Praise God, everyone! I'm writing today with a heavy heart, but giving God the glory in spite of it. This week was a pretty hard week for me, but also a week of deep reflection as I along with tons of others mourn the loss of our good friend and mentor, Robert Mozia who was buried this morning.

I first met Bobby when I entered the pre-freshman program just before beginning of our freshman year at Penn. We connected because we were both Nigerian, both in the engineering school, both from NJ and my future roommate went to High School with him. But most of all, our friendship continued because  Bobby had a very infectious attitude and was so cool (as evidenced by his shades in the graduation picture above, lol). He was a joy to be around, made friends with many people and also became a mentor to many people while there. After graduation, he was admitted to Cornell to pursue a PhD, and I was so happy for him! It was something I personally felt I could never do.....even more engineering? Wow, I admired him for that and was looking forward to calling him Dr. Mozia. I knew he could make it, and that's part of the reason that the news of his death was so shocking.

I've been meditating, crying, and praying over this this week, and it came to me, that I can take quite a few life lessons from his life, some of which are Biblical lessons:

"If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." ~Romans 12:18
I think its pretty safe to say that Bobby had a huge heart, and never argued with anyone. He went out of his way to do things for people, make people laugh and just keep all conversations peaceful. I can not really remember a single time that Bobby really was angry at someone, or held any malice about anything. And in a college setting, with all of the drama, group work assignments and more, its pretty difficult to find that many people with that demeanor towards others.

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these." ~Mark 12:30-31
I remember when I first started church hopping on campus freshman year, that I could always at least count on heading to mass with Bobby. It didn't stick because I am not catholic, or too familiar with it, but it was encouraging to know someone who made an effort to go, and it encouraged to to do the same. Bobby also loved just about everyone, and was not afraid to show it. I remember Bobby getting me and my old roommate gifts randomly during our freshman year,  never expecting anything in return, and I also learned today at the funeral that Bobby did the same with his family whenever he travelled. On a personal note, I especially remember getting the "little sister" treatment all of the time, even though, technically, I'm a few weeks older, lol. Bobby would always walk me back to my dorm, even when I insisted that I'd be alright since we were only on campus, and he did this for many other girls too. I remember a few times when he questioned me about guys, or even chased a couple away when he didn't think it was a good idea. He just wanted everyone to be safe. And he also was a very loving mate to his girlfriend Liz. It was awesome getting to see their relationship develop, and to see such genuine love.

I could go on and on about Bobby, but the two notes above are the ones which resonate the most with me, and were the most memorable. How awesome is it to be remembered that way? Its obvious how great of a man he was, because the testimony of all of his friends and family agree so accurately. Always smiling. Always going out of his way for others. Infectious laughter. Intelligent, driven and hard working. It breaks my heart, but its encouraging and motivating at the same time to be able to say that I knew him, someone who led such a great life and touched so many in only 24 years. I just wanted to share this bit with you, because death is also something that we all have to deal with as Christians, and I'm starting to figure it out. I always like to use this blog as an outlet for what I'm learning from others, and as I grow, in hopes that others can be inspired and take something from it as well. I'm a bit all over and scatter brained today, so I really hope that you did! And in case you are interested, you can read a bit more about him in this Cornell Sun article.

Bobby, it was so hard saying goodbye today, and really having to accept it. There were so many people there who loved you. Your family loved you. All of your friends loved you. Your teachers and coaches. Your mentees. You touched so many by just being you, and I will never forget but be motivated by all you were able to do. Your deep desire for education, and to reach back and help others as you moved up. Your positive attitude and huge heart. You inspire me, and I'll continue to hold on to that until we meet again on the other side. Rest in peace Bobson.

Happy Friday everyone! I feel so blessed to be writing again, and I must start by explaining the reasons for my month long hiatus. I know I missed 1-2 updates on here, but I was a bit discouraged by the small increase in visitors I was getting for my last two posts. I figured there was no point in writing if only a couple people were reading, but during this time I found that everything felt different since I wasn't writing. I didn't have that outlet which was even affecting my own closeness with God and the word. Interesting right? Well, everything happens for a reason, I took my pearl from that lesson and I'm back to writing!

So, what's with the topic: "I know what the Bible says, but let's talk reality." As always these things are inspired by personal areas of growth that I've identified, and also by things I hear. The amazing thing about this quote, is that it isn't unbelievers that use it. Its people that we go to church with. In a lot of cases, its even the radical ones who have everything to say if you don't give God a capital G when spelling, don't wear exactly a 3/4 length skirt, or don't hold your Bible in the air while praying. Interesting right?

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness." (2 Tim. 3:16)

The scripture passage I pulled this time is pretty short, but gives a whole lot to reflect on. Do we really believe this? That's the main question. It doesn't matter how well you know what the Bible says, what matters is if you believe its true. If you only believe it in part, well the next question is does comfort and convenience affect what you choose to believe and discard? I find that a lot of times, it does.

Case in point. I've had people blatantly tell me that its going to take forever for me to get married because if I choose to be abstinent. These were not just people, but they were Christians, and in some cases people that I've gotten in other debates about Christian topics before. Now why do they say this? Well, generally the reasoning is somewhere along the lines of "Well, you know how men are" or some crafty excuse like "He'll think that you think he's a fool" or even the ever famous "If he isn't getting it from you, where do you think he's getting it from?" The worst part is that when, my response is "God calls us to abstain from that, so I want to do that from now on, and with whoever I choose to date" I get snapped at with "Hey, you're not the only one who knows what the Bible says, I'm just telling you how it is." So man knows how it is more than God? Did He ask us to do anything impossible? The issue here is that for anyone who truly believes what the Bible says, you know that the Bible FIRST calls you not to be unequally yoked, meaning that you find someone who wants to walk with God........for real, not just for 2 hours on Sunday. That means that both people won't be willing to sacrifice their salvation for temporary satisfaction with, or for the other because God is first.
I'll also take some time out to make a brief tangent that just because you've fallen before doesn't mean that you can't get back up and walk in accordance to what God says. It's not about having a perfect past, but about incorporating your understanding of God's will as you grow in him.

That was a more straightforward example of people separating God's will and reality, and really we can take that into almost any topic; drunkenness, adultery, abuse etc. I just chose the above example because its what I've heard the most recently. But to peel back an extra layer, many of us do this by lacking trust in what God asks us to do. "I know the Bible tells me that whatever I ask for, and believe that He will do for me will come to pass, but........." See that word but is pretty dangerous. That's because a lot of times, whatever comes after it is due to a lack of faith. God wants us to walk by faith, but I at least personally find that its hard to do, and sometimes I just want to walk by sight. Referencing the picture I chose for this post, I want to see some sort of fruit before I do anything. Even sometimes after I've gotten instruction from God, its easy to hesitate unless I see some physical evidence that where I'm going is right and will prosper - and that's wrong. That again is relying on man more than God. God alone knows what lies in the future, so we have to learn to rely on God.

There's something that I wanted for a very long time, that I've been praying for, and is an area that I've had quite a few disappointments in the past. So whenever an opportunity comes up, I automatically go into calculating mode, trying to figure out on my own if it'll prosper this time. "Yea, yea, I know that God doesn't see things as man sees them and he may just need me to follow this time, but I just don't know whats over there." "I know about the story where the Jews followed God into what they thought was in barren land after leaving Egypt, but God provided them with manna and even at times with water from unsuspecting rocks,....................but this is risky, and I need to see where I'm going" These are thoughts which have come into my head about the doubts that I had about where God was leading my future - and not only is it wrong, it actually doesn't make sense when you take the time to really acknowledge that God knows everything, including the future and that we have a limited view. It's like someone who's been hanging below the deck of a ship all day and can't see where they are suddenly coming upstairs and telling the captain that they need to change direction. I'm learning more and more to just let go and let God do the leading. I'm learning what trusting Him and His word really means..............and for starters, it doesn't always mean taking the easy way out.

I'm learning to really trust and let go, and want to encourage you to do the same! Let's trust that the word of God is real, not conditional and that it was given to us by someone who knows us, the world and our futures more than we do. That's the first step to progressing towards your destiny. *Feyi takes one step forward* Anyone with me?