I checked WhatsApp yesterday morning, and the first thing I saw was “Where’s your post?” and that was the moment I knew that I had to see this challenge through. There are plenty of people who will flog me if I don’t, but I love it. Thank you to my amazing village. Thank you for going on this journey with me. I’ll get right into my musing for today.

Have you ever looked at your life and wondered, “How did I get here? I’ve had a few of those moments. It’s a moment when you think about the plans you had, but somehow things haven’t turned out the way you imagined in some areas of your life. And this phrase I read in Dr. Cindy Trimm’s 40 Days of Soul Fast book got me into introspection, leading to today’s post. She said. “Where you are now is a direct result of every decision you have made in the past. Your life is a representation of the sum total of your choices.” Ouch, that hurt a little bit, but it’s the truth. 

I’ve been thinking about it since I read it, taking a trip down memory lane and using a magnifying glass to highlight some of the major decisions I took or did not take. Here is one I can personally share because it became a domino effect of some sort.

When I finished secondary school, I had my dream university in mind; it was the University of Ibadan in Nigeria, but somehow I couldn’t get in that year due to a delay in my result. For that reason, my mum, who didn’t want me to be idle, found a newspaper ad for a university that was just starting. We were going to be the second set. I was mortified; I begged my mum, but she didn’t relent. I wasn’t going to stay home, and that was final. Even after I didn’t get the medicine that I wanted. In her opinion, she wanted me to use that year as a learning experience. It would give me an understanding of what the university system looks like, and I could apply for medicine the following year again. 

Sounds like a plan, right? I wasn’t too pleased. Went grudgingly. Imagine having the dream of going to one of the universities in Nigeria at that time, which had a rich history, compared to a university that was just starting. In hindsight, that decision became a turning point for two life-changing events 

The first one was in my academics. I was a smart student, but I realized that I never put pressure on that gift. I remembered things easily, so I didn’t spend as much time reading as other students. So I didn’t utilize it in secondary school. I did very well, don’t get me wrong, but I could have been way better. So I carried this same nonchalant attitude into my test-run year. I went to class, studied briefly, and at the end of that year I had a 3.5 GPA literally by doing just over average. I remember seeing my result and saying to myself. “If I can come out with a 3.5 even after not giving it much effort, what happens when I give it the needed attention?” And I made up my mind that I was going to study and give my best to school. Boy, am I glad for the test-run year. 

It paid off because, remember, this was my test year? I applied again to my dream school; I didn’t get in. That baffles me till today. But I can see that God had a hand in it. In fact, my current university was angry that even though I was already a student, I still chose another university for medicine as my first choice, and they didn’t want to give me admission. Thank God for his favour and for someone who spoke on my behalf. I finally got my admission into medicine and surgery as the 3rd academic set.

I had to suck it up; a bird in hand is worth two in the bush, right? This particular bird, in fact, became a golden bird. I ended up finishing my first year with a 4.6 CGP. Someone says growth. 🥰🥳🥳

Fast forward to my 3rd year of uni: the government decides to close down the medical school due to accreditation reasons, and I find myself on a fully paid grant to finish medical school in Ukraine from that same government (this short phrase deserves its own blog post, to be honest). I’m not sure if I should call it a grant; the government made a decision to send the first to third set of medical students to Ukraine after they didn’t find a university to take us in.

I finished medical school in Ukraine and decided to stay back. Before I knew it, I found myself in the crosshairs of the Ukraine-Russia War in 2022, and the next thing I knew, I was in Germany, learning a new language (another blog post).

It was one decision that led to a 13-year journey filled with seasons of both very high moments and life-changing, brutal moments. 

I’ve often asked myself, how did I get here? But now I know. I probably wouldn’t have pieced it together if I hadn’t started this challenge. What an unexpected gift!

But now that I know, I’m more determined to make decisions and life choices so that when I look back in 2030, I’ll be proud of them. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve made some decisions that I absolutely regret. But the beauty of life is the hope we have for new beginnings; remember yesterday’s post. At the scent of water.

Perhaps God is leading us to that scent, which today is the scent of introspection. I don’t know how your life has panned out. I don’t know if you are proud of every decision or life choice you have made. But we can all collectively decide that we would change things going forward. I’ll leave you with this journaling exercise:

• Looking at the past 5 years. What are the major decisions you have made? List at least 5
• On a scale of 1-5, rate them on effectiveness. 1 being poor and 5 being the best decision you could have made
• Let’s look forward to 2030. What do you want your life to look like? 
• What are the critical decisions you have to make to get you there? 

I’ll check back on Saturday to see if we took some time to journal. I’ll be writing mine too. 

Thank you for reading till the end. Here’s today’s guiding scripture 

John 14:27, NLT

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

Enjoy God’s peace today, and I’ll see you tomorrow ❤️.

All my love,

Abbie