Here is a day in the life of Ola! A 20 something year old Nigerian American girl, who schooled away from home, in the Caribbeans. Be blessed as she carries you along her journey with God.
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I had my last $5 (cash) to my name and I woke up wondering,
God how is this day gonna go? Can you see how your child is living? I don’t want to be that broke girl who relies on other people until the tides are up again. What are you going to do about this?
An awesome friend of mine knew of my situation and offered to loan me some funds until things turned around, but pride no make I ‘gree. So I made breakfast and just sighed knowing I wasn’t sure if and what I would have for lunch time.
On the way home from school with a group of friends, someone suggested we stop by the local buka {eatery} and got some chicken. Each person only had to pitch in $5. It was a pretty large portion of chicken for $5 oh. So I did it. At least I could go home, cook some of the rice I grabbed from my momma’s house and eat it with the chicken. All the while, I still had that fear in the back of my mind… where will my next meal come from? All my cash is spent!
After I had belle full {over stuffed my belly}, I was getting ready to rest a for a bit, there was a knock on the door.
“Hey Princessa!” It was my landlady! “How was school? Why didn’t you come see me when you came back?” I was taken aback a bit. I wasn’t expecting her and wasn’t sure why she wanted me to stop by. My roommate and I just moved in and took up a lot of her time yesterday.
“Oh, I was sooo hungry after class, I had to come home quickly to make some rice to eat with some chicken that I bought. And then get some rest before i start studying again.”
“Oh Princessa! Why you no tell me? Why did you buy the food? I’ll make some chicken and rice for you.” I’ve been Caribbean living so long that when I’m not in school, I’m so used to speaking the broken English that people are more comfortable speaking it with me!
Anywhoo, for some reason I thought my she was joking about cooking. You now, like kinda giving me a heads up about how I should just come to her next time instead of spending money on food. And besides I already ate the chicken with the rice. But not long later, I learned ohhh! Apparently she used to own her own restaurant! The women loves to cook and it’s clear! She came back upstairs with a plate of plantain, chicken, black beans & rice, and salad. Lemme tell you I hugged and kissed this woman and ate every single morsel!
After eating ohhh, see my classmate knocking on my door. “Ola are you getting ready?!” Haba, ready for weytin oh I thought.
“Why should I be getting ready? What’s happening?”
“The school ceremony! You forgot already? We have an hour! Let’s GO!”
“It’s true ooohhhhh!” My roommate said. Half of my evening was gone and I wasn’t looking forward to any outing. After all I’ve eaten, what’s next is to study.
When we arrived at the ceremony, I turned to my roommate and said, “ehm, babe, I’m not staying long here. I have assignments to finish. What do they have to say anyway that I should stay to the end?” Welp, we agreed to leave early, but somehow, after seeing everyone and actually having some fun, we ended up staying to the end. Surprised?
After all the long speeches and introductions and encouragements for the semester, the dean announced food was ready. “Which food they wan serve again? mssscchhheewww Na bread and crackers they go give…. buhhh ehm, let’s at least check it out….” Much to my surprise, I ate my former sentence very quickly. Shrimp, roast beef garnished with olives, cheese cakes, mini fruit tarts! As in, they really prepared dinner for us! And again, Ola Blessed Baby ate. I was stuffed…again and even stuffed some food in my purse in case I got hungry while the inevitable late night studying that awaited me at home!!!!
{SN: Don’t act like you’ve never done it ohh!! Even Naija Wife has confessed to this too!}
As we started heading home, my friends and I discussed how much fun we had and how awesome the evening turned out to be. When we finally got home, I couldn’t help it anymore. I started laughing at myself at how much food I ate throughout the whole day. I woke up that morning very aware of how little I had and complained to God as if He had suddenly started slacking in His responsibilities as Primary Care Giver. It’s so cliche, but this was a prime example of me being cognizant of how big my troubles were and ignoring how big My Father is. Gluttony definitely was one of the sins I committed that day, but more than anything, I’m sure God was showing me that He truly is a God of abundance. Phillipians 4:19 surely came to life as He provided according to what He has and not whatever change I had in my pocket. Apparently His point was prosperity isn’t how much you have, but having Him means I will always have what I need when I need it… and much more.
Still with a smile on my face I laid down thinking, Okay ohhhhh! Baba mi {My Father} I heard you ohhh! Tomorrow, I will start by saying good morning to you instead of counting my problems, abi what I think are problems but clearly aren’t an issue to You. Thanks for the good laugh and good food! Oh and thanks for reminding me who’s the boss between us two!