s meaningless that the first time humanity looked up at the eyes of God, His hands were dirty and He was so close.
The first time I read a piece from The Nightbirdie, these were the words that struck me and I just never forgot them.
My earliest dialogue with God stemmed from writing letters. Whenever my heart felt heavy, I poured out my thoughts and even wrote down the responses I imagined from Him. More than two decades later, this practice remains my sanctuary, especially during moments of deep emotion.
Whenever people ask me about developing a close relationship with God, here’s where I always like to begin: God is not just a distant deity; He’s a loving Father, a trusted friend, a devoted Lover — eager to draw closer to us as we seek to know Him.
Tonight, as I concluded our great time of fellowship with the awesome people at Where Friends Pray, I found myself reflecting on these truths, overwhelmed by the thought of life without God. It’s unimaginable.
Again, I find myself thinking about the parable of the prodigal son.
How that He came running first and He’s always running first, coming so close.
So when life makes me tempted to run off and I’m not sure of who/where He is, I remember that this is my Father: His hands are always widely outstretched and coming so close.God is always close.
Day 13 {Finding Purpose}
FINDING PURPOSE
I remember my early days as a student at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), sitting constantly under the teachings of my Pastor who would always tell us that our being in OAU is never a mistake and God has something for each of our lives.
This pushed me daily to the Sports Centre to pray:
Lord, help me know what You’re doing in me and walk with You.
I wish I could say this prayer was answered all at once. It’s been an unending daily journey instead.
Tonight, as I found this tweet, I stared at it and told myself, this has always been it.
Purpose is living each day in what God is doing with you.
And as long as there’s a new day, there’s that which God is doing.
Find it. Find purpose.
Day 12 {God’s Plan}
GOD’S PLAN
Today, I woke up thinking: What if we all came to the world as babies each with a manual to live on the earth…
An offshoot from yesterday’s thoughts, I guess.
Just like manmade gadgets, we get a hardcopy manual that contains each of the days of our lives, what is expected of us, the schools to attend, who to marry, and where to live… and we can always go back to check for answers or clues.
Will our days be simpler? Will there be less mistakes? Will our lives be perfect?
Thoughts. Thoughts. Thoughts.
Reading Gbemi Akinsipe’s book “The Enough Experiment,” I came across the statement: Only in the Creator’s original will is the Creation most fulfilled.
The statement struck me deeply — recognising that man was never an independent being made to figure out life alone. We came into this world because Someone wanted us to and has a plan for each of us. But unlike manmade gadgets, we have a right to choose. And this is where we mostly miss it — that place of choosing.
I always wonder why God gave us free will and never forces His will on us, even when He knows that it is the best for us.
But that we come to the end of ourselves and see the need for Him, surrendering to His Lordship and His guidance as the scriptwriter of the story of our lives.
So, rather than have the script handed to us at birth, we come to Him per time to find out what He has in His script for us.But, ain’t we a coconut head sometimes, trying to figure it all out on our own? Well, I guess that’s what makes God who He is and Man who he is.
Day 11 (Hello, Breathe)
HELLO, BREATHE.
Today was quite annoying.
The heat wave has become very unbearable.
Generator noises, unfinished tasks, heat everywhere, no light, the inverter cannot “carry” the ACs, full house so there’s a limit to what I can wear…
By evening, I was all over the place and just had to remind myself to breathe.
Some days do not go as planned and that’s okay.
Tomorrow I’ll try again.
Day 10{Saro the Musical}
SARO THE MUSICAL.
Wole surprised me with VIP tickets to see a play.
Best in “husbanding”, yeah?
He had told me on Monday so it became my most looked-forward event of the week. Some time away from the stress of the week at least.
And sure, we had a great time of bonding, laughter, music and theatre in brilliant execution.
As we journeyed home under the silence of the night reminiscing about the week and what a difference this experience brought, I smiled remembering this quote Wole once sent me and I’ve always kept at heart.
“People who call romance a game will win empty short-term contests, and people who understand that romance is a dance will win the immortal riches of true love.”
To my best guy with whom I’m figuring these dance moves, Here’s a shoutout! Love you always! ❤️
Day 09 {The Little Things}
THE LITTLE THINGS.
After today’s Easter celebration with friends and family, I decided to take a late-night stroll. As I walked home, enveloped in the quiet of the night, my mind drifted back to a childhood memory.
It was the night into New Year’s Day, and after the crossover service, I returned home with my siblings feeling a bit down because we had no one coming over. For me, the holidays were always about family gatherings, storytelling, and culinary adventures. Christmas was already a quiet one and we had hoped the new year celebration would be different…
But then, we walked into the living room and there was our favourite aunt, Aunty Sade seated in the living room with a big smile on her face. We all rushed into her arms with joy! Now we are set for a blast!
She surprised us by bringing out bubble bath soap and sending us to fetch water from the well for a bath under the twinkling stars. With fireworks painting the sky, we laughed and splashed around, carefree and without a worry in the world.
(Waiting for kiki, our historian to come for me on the accuracy of this story 🙄)
As tomorrow marks the beginning of a new month and a new quarter, this memory floods me with smiles. It’s incredible how that event has stayed with me through the years. The little things we sometimes miss, yeah?
A reminder that happiness isn’t always about what you have, but about finding joy and contentment in every moment of the journey.So Q2, shall we?
Day 08 {It Always Blooms in April}
IT ALWAYS BLOOMS IN APRIL
It’s the first day of April and the start of a new quarter.
I watched the sunrise and its rays filter into the room as I prayed with some of my beautiful people at Where Friends Pray. We prayed about everything — strength, direction, clarity, discernment and most importantly, for a deeper and closer walk with the Lord.
What a beautiful way to get the month started!
My good friend, ‘Sade came to visit (Shoutout to you, my woman! 😍)
We enjoyed bonding over some good food and Laju Iren’s new movie, Mistakenly Yours. While watching Casa de Novia, an argument broke out on whether it’s okay for a woman to propose the start of a relationship when the guy is slacking…
Oh Well, it’s April. And here, it always blooms.
Day 07 {Life Problems or Money Issues}
LIFE PROBLEMS OR MONEY ISSUES.
I bought a shower curtain over the weekend for our Master’s bathroom.
I had had enough of water splashing out of the tub to the bathroom floor. Wole always said it wasn’t a big deal but for me, it was and almost every day, we argued about why there was water on the floor and the need for it to be cleaned immediately after every shower.
Today as Wole stepped out of the bathroom, he laughed. “There’s no water on the floor. We now have a shower curtain.”
I scoffed instead.
Then Wole goes, “ That’s how you will be fighting with your wife over simple things that could be easily solved with money. May we always have money to solve the problems money can solve instead of fighting here and there.”
That got a resounding amen with loads of laughter.
Yesterday, I read an Instagram post from Leke Alder saying:
At the end of the day, a successful marriage is not a complicated venture. A good marriage is just two people who want each other and are committed to one another. They’re selfless in disposition, and they are responsible…it takes two to make a marriage work.Our shower curtain resolution reminded me of these words again. Arguments resolved. On to the next…
Day 06 {One At A Time}
ONE AT A TIME
Today was a long work day. In between, I stumbled on this post on Twitter.
It made my day.
Day 05 {Understanding God’s Goodness}
UNDERSTANDING GOD’S GOODNESS
Today, My bible study got me searching for the WHYs in the book of Job.
Why did Job have to suffer?
Why did God allow Job to suffer?
Why do bad things sometimes happen to good people?
Where’s God when His people are suffering?
Today. I found my answer:
The Book of Job does not unlock the puzzle of why bad things happen to good people. It doesn’t tell us why God ‘allowed’ Job to go through those things — The writer had an intent:
It is to understand that we might not always have all the answers but to invite us to trust God’s wisdom and help when we do encounter suffering, rather than trying to figure out the reason for it.And this is why when James was going to write about Job in his letter, he did not talk about the who or why, rather he said “You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord — that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. (James 5:11)
Again, I’m learning that the best way to understand the scriptures is to focus on what it says and not dwell on what it did not say. It’s how we don’t deviate into errors.
God is good. All the time.
Day 04 {Rest}
REST
Today, my body completely said no so I slept mostly all through.
Sometimes, we need to sleep first to gather energy for another day.
Just sleep first.
Day 03 {Finding Answers}
FINDING ANSWERS
I missed my way today.
I stepped out of the salon to head home and was faced with two paths: one to my left and the other to my right. This is a road I have been through several times but still needed help deciphering my way around. I had also missed my way to the salon earlier and had to call an attendant to help with directions.
I decided to trust my instincts. It had always worked. I turned to my right and began walking down the road. I see familiar stores, yet something within me begins to blink “Olamide, I think you took the wrong path.”
Yet I kept walking hoping I would somehow figure the right path along.
I got to the end of the road and finally agreed there was no other option but to walk back the long route I came from and so I journeyed again.
When I finally figured my way home, I remembered a quote I once penned in my journal:
“A man on a wrong road, consistency is not the message for him; it is change.”Today made me realise the essence of these words.
Funny but not funny.
Day 02 {Today, I’m grateful for…}
TODAY, I’M GRATEFUL FOR…
Today has not been my best day but instead of focusing on all of the wrongs, I decided to end my day by writing out 5 things I am most grateful for today. So here we go:
- I prayed into the early hours of this morning, asking the Lord for help through this season of my life and slept into the breaking of dawn with so much peace. I am thankful for the privilege to commune with God always and the peace it always brings.
- Lunch today was Jollof Spaghetti with Grilled Goat Meat. As I served, I thought about how God has blessed us as a family and keeps showing up for us at every moment. For this, I am grateful.
- I had calls from my mum, siblings and parents-in-law. I am thankful for the gift of family and love from people who keep looking out for the best for me.
- I had a chat with a beloved sis and as she ended the call, she said
“I am so thankful for the gift of you! You always just know the perfect thing to say to me .” That compliment made my day and almost brought me to tears. I am thankful for the privilege of being a gift and blessing to others. - It’s late in the night. Everyone’s gone to sleep and as I am seated before my laptop, pouring out my heart, taking in the fresh smell of the room, listening to the humming of the air conditioner and the silence of the night, I am thinking about this moment and so grateful for the privilege to be here.
So, for now, and always, Thank You, Lord.
Day 01 {The Year Ahead}
THE YEAR AHEAD
“If you could describe your new year in a painting, what would it be?”
These were the words the Holy Spirit asked me at the start of the year and got me started with this piece of art which I just never got to finish.
Tonight, as I sit at my desk revelling in the joy of entering a new year tomorrow I find myself running through my gallery and stumbling on this unfinished piece; I am reminded of what made me go for it.
It is the year I finally finished writing the books I’ve had in my heart for years.
It’s the year I launched the designs and prints I’ve been working on.
It’s the year I took giant academic strides and explored the world of art as I’ve always desired.
It’s the year I loved more, explored more, worried less, and laughed much more. Above all, it’s the year I walked with God the most( so much that even my steps-counter lost count👻)
It’s surely a blessed year and I absolutely can’t wait to tell the stories that await this new journey.
So, It’s been 21 days of penning down my thoughts and observations.
As read through from the beginning, I’m quite fascinated by some of the events and lessons drawn. Truly, there’s a lot that happens around us, it’s just a question of where we are looking.It’s my birthday tomorrow. Yay!
The Day After. {09.01.2024}
Yet,
For the days before,
For the journeying, For answers,
For strength, For healings,
For nudgings, For leadings,
For victories, For wins…
Even,
For the days in between,
For the silences, For the tears,
For the mess-ups, For the failures,
For the unsure, For the seemingly unanswered…
And,
For the days ahead,
For light, For growth,
For more doings, For bigger exploits,
For Christ in us, For Christ through us,
For the best of days yet…
Thank You.
(July 01, 2022)
PS: Did you read this to the end, you deserve a huge applause. Thank you for indulging my thoughts this time. I’ll be back soon.
