I went to school to have a document signed by my HOD. What I didn't expect was to walk out of his office with something far more valuable than a signature.
While we were discussing, he paused and said something that stayed with me long after I left:
"In the next ten years of your life, a whole lot of things would change. Things will never be the same."
Then he backed it up with his own life. In less than ten years, he had published ten academic books — a milestone most academics spend an entire career chasing.
He said it matter-of-factly, not to boast, but to make a point. And that point is, time, when used with intention, does something extraordinary to a life.
I walked out of his office and couldn't stop thinking about that very simple truth.
However, I did what he did — looking back at my past 10 years.
And what I found quietly undid me.
Ten years ago, I was a teenager who didn't even know Christ yet. My conversion came the year after, and that single decision cracked my world open.
From that point, everything shifted. My identity, my relationships, my sense of purpose, everything!
In less than ten years, I grew into leadership, into ministry, eventually into pastoral service. None of it was planned, loud or instant. It was slow, steady, and very much God.
Within same ten years, I moved from a teenage girl in secondary school to a young university graduate holding a B.Sc, on a pursuit for a master's degree.
Within those years, I became a writer. An author. I started this blog in 2022. I met people who opened doors I couldn't have knocked on alone. I did business. I kept growing mentally and emotionally.
And honestly? Most days, none of that felt like enough while it was happening.
That's the thing nobody warns you about growth.
It rarely feels like progress when you're in the middle of it.
You're too close to the story to see how far the plot has moved. You're measuring yourself by what isn't done yet, by what hasn't arrived, by who you haven't become or by what others have achieved before you.
You count the "yet-undone" far more than the "already-done."
But step back for just a moment.
Where were you ten years ago? What did you not have then that you carry now? Is it skills, character, faith, an experience?
What storms did you survive that you don't even talk about anymore because you've moved so far past them?
Listen my dear friend, you have come farther than you think. And that alone is worth pausing for.
Here's what I want you to hold onto, especially if you're in a season that feels slow or stuck: patience is not passive. It is one of the most active, courageous things a young person can practice in a world that is always rushing.
Waiting well is a discipline. A highly needed one at that.
Trusting God in the in-between is a spiritual muscle. And it is being built in you right now, even when you can't feel it.
The same God who authored the last ten years of your life —or less— has already written the next ten. He does not run out of ideas for people who stay close to Him.
So yes, your story is not finished. It is not stalled and you're not behind.
Your story is still unfolding, right on time.
Ten years from now, you will look back at this exact season and marvel.
Don't give up before you get there.
What I want you to do:
Take five minutes today to write down three things God has done in your life in the last few years that you've stopped being grateful for. Thank Him for it and keep going.
At this point, based on the foundational input you've intentionally made in your life, the next 10 years is too far.
Watch out for the next 3-5 years.
Just stay consistent and never lose sight of where you're going.
The Good Lord bless and keep you. ✨
Deep. We often measure success by the yet to be done, than what has been achieved already.
ReplyDeleteGod bless those hands of yours 🙏🏿🙏🏿