Life: A Tapestry of Friendships

Friends are like siblings God didn't put in our families but gives us the opportunity to earn them. Family members are sometimes friends.

A friend will be there to cry with you in bad times; laugh with you in good times; strategize with you in tough times; gets you moving when you are being slow; tells you off when you are being unreasonable... And all other clichés you've heard of.

Friends are there for a season - your whole life season, single season, divorce season, career season, loneliness season. I've had all sorts of friends and though some may no longer be friends I thank God for their contributions to the season.

• The friends that helped me through my broke days in university - shared their meals when I had none.
• The friends that studied with me through my professional qualification - woke me up at night to study.
• The friends that stand by me when I'm low and standby to hold my hands and lift me up - praying for my health, advising & encouraging through career lows.
• The friends that thought me worthy of their friendship even when my life was without direction - talking to me about my wrong life choices, risking my wrath and exposing their hidden weaknesses.

Those friends were and are a part of the tapestry of my life.

I'm currently crocheting an afghan of 11 colours - grey, blue,copper, burgundy, brown, teal, sea green, baby pink, light yellow, magenta, lime green. Some of those colours are vibrant and some are dull; I love some and like some; some standout and some blend in with others. These colours all remind me of my friends and collectively of my life. A mix of experiences.

I am thankful to God for the friends that have helped shape the person I am today. I am thankful that although I fought some of them, in hindsight I see them as friends. I am thankful for second chances with some - to reconnect with an understanding of what they mean to me.

Thank-you friends - Seasonal or Forever friends.

(I wrote this blog on a weekend away with friends and I had them in mind while writing. You know yourselves and so do some of those I have referred to above.)

Tribute to my Pastor Bimbo Odukoya

Written on the 14th of December 2005 while working at Congleton all alone grieving.

Pastor Bim – God’s role model to our generation

She definitely did God proud, as a wife, a mother, a pastor, a Christian. We love her and wish she could remain with us forever (till Christ comes calling) but God had other plans. When I heard she had survived the plane crash - I imagined the testimony she will give in church. But that would have been just one person's testimony (with Pastor Bim, we know that's equal to thousands), now in her death millions her talking about her. Not about how beautiful she was but the real testimony is about how she served in God's kingdom.

She served God with passion (even more passion than I had when I first answered God's call) till the very end - she died in battle. All of us who remain must emulate her. I wonder if I can be that passionate about the kingdom of God - but rather than ponder I will act. In my own little way, I will make sure that all she taught and lived is not lost on me. I will seek to please God in all I do.What will people say about me when I die? Would I be remembered for pleasing God and doing His work? Or will I be remembered for living my life?For Pastor Bim - I remember her for living her life which was all about pleasing God. She was God's role model to our generation.