A statement from my devotional today really caught my curiosity. The speaker said “ remember when you feel doubt you’re a King’s kid”.
This is because “ but as many as received him, to them he gave right to become children of God” -John 1:12
God is King and that makes us a King’s kid, as long as we believe and receive Jesus.
I am loving the image of myself as a King’s kid, a princess to be precise. Reflecting on this has elevated my spirit, boasting my confidence, infact maybe even giving me an extra pep in my step today.
I don’t know about you but the thought of being a princess sounds pretty fabulous to me. What images of royalty does this conjure up for you in your mind?
Seriously this message really is so timely for me. Timely because even for just today, I needed to not doubt me, or my abilities , especially as my strength weans and I feel weary under the pressure of my doctor/ mothering TO DO lists.
After all, I AM a King’s kid , a precious daughter of the most high God.
I pray this statement settles in your spirit and encourages you too , as you read this .
Remember when you feel doubt, don’t forget that you too are a King’s Kid, and that is a very special place to be!💕
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There were moments of joy watching our daughters perform liturgical dance while bringing the blessed oils into the sanctuary .
There were also somber moments reflecting on Jesus’ agony in the garden of Gethsemane and the last hours of his life.
Experiencing my favorite liturgy this year while grieving the loss of my earthly father opened up more spaces of vulnerability for me.
There are holes in my heart this year as I miss gathering with all of my loved ones.
Hearing our priest remind us that the oil of catechumens , oil of sacraments including the oil anointing of the sick “was blessed this morning at the cathedral by the bishop and about 125 priests”. He reminded us that the blessing of this oil is done yearly on this day, and could be used to anoint any of us members of the church in the coming year.
It is a good yet hard reminder of our human mortality and fragility.
A good reminder to live a life of love and no regret.
Tonight we wash each other’s feet just like Jesus washed his disciples.
There were so many beautiful moments just sitting to appreciate families , friends and perhaps strangers washing each other’s feet tonight. I have to give credit to our family friend who spontaneously captured these photos of our family for us during the act of feet washing… thank you Tom!
A beautiful symbolic act of love, humility and service.
We were challenged to reflect on whose feet we’ve washed or who have washed our own feet lately?
I can think of so many who have been of help and service to me in these past six months of grieving the loss of my father.
I will be forever grateful to all of those who have helped unburden me, in one or another.
Thank you.
This particular day of liturgy can be emotionally heavy. My grieving heart allowed it to weight tons more tonight.
I missed my Dad and yet grateful that he helped mold my Catholic faith – an endless gift indeed.
Attending the beginning of this year’s Easter triduum with our crew of almost all four teenagers ( 15yrs, 13yrs, 13 yrs and 12yrs) is also humbling .
This year, DH and I thought it best if we allowed each of the children to pick whose feet in our family they wanted to wash, as an act of love, humility, forgiveness, service .
I am sure you can relate that some feet are “ easier” or “ harder “to wash depending on the day.
Let’s just say that deciding whose feet one chooses to wash should allow us to be more speculative.
As a mother of four ( almost) teenagers, I don’t always feel like I’m crushing the “super mom playbook.”
Therefore, tonight with my heavy heart, I choose to wash your feet out of love ,humility and service.
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In every season give thanks – 1 Thessalonians 5:18
This season of my life has been hard.
I have been challenged by loss and grief.
Waking up to my First thanksgiving without my father physically present on earth is TOUGH!
To say I miss you is such an understatement 💔
Arrival hugs the day before thanksgiving day 2021
I no longer have the casual opportunity to physically express my gratitude to him with my words, a hug,a plate of yummy thanksgiving cooking, or jocular conversations shared on a thanksgiving morning family walk on the trail to Stacy Parks.
Arrival hugs the day before thanksgiving day 2021Thanksgiving day family walk 2021Thanksgiving day 2021
My thoughts wonder deeply into an existential plane… What does your view from heaven look like now? Are you gathered in heaven with your parents and other family members enjoying great laughs with the communion of saints? Is food even a thing in heaven?
Now your image mostly exists in my mind and my heart. Your eyes always so full of love and I only imagine that this love is intensified from heaven now .
Therefore your love goes on.. even in death.
I am choosing to give thanks to God for this love and all the manifestations of that love in my life .
You see , because my Dad loved so freely, he also accepted and gave so freely this love.
My dad’s love and acceptance of my DH , despite our cultural differences, while some Naija parents would have given a side eye to an interracial marriage and therefore blocked blessings – he did not, and not only welcomed my DH with open arms but supported our union true and true.
Thanksgiving day 2021
This gift of love and acceptance has therefore abounded exponentially in my life in so many angles.
Kids table Thanksgiving Day 2021
Wherever I look I can see the manifestation of love in my life .
I see it in you my DH, I see it in my children, I see in my mother and siblings, I see it in my wonderful Oma and Opa and extended family and in laws, I see it in my Dedes and my Dadas, I see it in my cousins and their children, i see it in my dog Teddy, I see it in my sweet friends , I see it in my HOLLA group, I see it in my WOW group , I see it in my work and the ability to provide mental health services to those in need, I see it in the opportunity to be living in a beautiful country with my roots extended from the great continent of Africa.
Hanging out on thanksgiving day 2021
I see it in you ,my readers and I am grateful.
So yes, it’s a bittersweet thanksgiving , however I can still see so clearly the many reasons to give thanks.
I hope that you can look around you and your own unique circumstances and see reasons to be THANKFUL♥️🙏🏾
❤️
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I am writing through my deepest grief … I have lost my father of 83yrs to the ages💔.
God called him home on the feast of our Lady of Sorrows ( the day the Catholic Church celebrates Jesus mother Mary receiving the body of her son from the cross)
I have lost the one whose existence added sauce to my life . Now the world seemed more bland without him.
Dad absolutely giddy at receiving this gift of a T-shirt on his 80th birthday ♥️
DH*and I landed in New Orleans airport on that day that he was called home to God. Even the air seemed to stale and lack spice. It was like being given food without any salt.
Typically, our landing at Louis Armstrong Airport is filled with the anticipation for a wonderful family reunion , with my Dad at the center of all the excitements.
My Dad knew how to take his job as a great fun father and grandfather seriously.
Dallas Texas
We called him “Chief” and he was regal in so many ways even though he was also the most humble human I ever met…
Our family trips to New Orleans were filled with Chief planning this or that, all in an effort to ensure that WE all had the very best times! They were organized bus tours , just because- with his clinic staff as our make shift bus driver lol, nighttime boat cruise on the Mississippi River with all his grandchildren, catered local Cajun cuisine at thanksgiving, tourist tours to visit the alligators in the swamps of New Orleans, big fun parties thrown in their home just to welcome their first grandchild, or parties just in celebration of his family coming home.
Every visit to New Orleans was memorable and filled with JOY! .
New Orleans with grandchildren Dallas with grandchildren Washington DC with family Touring Washington DC with grandchildren Breakfast in Eziachi Nigeria with grandkids 50th wedding anniversary/80th birthday party celebration in New Orleans South Africa visit with grandchildren Capetown South Africa with grandchildren Twins’ First holy communion St. Louis Memorial Day vacation with family, Florida may 2022Visiting him at Downman Urgent Care Clinic- a place he absolutely loved and gave his life’s work as a physician Owerri with grandkidsWith his beloved sons in-law
My Dad was truly the bagpiper , always finding tunes to bring us Joy and we , his children and grandchildren enjoyed dancing to the tunes of the pure joy he brought us.
My Dad seemed to have life’s manual in hand- and he lived to the fullest! My mother now reminisces on how it was not unusual that they are the last ones on any dance floor. I always loved how easy going my father was, he fit nicely into ANY room, and always had the right words and mannerisms at ANY time. If there was a cramped car during our full family gatherings, he would volunteer to be the adult sitting in the back of the minivan with the kids, just so everyone can fit for the ride to church or wherever.
Chief was adventurous and carpe diem*ed) the heck outta life .
Dad and I , New OrleansDancing completions you daughter Ginika
At 19 yrs old, he left the comfort and familiarity of his homeland in Nigeria, to land on the American shores after he had been awarded a scholarship geared to attract brilliant African minds to the USA in the 1960s.
He embraced his new land and thrived, becoming a surgeon, marrying his bride from his homeland, becoming a father and grandfather , a cultured man, a philanthropist, an author , a man of God and friend to so many.
Dallas 2021
Now, I find myself waking up each morning to the reality that he is no longer with us in the physical form. The pain is so real in numerous moments of the day, when I reach for my phone to make a call to tell him of this experience or the next, only to be reminded of the rude reality that he is gone.
Mexico with grandchildren
Even if he lived another 100 yrs it will not feel like enough, because he embodied so much Love. However, I also know that he was only a gift from God and has returned to the giver of life. Indeed we are all on borrowed time.
A reminder to make the most of our lives on earth.
The condolences keeps pouring in and I often find myself consoling tears on the other phone line.
So many stories of people whose lives he touched, as a physician, an Uncle, a mentor, a friend etc etc.
Celebrating a surprise birthday gathering for him at his clinicMardi Gras New Orleans
Now there are the moments that I now choose to call “God-Win” moments where I am convinced of his reunion with the communion of saints and smiling down on me. I am so grateful that I have so many wonderful “ make you smile” memories of my father. Those are my gifts to hold on to now and I hope to keep these always.
I see him in the legacy of his family , his children and grandchildren. He hasn’t left us completely, because his spirit and legacy are alive in us.
The other day, I had a God win moment as I dropped off one of my twins to football practice ( DH dropped the other twin as we always divide and conquer with this parenting gig)…
Anyways as I watched one of our twin walk away from the car in his football gear looking so grown up , hair flowing and handsome, this thought came to my mind and literally spoke out loud to myself – “Well Dad , there goes YOUR legacy “and that was comforting.
Thanksgiving New Orleans Mexico
The reality is that OUR big Iroko tree who was our healthy , never sick , never demanding has indeed fallen, and all the cover and protection is lifted and we , his mourners are feeling the lack of shade and comfort that this giant of a man provided us all.
We must now try and readjust to our new reality without his strong protection , along with the wonderful qualities that his life added to give our life more sauce, making life so much more sweeter.
Thankfully I am consoled with the belief and reminder that he is now in the communion of saints and will keep his love and care on us now from heaven – for all eternity.
Even in death he keeps blessing us 🙏🏾♥️
Capetown South Africa
Joining the club of those who have lost a parent is such a hard club to be belong to now. Especially when you had an amazing father like I have had all my life . I am now choosing to mourn him while remembering to honor his legacy in those that I have left .
Pastor TD Jakes talks about “ strengthening what remains”even in losses. I am choosing to do just that one day at a time . My tears will flow and at times stain my face, but I will choose to love all that remains , in the example that my father has given me throughout his life .
In my Igbo custom, I was the reincarnation of my father’s mother and so he called me his “ Mama Janet”. A term that has always been endearing and also allowed me space to share so much humor with him, as I would in our later years teasingly call him “ Odi ishi okpukpu” like his sisters nicknamed him.
Dog lover all his life Florida with grandchildren Rollercoaster with grandson at almost 80yrs!Hanging out with Chief St Louis
I am so grateful that we really shared So much laughter and fun together. Chief inspired so many and in his presence, he had a way of making you feel seen, like YOU mattered.
Thank you Dad for always SEEING me I will forever be grateful for your love ❤️
Poet and philosopher Kahlil Gibran says, “To live in the hearts of others is not to die”.
Rest in God Chief Omenka, my dearest father🙏🏾♥️
New Orleans LaLagos , NigeriaAPA conference with his best friend/brother in Law, Atlanta Georgia.Our wedding 2005My father daughter dance at our wedding Seregenti, Tanzania With his son, Nigeria.Buffalo, New YorkTree house, St LouisSt Louis MOEnjoying simple things in life like this ice cream cone on the beaches of Anna Maria island Adieu Chief Omenka🙏🏾♥️
Today is one of those days that we will remember for the rest of our lives… The day that Queen Elizabeth II was lost to the ages.
What were you doing when you heard the news?
It’s a news that we knew was inevitable but still it stings us with surprise and sadness.
I mean she was the longest reigning monarchy! 70 yrs of rule🙌🏽 and yet that doesn’t seem quite enough.
Most of us have known her as Queen of the commonwealth for all of our lives.
It just feels weird to have that reality be different now.
Again , we are reminded of the seasons of change , for change is the only thing constant about life.
Change always happens.
Truth is Queen Elizabeth was beloved by so many!
My dear friends and I are even more grateful that we made our first trip to the London Buckingham Palace during our spring break circa 2002.I am also grateful that DH* and I visited again during our very first international trip as a couple
Queen Elizabeth embodied courage and loyalty which are human characteristics that inspire us .
So where were you when you heard the news today?
My kids heard it during the 6th period at school today.
I heard the news of her passing while I chatted on the phone with my MIL ( Mother in law) during my after school activities mom taxi runs😅
My MIL and I connected (yet again ) on our common admiration of this queen of many decades. My MIL is really is our local STL Queen with her many wonderful qualities ♥️
Truth is that, we need Queens in our lives , people who inspire us to be courageous, graceful, have impeccable taste in clothing and jewelry , loyal and above all , LOVING.
Queens with those qualities bring HOPE to humanity, no matter the seasons of our lives.
I am grateful for all the Queens in my life.
Rest in glory your royal highness 🙏🏾 Queen Elizabeth II.
As always, thank you for visiting and reading my blog and of course I welcome your comments and any shared experiences .
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MindMuse 