“And
they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony”
(Revelation 12:11).
A number of
people had something to say about ‘it’ and they were all men! For a moment
there I thought that my photos were indecent. However, two of them were quick
to reassure me (on different occasions) that they were not. I then dared to ask
what the problem was.
One of them
said that he thought that I was no longer a servant of GOD because I was taking
so many photos! I wondered how the two were related…
The second said
that ‘people might get the wrong impression’… I wondered what that wrong impression
could be…well, since he was a friend, I endeavored to not only explain myself
to him but to share my testimony with him.
I told him how
bad it had been years back. I explained to him how the devil had put a mask on
my face such that I appeared older than my real age but was also not photogenic
at all. For a long time, I hated photographs and when I did take them, I could
never smile into the camera for fear that I would not look good. In fact, I did
not have any photo albums or that many photographs because I was simply not
photogenic!
Now, as if
that was not bad enough, the devil had gone and put a black veil on my face to
ensure that I was not attractive to men. One would not know it by simply
looking at me but I had had my struggles that I struggled to get out of. However,
thank GOD for GOD to whom I entrusted myself and we slowly began the journey.
I began to
pray and then, slowly by slowly, I began to see changes. As GOD tore off the
mask, he also ripped off the black veil that was its age-old accompaniment. The
changes were evident in the youthful look that GOD gave me – He renewed my
youth like an eagle’s! The increasing male attention that I began to receive could
hardly be ignored – something had lifted!
I began taking
photographs more often and enjoyed it too! I even became so daring as to take
selfies and then something interesting happened…as compared to the times when
editing would take close to an hour, at the photo studio, editing the photos I
took using my phone took less time as we went along until I stopped editing them
altogether. I became more confident ‘releasing’ unedited photos than I used to
be! WE HAD MADE PROGRESS!
As I continued
verbalizing my testimony, I told this friend of mine that given this
background, taking photos is not just a pastime to me but a TESTIMONY! In fact,
the more I post my unedited photos, the more I make an announcement, ‘LOOK WHAT
THE LORD HAS DONE’ – right there is my testimony!
By the time, I
was done with the long voice recording that I used to explain myself to him, I
was glad that he had commented. It gave me a chance to testify about the
goodness and faithfulness of my Father in heaven. It also gave me a much
deserved opportunity to overcome the devil! OH, it reminded me of how far GOD
and I had come – it had not been comfortable but we had managed to get ‘here’
in one piece.
Now, this made
it clear to me that not many will understand your actions. Some may even judge
you because they do not know. Some will even think that you are not as Godly as
they think you should be BUT THEY DO NOT KNOW…they do not know your testimony
just as they do not know how far you have come. They do not understand that, to
you, ‘it’ is actually more than what they think it is – IT IS TESTIMONY OF HOW
FAR GOD HAS BROUGHT YOU!
Therefore, do
not lose the goal…do not lose your prize. Wear it for all to see and keep your
gaze on the GOD who brought you this far.
Prayer
Dear GOD, I
thank you for all the struggles that you delivered me from. Even if many do not
understand why I do what I do, I will continue to do what I have to do in order
to silently, yet loudly, testify of your goodness and faithfulness to me. I
choose to bear the criticisms just so I can glorify you by sharing my
testimonies any way that I can. Amen.
