Press play— let me read it to you…
Someone asked me recently what my favourite thing about growing up is. It was a beautiful day in the fall of 2025, and the air smelled like rain on grass. I pondered on the question for a few minutes, my eyes fixed on a young boy in the distance walking a brown furry dog by the lake. And then it hit me. My favourite thing about growing up is looking back. Right then, my mind went back to the year 2014.
It was May 2014. I was an undergraduate law student at Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma. My university had just announced a 6-month strike action — I don’t know about now, but strikes were a normal occurrence in AAU back in those days. I was reading a book in the tiny apartment that I shared with my younger sister when I heard the news about the strike.
Was I happy about the strike? Maybe. Maybe I subconsciously longed to escape studying and return to the comfort of home. Maybe I needed an excuse to be lazy and watch movies all day long without a care about exams. But God had other plans.
I spent the six months that followed as an apprentice at a tailor’s shop. No one forced me to do it. Somehow, I felt inspired to do it. I learned how to operate a sewing machine, cut patterns, and make dresses. Long before I knew I could sing, I knew I loved clothes. I would always get excited when my mum booked an appointment with the tailor because I knew it was yet another opportunity to come up with a new design to sew.
Back when I learned tailoring, it seemed like just another meaningless adventure I was embarking on. But as I sat there at the park and pondered the question I had just been asked, I realised that my learning how to make clothes was not a mistake. Many years later, I’m slowly building a clothing brand, and those six months were somewhat of a foundation I didn’t know I would need.
On my journey of life, I’ve looked back and seen the hand of God even in many seemingly mundane steps I’ve taken. Like when I randomly decided I wanted to start singing, and many years later, my songs are now blessing lives around the world. Or when I had a chance meeting with an old friend who introduced me to copywriting, and many years later, I have built a thriving copywriting career.
Were these occurrences mistakes or coincidences? No, they weren’t.
The Bible says that God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called, in accordance with His will. In the moment, you may not see how the happenings in your life all fit into God’s plan. But with time, you’ll look back and see His hand weaving a beautiful story out of your life.
There will also be things that may happen that you may not understand till you see Jesus face to face, and that too is okay. The goal is to trust Him fully.
My name is Ipha, and one of my favourite things about growing up is looking back and seeing how God worked through the happenings in my life to make it beautiful.
I hope you can look back today with gratitude as I have.
Yours sincerely,
Ipha.
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