Like most people, I came into 2023 with several things planned out. My goals regarding my spiritual life, academics and many other aspects of my life were all laid out. It was going to be my year for real!
Well, life had other things in store for me, which I soon got to know about…
1st Quarter
This first quarter had its share of negatives and positives. Though, one seemed to outweigh the other.
My faith was pretty strong at the time. I prayed and studied the Bible everyday. I was also part of an online Christian fellowship which consisted of a few of my close friends, led by a beautiful mentor of mine.
Around this time too, I was preparing for my JAMB (Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board) exam and as a genuine lover of school and all it entails, I started studying for it from November of 2022 and kept at it till it was time for the actual exam. No more JAMB Simulators to practice!
My physical health said: Element Of Surprise!!! (inserts meme). I was hit with Malaria (or so I thought) which I’d been having almost every two weeks since the start of the year. I kept getting hospitalised and discharged again shortly after. Different means were employed to treat what we all thought was Malaria and I never seemed to get better.
We were soon advised to switch to a public hospital this time and they were more promising. They recommended a couple tests which cost a lot in this Nigerian economy 😭 But health first!
My main exam was scheduled for the 25th of April 2023 and in my frail state, I wrote it and was pretty confident about what I wrote. One major stage conquered!
In summary, my First Quarter ended with a life – altering diagnosis that I pray I’ll be brave enough to talk about in details someday… (If you knew about it prior to this piece or just got the idea, please refrain from sharing here. Thank you 🫶🏽)
2nd Quarter
With the new diagnosis I had just received, I entered this second quarter with more clarity about a lot of things.
For starters, my faith was not as strong as I thought it was. My devotional life crumbled and I literally had no strength to pick it back up again.
I beat myself up about it so much. And I know you’re thinking it wasn’t my fault or anything and I shouldn’t have, but I did just that! And I did it well!
I had to be indoors for most of the quarter so it was a trying time. The only times I left my house were for hospital appointments which I absolutely dreaded because, well, public hospitals. 🫠
Another major realisation was that I would have to be on a lot of maintenance drugs and for a long time too. Drugs have never been an issue to me but the duration was.
I cried a lot! Even as a hard guy (my friends would disagree 🫣). My self confidence, if I had much before, dropped and shattered…
On a lighter note though, remember I wrote my JAMB exam towards the end of the first quarter? I was scheduled to write the exam again, a week later! 🥲Brooo! In that same frail state, I wrote the mop-up exam but this time, the result hugely compensated for all the trauma I passed through. I came out with a whopping 296 😮💨 (the first exam was a lot easier for me so I may have gotten above 300 but I guess we’ll never know now 💀).
This period was a major bonding moment for me and my family members and having family around me at every moment definitely made it much more endurable.
A lot of my friendships became more solid during this period as well, though I wish it were on circumstances other than my ill health.
I reunited with some other friends who heard about my ‘situation’ from people and felt bad with the way things were between us. I’m a softie (and still a hard guy please! 💀) so I received everyone with open arms and we’re all stronger than ever now.
From July, the Holy Spirit helped me gradually build up everything those months had previously torn down.
He helped restore my devotional life as slowly as was required and helped me develop a routine that I stuck with till the end of the year and all these together, restored my joy.
In all, in this Quarter, I learnt to lean on the Holy Spirit for everything and though everything wasn’t always smooth, doing it all on my own would have made me miserable. So I’m thankful to have had the Holy Spirit in my life to guide me.
3rd Quarter
On Academics: I wrote my Post Utme, which my university required and I passed (easily, might I add 😏). Time will tell if I’m really as smart as I think I am. 😭
At the time of writing this, I’ve gained admission into one of Nigeria’s finest (yes) State universities to study Journalism. I’m officially an Undergraduate!!! ✨
On Health: My health still has its ups and downs but it’s much better than the first two quarters by far. I’m still on a ton of drugs but will pull through. When have I never?
On God: I’m proud to say I’m ending the year stronger than I’ve ever been spiritually. I joined all Celebration Church International’s Reboot Camp sessions, online though. And it was a huge boost. I’ve been rebooted! It was during one of the sessions I got the instruction to use this Medium (pun intended) to start posting my writings. Trust me, you’d never have seen me here if I didn’t heed that instruction…
In all, I survived 2023! And honestly, that’s all that matters.
For 2024, I pray I remain in God’s will throughout the year. Because it’s in His will I’ll have access to everything I’ll need for every phase I go through; the good and the bad.
okayy, thank you for reading this chaotic piece and if you enjoyed it, i’d really appreciate it if you hold down the clap button till it gets to 50. that way Medium pushes it to more people (getting the hang of it already 😂🤲🏽). thank youuu ❤️
(btw I’m a ghost on my Twitter (X) account but you can reach me there @Mehlohdhyy )
