#15: Letter to Temitope

Happy Birthday To Me 🎉 + A special letter for me

Everybody!

Today is my birthday! 🎉🥳🥳🥳🥳

I’m 33 today. Whoosh!

To the One who owns me and loves me, thank you, my Father, Saviour and Friend.

And for the first time, I asked a dear friend to write a letter for me. When the Holy Spirit impressed this in my heart, I wondered, who will I ask? He brought Maranatha to mind. It made sense that she’ll be the one. The Lord breathes on her words whenever I read them.

And when I read this letter, it brought me to my knees, and it humbled my heart.

Say a prayer for me when you’re done reading. Whatever the Lord lays on your heart.

All I can say is, the Lord is so kind to me. I am forever grateful.

Thank you, Maranatha, for doing this. Love youuuu!

---

For Temitope: The Lord knows your frailty.

My mama,

I did not think that I would be writing such a lengthy letter to you at the start of 2026. But here we are. Thank you for this honour. Thank you. I think that when God gives us the opportunity to minister to each other, it is as burdensome—in a good way—as ministering to Him. For He has asked us to love Him by loving our brethren.

I believe the Lord has given me a subject to ponder on: your frailty. Nonetheless, I trust the Lord to hijack my underwhelmingly human production and use it for your heart, your year, and beyond.

After I prayed on this endeavour, this Scripture kept coming to mind:

Psalm 103:14: ‘For He knows our [mortal] frame; He remembers that we are [merely] dust.’

If I had to attempt to summarise everything in this letter, then I think the verse above would be a good attempt.

Temitope, remember that you are dust. But also, remember that the Lord knows that you are dust.

Remember that you are dust.

Remember that the Lord knows you are dust.

In your highest moments, and there will be many this year, remember that you are dust.

When the limelight shines upon your crown, do not be tempted to puff your chest in pride. Instead, remember that you are dust and cast your crown before Him. Let it be in Him that you boast.

When your lips produce wisdom, and your hands create value, remember that you are dust.

When your profiting appears to all, and the Lord makes a way for you into new rooms, remember that you are dust.

And when, for a multitude of factors, things do not seem to work out as they should, remember that your God knows you are dust. When the lights are low and doors you wanted to stay open close, remember that your God knows you are dust. When you indeed make terrible, seemingly unforgiveable mistakes, try to remember still that your God knows that you are dust.

Compare how you’d carry an egg to how you’d carry a piece of wood. When you’re tempted to think that you should have done better, and perhaps, your ‘better’ might have increased your chances of success, think of yourself like an egg in the hands of your Father.

Yes, you are dust, frail, but nobody knows this more than your heavenly Father who died to love you. So, if He deems it fit to cause or allow your suffering [or enjoyment] in a matter, it is not because He has forgotten your frailty. It is because He knows your frailty.

1 Corinthians 12:7–9 (AMP):

Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so that I would not exalt myself. Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it would leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.”

If Paul’s experience above teaches us anything, it is that suffering is not always antithetical to good. God’s love can look like healing, but it can also look like allowing a thorn in your flesh from the devil to persist. Whatever the case, it will lead to your eternal good. You can beat your chest on that. What’s more, He has given you the strength to bear. His grace is sufficient for you.

As your Father’s compassion alters form—and I am sure you will experience new facets of His lovingkindness this year—let this be your warning, then. That before you beat yourself up about any ‘failures’ or even ‘successes’, you must ask: ‘Is this another face of my Father’s compassion?’

I hope you continue to ponder these words and that they find a home in your heart. I hope they become a little part of your new season; something to keep in mind for the journey ahead.

Happy birthday, my mama.

May you dive deeper in your Father in this new season.

May your many dreams come to life and fly higher than you ever imagined.

May you love the Lord even beyond your ordinary capacity.

God bless you stupendously.

I love you. He loves you more. ❤️

P.S.: I know you gave me a different perspective to write from, but I have gone the way I felt led (as you also asked me to). I’m hopeful that the Lord will help you connect the dots. 🤲

—Maranatha.

---

I Have a Gift For You

Meet Me Here Again is a collection of intimate prayers, reflections, and meditations drawn from a personal journey with the Lord. The book explores what it means to walk with God through seasons of work and waiting, struggle and growth, love and relationships, identity, faith, and spiritual maturity.

These pages invite readers into a gentle but honest journey of knowing yourself, knowing God, and growing in Him. Through moments of vulnerability and longing, Meet Me Here Again chronicles the beauty of intimacy with God and the quiet transformation that comes from opening your heart fully to Him.

If you would open your heart to the Lord and resist the urge to shut the door on what He desires to do within you, you will be forever changed—beautifully marked by His love.

Try this intimacy-with-God thing.

Will you?

Download yours here

And say a prayer for me.