It’s my wife’s birthday today, and it is a VERY significant
milestone. She is crossing over the decade line, and to the 4th
floor. I am grateful to God for the gift of life, and for the gift of her. As I
prepared for this day, I remember something I read/ learnt about a couple of
years back. It changed the way I approached things, and I would like to share
again on her special day.
Age is an important number that tells you how much you have
left. It is both an addition (1 year added to your last years’ age) and a
subtraction (1 year subtracted from the reminder!). The truth is that time
waits for no man. Today is the 10 years we all spoke about 10 years ago! Yes,
it is. It is therefore important to understand that what you do is as important
as when you do it. When you see a 70 years old man riding a bicycle, you had
better show some concerns. If you are building your first house when you are 80
and it is a 10 room apartment, you may die unnoticed in one of the rooms! No
wonder a wise man cried and prayed to God
“ Oh satisfy us early with your mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days” – Psa 90:14
Sometime ago, I stumbled on what in my opinion is one of the
greatest secret of the Jewish race. They have a perfect understanding of the
times. They are very time conscious. They know that the clock ticks away fast
and that they have to do what they have to do on time and in their seasons. No wonder Jews are very successful everywhere
in the world they find themselves. Haven’t you noticed that?
Let me share with you the catalogue of a Hebrew Child
Decade of Learning/ Training
The age 0-10 is the decade of learning. During this period, there is a
conscious effort to make the Hebrew child learn and learn and learn again. At
about the age of 3, he is practically “deposited” with the Rabbi who teaches
him all the laws of Moses by heart. By the time he is 9, a Hebrew child can
recite by heart all the laws of Moses. He is already convinced about the
reality of His God! It is difficult to bend him again and he knows the Bible
inside out.
For parent reading this, I strongly advise that you do your best for your
children in this age bracket. Send them to the best schools and invest in their
learning. This is the decade that they’ll most likely be shaped.
Decade of Discovery
Between the ages of 11-20, the Hebrew child starts to discover himself and his
special gifting and skills. This is the decade when he begins to ask the
question “who am I?”, “what are my special gifting and abilities?”
Read through one of the greatest catalogue of the Hebrews (the Bible) and you
will see most of them asking these questions during this decade. Joseph started
to explore his gifts of dreaming when he was 17. He discovered that he had a
special ability with dreams. So also was David. At the age of 17, he discovered
that he had special organizational abilities. He was tending his fathers’ sheep
in readiness to lead God’s people.
If you are reading this and you are still within this age bracket, I challenge
to discover yourself and your gifting. This will set you up for success.
Decade of Decision
This perhaps is the most critical decade for everyone. It happens between the
age 21 and 30. In this decade, decisions that will affect one’s destiny are
taken. You decide where to settle, where to work, where to live, who to marry
and the likes. At age 30, Jacob suddenly woke up to reality after serving Laban
for years. He asked “When will I be able to provide for my own house?” What a
question to ask when you are 30!
You’ll most likely live with the consequences of the decisions you take during
this decade. Some will take a decision to do drugs and will surely regret it.
Some will go the way of sex and will be most miserable. Some, and I hope this
includes you, will make right decisions and will benefit from it in subsequent
decades.
Decade of Reigning
Especially when the right decisions are taken in the decade of decisions, this
is the decade to reign in whatever area of life one has chosen. This is the
decade to make waves – to be known, heard and highly rewarded. Jesus took the
world by storm during this decade. 3.5 years into this decade, his fame went
abroad! It was the same for David. During this decade, he led God’s people
successfully and peacefully. He never lost a single battle. Check most people
who are reigning their various fields of endeavor and you’ll see that they fall
here, For sure, there would be exceptions.
You know people say that “a fool at 40 is a fool forever”. Of course I do not
agree. I will rather say, “a fool at 40 is a fool for as long as he still wants
to be a fool”. However, the expectation is that at 40, you should be reigning.
If you are not, something may be wrong.
I will stop here for now. I hope to write on the other decades sometime soon, as occasion demands.
Meanwhile, please join me in celebrating my wife and best
friend, Olubukola as she clocks 40 today! If an angel is missing in heaven, God
would not have to look too far. That angel surely will be in my house. What can
I do without you? Thanks for sharing everything with me, including my birthday
month. Have a great day today, and a terrific decade ahead!
You are
unstoppable, my sweet darling.
