No Pressure.

Philippians 4:6 (NIV)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Life is full of pressure and the desire to do what others are doing and enjoy the end product without understanding that there is a process. We seem to always admire the gold without appreciating and understanding the process of fire it had to go through.

I want to share the experience my wife shared with me today when she took my daughter to the salon. She would be a year soon though. I believe the Holy Spirit wants me to remind someone that "No Pressure!!!"

She usually makes our daughter's hair herself every week but she decided to take her with her to the salon that day so that they can make a style that would last longer than a week for her.

It was a very stressful experience for her as I gathered because she displayed several tantrums while making the hair, which is normal because she has never done that before and also they might not be as gentle as a mother would. At some point, she almost gave up and told them not to worry, but when she thought about the fact that it is beneficial in the long run since she won't have to do another in 2 weeks for her, so she persisted.

After everything, they finished the hair and she was back to her playful self and was all over the place and of course, looking so pretty. I remember I saw her when I picked her up while going to Church and she was looking absolutely delightful.

A young woman walked in with a two-year-old baby girl and saw our daughter and admired her and her hair. To my wife's great surprise, this woman started rebuking her daughter on how she wouldn't allow them to make her hair and would be causing unnecessary trouble while at it. She ranted for a while until the young girl started crying.

My wife looked at her and said to herself, "This is the same hair she almost gave up on and someone else is seeing the finished work and is jumping to conclusions." She did the honourable thing and went closer to the woman to share her own experience with our daughter before they could achieve what she is seeing and now admiring. The woman, of course, felt sober and apologized to her daughter.

Psalm 90:4 (NIV)

A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.

This is how most people are. We see someone driving a luxurious car and we want to have what they have without knowing the price they paid in the place of prayer and even with efforts that God helped them with. Holy Spirit ministered and made me understand that this is what we do to ourselves. We see results from other people, not knowing what they have been through or the challenges they have had to deal with and we start to compare and put pressure on ourselves. We cannot skip the process. A gold doesn't come out purified without undergoing heat or fire. A man is not made perfect without tribulations.

We need to calm down, don't be too quick to judge and respect the process. Don't be too hard on yourself and because you haven't gotten what others have doesn't mean you are failing. You are in your own testing period too and you must come out first. Only those who suffered for those they enjoy can value such a thing.

When the value of a thing is not known, abuse is inevitable.

You have to protect your peace and take care of your emotional energy for the things you have to go through. The truth is, you will and must go through these things. If you are taking on extra drama, you will not have the emotional energy you need for your dreams, for your family and your divine assignment. Don't try to compare yourself. Let God do His wonders through your life and enjoy the process. It might be a long walk but it would be worth it. God knows how to collapse times and seasons for His beloved.

You are a child of God, and everything He has belongs to you. Take time to enjoy, appreciate, and love what God has made and given you. While going through what you are going through, enjoy the process and see God at the end of it all. It becomes easier that way because it makes whatever you will get at the end of it last longer. The blessing of the Lord makes rich and adds no sorrow.

No pressure. Calm down. Enjoy the process.

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Thank you for your time.

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My pen doesn't bleed, it speaks, with speed and ease.

Still me,

My tongue is like the pen of a ready writer.

Olawalium; (Love's chemical content, in human form). Take a dose today: doctor's order.