A story from a WOW DIVA

A friend once told me, I’m so optimistic; I always look out for something good in every situation and that’s why I get really excited when I hear stories of people who against all odds made it in life. I wrote an article Oops, I have to take my bra off on cancer a while ago which is the second most read article on my blog. I have a guest post on an amazing woman who is a cancer survivor and has gone further to become a pillar of strength to other women as well as an inspiration to many.

Mrs Udo Maryanne Okonjo is a female business tycoon. She worked as a lawyer for over twenty years before getting into the real estate business in a professional and advisory service level, no “to let” signs for her. She is remarkable on many fronts but that is not what the discussion is today.

She is a cancer survivor and not just a cancer survivor but an advocate for other women so that they would be protected and preserved. One of the ways that she helps women is with her WOW DIVAS hangouts. WOWDIVAS means Women of Worth, Divinely Inspired, and Victoriously Anointed Sisters. She is a successful wife, mother, sister and daughter. She has the awesome gift of being successful in her office and in her home.

Speaking of WOWDIVAs, she says it was born out of a desire to never let another woman think that she is alone in her valley with no one to cry with or celebrate with or support her through life’s lows and highs. I heard of the myth that a woman is her own worst enemies and I decided to challenge that belief and I came up with 26 women from different places in Johannesburg South Africa and we hung out and encouraged ourselves, prayed together and cried together, my friends and friends of friends who were glad to cheer and be cheered on in a meeting with laughter and support.“After the meeting we were so empowered we suggested that we do it again and invite other women who also needed to be built up”.

 Soon there were hangouts in the United States, London and other countries. The hangouts usually hold at the Oriental Hotel on Saturdays as breakfast meetings.  It is designed to help women see that other women have triumphed over the challenges that they are currently facing (whatever the challenges may be) and that they too can overcome.

The encouragement, prayer and affirmations leave the women feeling refreshed. I call the routine the RRR – retreat, revive and refresh. It is important for women’s total health and essential for a woman to function as the phenomenal women God has created the ideal woman to be.

 At WOWDIVAs we believe that ‘Impossible is nothing’ and that is why we walk on water every day in carrying out our functions. I believe that one of the challenges facing women is having the power to stay focused and optimistic in the midst of difficulties and the challenges from distress at home, to been unappreciated and the demands of society. Many are pressured to cut out and live depressed, accomplishing nothing with their lives or see suicide as a cop out. My goal is to let women see how truly valued and worthy of the best things in life they are. I love it when women know their self worth and are able to build up other women. I just believe that there is something amazingly beautiful about a woman affirming another irrespective of how close they are to you. Be kind, you never know whose life you are saving when you affirm another woman.

 Speaking on her most challenging moments, she said that the diagnosis of the cancer, the treatment and recovery period was particularly challenging. She believes that her unwavering faith and dependence on God got her through it all.

 All through the treatment, I was fully engaged and working, however I set limits for myself. It helps that I was never actually ill (apart from the discomfort of the treatment itself which is enough to kill you) since I discovered the cancer early enough to take a radical preventive approach. In all, I believe that doing all of the above alone without grace was no guarantee so surrendering the final outcome to God during the initial stages was one of my major turning points.

“I am so thankful to my honourable husband, children, parents, siblings, spiritual parents and friends were my support system” Something I am extremely for is that despite being diagnosed with cancer I had the healthiest, cutest most heartbreakingly handsome second son a few years later.

Website: www.udookonjo.com

Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/udookonjoigniter

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I’m sure you were inspired, ladies no more bickering, we need to help one another. Let us all take a cue from this story and remember “A candle looses nothing by lighting another candle” and this goes out to the men too. We need more of her in our generation.

Loads of Love

JMAD

Striking Out

For a long time I was on Heaven’s prayer line for a husband, I sowed into marriages, observed fasts and even attended vigils. Finally God answered me, sent me an angel in form of a man. It’s a few months after our wedding, my nights that were for prayers when I was a single lady has turned into a worrying session. Will I be a good wife or mother, will he become a good husband and a father too?

Have you ever prayed and desired for something so much and when it finally comes instead of rejoicing over it, uncertainties sets in. You start thinking of what’s next. I remember writing a post on our insatiable needs; you can read it up here. I’ll paint a similar story to the one above. I had applied for something earlier in the year, the application was turned down and I applied again and got a positive response but here’s the crazy part I’m torn in between if I’m making the right decision, I already have a somewhat stable life and here I am planning to move from the known to unknown.

I’m the kind of person who likes everything well spelt out, it has to be detailed but over the years I’m learning God doesn’t always give us a detailed path way, He said to Abraham come, to Peter step out even when his human mind couldn’t comprehend walking on water. A few nights ago I was up thinking worrying on the next phase in my life. I’m at the brink of making some decisions and its scary cos’ I don’t know how it will end up. I literally went to bed with a headache after plotting a graph of possible life projections in my head *smh*. In the morning I thought things through and realised I wasn’t trusting God. I totally forgot I didn’t start the things I was worrying myself sick for. I remembered I had prayed over these things and God brought them to pass why couldn’t I trust Him to complete them.

The devil knows if he can mess with our mind, he can mess our lives up. I literally had to jump-start my day with Words, God’s Words. The day got to a climax when a colleague and I were having a conversation and he reminded me of this interesting mind-blowing story in the Bible ‘The Philistines brought the ark of God from Ebenezer to Ashdod. They took the ark of God into the house of Dagon and set it beside Dagon [their idol]. When they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon had fallen upon his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and set him in his place again. But when they arose early the next morning, behold, Dagon had again fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord, and [his] head and both the palms of his hands were lying cut off on the threshold; only the trunk of Dagon was left him’. 1 Sam 5:1 -4 AMP. I had read it before but it felt different, I had to restrain myself from breaking out in the Spirit at the moment. That was an ark that represented God’s presence and the idol had to acknowledge God meanwhile I have the Spirit of God in me and letting the devil play games with my mind.

This just sealed it for me, I have chosen to give God an advance praise for the things I’m yet to see, I’m not going to dwell on the uncertainty of life rather magnify God and His works. I told my friend yesterday, we give so much emphasis to the devil by talking about our problems when we go to God in prayers, how about praising God. I don’t have the blueprint of my life but I have the mind of Christ, my steps are ordered.

I don’t know what your story is; you may be like me at cross-roads in your life. You’ve got to make that life-changing decision and its scaring the life out of you and you are contemplating hanging onto the safe life you have going. I can’t decide for you but I can give a piece of advice, it’s a lot better to try out something and fail (which is not always the case) at least you know, other than living with the regret for the rest of your life. Weigh your options, go to God in prayers and trust Him to direct you. A quote I love so much from the movie Cinderella Story ‘Don’t let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game’.

Loads of love.

JMAD