27.01.2012 - 27.01.2015...#MyTestimony ~ SoFarSoGood

27.01.2012 - 27.01.2015 ~ So far So Good!!!

27.01.2012 - 27.01.2015...‪#‎MyTestimony‬ ~ SoFarSoGood

Preface:

1. The post is not intended to make me an object of pity. I am enjoying what God is doing in my life at the moment and like i said I am a "work in progress" in GOD's hands.

2. The testimony is to encourage whoever is going through this phase or who has gone through ...so we can sharpen ourselves. Challenges should not make you give up on God or back out, rather learn from that phase, get better and move to the next level.

3. It is also to make us plan well; my Oga HR Chris Ukachi has captured is so perfectly. Banking especially has a way of giving us some kind of false status, that's why folks would take all available loans just to look good and impress others...our suits no dey help us sef. LOL

4. No matter what comes your way, Hold on to GOD; HE is too faithful to fail, He has no track records of failures

5. If you indeed have make GOD your sole option, then indeed HE will charter your paths for you...but a little warning "NOT ALL DOORS WILL OPEN FOR YOU"; HE sure would love to take the ultimate glory so HE would definitely make sure you do ONLY HIS WILL and if you agree with me, not all opportunities fit in to God's will.

6. The post is also to celebrate God in the life of my wife (not in any way to flatter her) and encourage others to do so too. It does not make us less a man when we do such. Our wives are God's gifts to us.

7. Also to let you know that focus should not be on man but GOD. Man would fail you big time even when you think you have done so much in times past to merit their favour. You'd be so amazed and shocked. TRUST IN GOD ALONE and HE will choose who to attend to you.

MAIN STORY: 
27.01.2012 - 27.01.2015...#MyTestimony ~ SoFarSoGood

27.01.2012 was a very emotional day for me. In the midst of intense pressure and work-load of a Friday, especially month end transactions, I got a mail from Accessbank HR asking me to report at a hotel the next day (Saturday) where I was presented with a TERMINATION LETTER of my appointment with INTERCONTINENTAL BANK PLC - a bank I served effectively and dutifully for five years (2007-2012)...just like that and the condition of disengagement was "SERVICES NO LONGER NEEDED". What a ridicule and slap on my person (so I thought); so in essence the "7-hand multitasking Jiggo" has just been booted out of the bank that I served with the whole of my life.
Then the journey began...
It didn't really dawn on me until the next Monday (30.01.2012) when I realized that alas! I wouldn't need to wake up early, get dressed, and leave the house for "office" by 6:15am. No customer to attend to, no funds transfer duties to perform, no western union payment to effect, no "GEFU" to run for bulk salary payments for the various ministries and parastatals...no subordinate to assign tasks to, no approval to seek from higher superiors; somehow I was disabled. Many questions kept "bombarding" me on all sides ~ How do I move on? My entire life had revolved strictly around "work", "church", "home"(Triangular Lifestyle)...and nothing else.
The breadwinner of a home has just been shown the door from the bank...no bank up plan, nothing.
To avoid an emergency situation that could wreck havoc in my body system, I registered for Oracle SQL, OCA, OCP classes ...at least I could use this time to rack up some I.T Certifications and eventually venture into the ICT industry (so I thought)...Four months later I had secured 3 certifications - SQL, OCA, ITIL but no jobs came (after spending so much to acquire the certs). I attended several levels of bank interviews (Heritage, FBN, Mainstreet, Diamond, Fortis MFB, FCMB etc), ready to take the same grade level (I was before I exited IBPLC) just to at least get me back to the sector before heading elsewhere but none came forth eventually despite several wonderful recommendations from previous superiors and all...I could still say I'm still on the interviewers waiting lists as we speak (2 years plus). I also tried several business ventures (airline ticketing, ‪#‎IjebuGarri‬, ICT Training, online sales, book sales) but they didn't just work out as I planned; I was demoralized, devastated but I kept trusting God. I kept hearing good news from ex-colleagues who had gotten jobs and moved on well, why was mine different I kept asking.
Month to month I would cry unto God, being my sole option yet no job.

Fast forward to 2015, I'm alive, hale, hearty, wiser, "humbler". All I can say is thank you Lord for your grace, mercy and faithfulness that saw me through these trying moments of my life. 2013 was infact so challenging that I almost lost my sanity; little did I know that the expiration period of the present challenges was just not far off....I took a trip to Lagos for a whole month (September) on a retreat where I attended Daystar Leadership Academy, I just knew I was better than what was happening to me. I thank God for the lessons, training He took me through during these times; I can boldly say I am now a better Jide; I might not have attained but I'm not where I used to be.
I bless the name of the Lord for the gift of a darling, supportive and an encouraging wife... Hmm! what a gift she is! A rock, mother, wife, friend, confidant, partner, associate and much more. How could I have survived those challenging times without your support and constant encouragement - words like "baby, you're not a failure; I believe in you, you can do it, it is well". Despite my nagging atimes (as expected, from a hurting husband), you kept your cool and supported me the more (food, clothing, bills of diverse kinds, school fees, rent, new car etc) so that I wouldn't feel out of place and without any 3rd party being privy to our affairs/challenges...I'm eternally grateful to God for you, I know I can't finish paying you, but I'm ready and I'd gladly keep paying until the end of time (a good debt to owe).
To my friends and families that encouraged and supported me during these trying times, I'm so grateful...God bless you real good.

March 2014: I assumed a role in my place of worship as the P.A to the Senior Pastor of The Father's Church and also the Church Social Media Manager (e-Presence Officer). Not in my wildest dreams did I ever consider working in a church (I always discarded it whenever the opportunity surfaced because I had my reservations about church work; infact I'd jettisoned previous opportunities), my modus-operandi was to support the ministry financially and otherwise from the back-end but not getting attached (as an employee) in any way but I've learnt a whole lot in this 11 month of engagement; it has been a whole new dimension which has impacted my life and my home in a positive way; I've also been able to earn pay to take home to my family after 2 years of unemployment (within those 2 years of unemployment, maybe all I took home was about‪#‎50k‬ or less). I'm grateful to God for nudging me to accept the offer to serve in HIS court and also granting my wife the understanding to support me all the way too. It is a training ground and I'm learning a whole lot, which I believe has impacted on my growth as a Christian, father, husband, entrepreneur etc, and I know that when its time to leave and launch into another phase, God would have perfected everything needed to take up such further responsibilities and I won't fail HIM (by HIS grace).

Are you going through a challenge? No job? No money? Several debts and bills to clear? Stay with GOD, be sensitive to HIM, He will come through for you. He might just want you to pass through that phase and learn some things now so that you won't disappoint/fail HIM on the bigger stage when He assigns "the next level responsibilities" to you.

* Did I cry? Sure I did, yet I trusted HIM.
* Was it easy? Naaa! But HE graced me.
* Were their disappointments from friends and close associates? Definitely, but there is that FRIEND that sticks closer than a brother...JESUS
* Were their signs that it'd get better? Errm! Yea I knew it would get better but the situations/circumstances were not presenting itself that way, but I kept trusting HIM.
One word kept ringing in my heart.... "GOD WILL NEVER LAY ON ME A LOAD TO HEAVY TO CARRY".

If you indeed have make GOD your sole option, then indeed HE will charter your paths for you...but a little warning "NOT ALL DOORS WILL OPEN FOR YOU"; HE sure would love to take the ultimate glory so HE would definitely make sure you do ONLY HIS WILL and if you agree with me, not all opportunities fit in to God's will.

Conclusion ~ Really! Do I even have a conclusion? My life is a "work in progress", a continuous work of God and I know HE is taking me to heights beyond what I could ever ask or think.
If you have made GOD your one and only option, be rest assured that HE'll take you through those challenges and you'll come out with ear-tingling and mind-blowing testimonies. You'll surely recover all that you think you lost. ‪#‎iRecoverAll‬

2015~It shall be for you a year that you'll recover every lost ground. You shall av everything in multiple folds in Jesus name. Happy new season.
#iRecoverAll