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Dear PenTheVision family
We are taking a break over this festive season to sharpen ourselves so that we can better serve you with exceptional articles in 2018.
Please look out for the next article on the 3rd of January 2018.
Thank you for the awesome love and support in 2017, please keep reading and sharing our articles in 2018.
Stay safe and remember the reason we celebrate Christmas (i.e. the birth of King Jesus Christ 🙂 ) Love you all so much.
From
Bongeka
If you have been following PenTheVision, you know that most of what is shared is every day experiences and drawing wisdom from those. I love being authentic in my writing so that those who read may be able to relate and we able to dialogue about our very real human experiences.
So recently, I was having a conversation with the Lord about my life and some of the difficulties I am encountering. I was like, “God, it’s so hard to keep pursing purpose when you not seeing any tangible benefits. I asked, how do I keep at it and continue?”
A gentle voice in my heart reminded me that rewards don’t come to those who do ordinary things but to those who accomplish extra ordinary things. If it was easy everyone would do it. I was reminded that ALL hard work will bring rewards.
I had such peace after hearing that and I related the depth of that truth to examples I have witnessed of extraordinary rewards being bestowed to those who stepped out of the narrative of ordinary.
If you conduct research or ask most people, what prize/award comes to mind that has global recognition. I am certain the Nobel Prize, the Oscar and the FIFA soccer world cup will come up a few times.
If you look at the Nobel Prize, the Nobel Prize has been honoring men and women from all corners of the globe for outstanding achievements in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and for work in peace. The prize was introduced in 1895 when Alfred Nobel wrote his last will, leaving much of his wealth to the establishment of the Nobel Prize.
The Oscars are handed out every year to actors, directors, producers and film professionals who worked on the previous year’s best films (https://www.cristaux.com/blog/most-famous-awards/). The FIFA Soccer World Cup is awarded to the football team that managed to get through all the stages of the competition and demonstrating a formidable and consistent game strategy throughout.
The point is, none of these awards/prizes come easy and it is only those who push ordinary boundaries; take big risks; sacrifice a lot of pleasure that attain these things. Ordinary events are easy (e.g. taking a shower, eating, going to the toilet) no one gets rewarded for this. The only time in a human life that one gets some sort of applause for the above is, when you are a small child and you begin to do these things without the assistance of adults.
A reward is something that is given for a person’s merit, service or hardship. Its people who have stretched themselves beyond the norm. I find that the greatest and most difficult barrier in us transcending to great heights, is the one that happens on the inside of us. So, I am making a commitment to continue to pursue my destiny and I believe one day I will pen all the rewards I will be enjoying…till next time my friend ?
The past weekend was probably one of the best weekends of my life. My friends and I were together, in a beautiful upmarket apartment right in the heart of Houghton Estate, Johannesburg South Africa. The apartment embodied class and sophistication at its best.
We loved every minute of being there as we laughed, danced, cried, watched Netflix, ate, and prayed.
Every moment with my friends was refreshing. What stood out the most for me was the great spiritual connection we experienced on Sunday morning. It was so unplanned, so unexpected and yet so life changing.
The snippet of our conversation was about the journey of crossing over. Crossing over in “our” dictionary means, the journey that we take in becoming the best versions of who the Almighty God has called us to be.
This concept was highly influenced by the book and movie Eat Pray Love. The main character- Elizabeth Gilbert’s central theme was that of “attraversiamo”. This is an Italian word meaning “let’s cross over”.
As we engaged in deep thought provoking conversations with my friends, we reflected to say “attraversiamo” to us is a holistic journey of becoming better each day spiritually, emotionally, intellectually, physically, socially and financially. There is power in knowing that this is an individual journey of not comparing yourself to anyone. But the process of crossing over is flooded with obstacles.
I really love how Reverend Katie McKay Simpson puts it when she says, “our life is rather a series of daily “crossings”—crossing over from one thing to another, discerning individually and in community about where our next steps will take us” (https://youngclergywomen.org).
Our greatest realisation in our “daily crossings” was that, to successfully cross over you must be “clothed” with the right spiritual and mental tools because each day you will engage in an internal war. You will wrestle deep rooted unhelpful beliefs, you will wrestle your internal critics, you will wrestle unhealthy misconceptions about yourself and the list goes on.
But each day that you recognise these and surrender them at the feet of the Almighty God and just say “Lord, I trust you each day” the process of crossing over becomes smoother because you get to recognise that no matter what you face…Everything will be alright…all things will work out for your good…
