A Testimony of His Grace
By: Samuel Akinribade
One of the best feelings in the world is when your hard work pays off. Think about it – remember when you practiced so many times to tie your shoe, and you finally got it? Or when you pulled an all-nighter to study for a test that you got an A on? Ahh, that feeling of achievement when hard work finally pays off. I wish I could link that feeling to the testimony of me graduating from college in three and half years. Actually, I do not wish that. My testimony of my college experience is one that could not have happened without the intervention of a good good Father. I was someone that went from graduating high school with a 2.3 grade point average to graduating college with honors. This cannot be easily mistaken for MY hard work. So, if you are expecting to hear the story of me working really hard until I finally got to see my hard work pay off, sorry, this is not the article to read. This is a documentation of what the Lord did for me. And oh, no I will not just sit here and over-spiritualize my testimony and say it was faith, faith, faith, but it also took corresponding action for me to see my goals become reality.
My passion to excel in academics was sparked in my junior year in high school. I remember it like it was yesterday –- year 2011. I had the strong desire to succeed in academics because I wanted to attend my dream university – University of Maryland. Yes, that was a dream of mine that was placed on hold because of the commodity of the academic world, that dreadful grade point average. By the time I was enlightened about the importance of getting a great GPA, it was a little too late to get the GPA I desperately wanted. So, I graduated high school with a low GPA and ended up attending a school that I never considered. Seeing the reaction of my parents, after telling them my decision to enroll at the magnificent UMES, I knew I had to devise a game plan. And yes, I love my UMES – Hawk PRIDE!!! Back to the story. My parents urged me to come up with a two year game plan which prioritized on me transferring to my dream school. I came up with the game plan and had it all figured out. I was well on my way to going to my dream school after all.
“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails”
Psalm 19:21 NIV
I went into my first semester with great expectation and great confidence. I asked the Lord for two simple things: to graduate school early and to never fail/drop a class. A lot of people, to this, day ask me, “why were you in a rush to graduate?” My answer is simply this: I wanted to be in position for God to do something monumental in my life. I did not want to rush the process of school, nor was it because I did not like UMES and wanted to leave as soon as possible, but I had the intentions of graduating early and the Lord answered the desire of my heart. The summer before my actual official semester on the UMES campus, I received some bad advice from my academic advisor. The advice was so bad, it almost caused me to fail a class that I did not need. Praise be to God, I did not fail. Everything worked out for my good. But, man oh man, did I learn a valuable lesson. Even if you get promising advice from somebody, always remember to commit the plan back to God. From there on, I followed my degree audit and continued to press on.
With a 3.5 GPA, after my first year of college, I applied to the honors program and got admitted. Not only was I an honor student, but I was a student that was going to school for free. Yes indeed, they gave me a scholarship. I was very excited for that academic year. Everything was going well, good grades and free schooling, what could beat that? To get a well-paid internship was next on my bucket list. Although I got opportunities to interview at a couple of governmental agencies for accounting, I was turned down by every single one because of my age. Sucks to be young, right? The only internship that considered me, actually denied me because of issues concerning distance. That situation ignited my passion to apply to UMD. I applied and guess what? I got in. Man, was I excited to know I would be in a university where my friends are and I’d be able to work towards my career. After a series of unfortunate events, I was not able to attend UMD. I went back to UMES with great sorrow. Not because of the school, but because I was limited to a school that was 2 hours away.
But the Lord encouraged me through dreams and through people. He wanted to answer my prayer of graduating early and never failing a class. On going back to UMES, I met the manifested plans of the Lord. Things and doors began to open up for me; I got offered an internship from a government agency, I met a campus organization called Bethel Campus Fellowship, where I became a leader, taking my walk to a whole different level, and I was in great shape of graduating early. And I still had my scholarship from the honors program. “It ain’t so bad.” *Rocky Balboa's voice*
“Lord, You are my portion and my cup of blessing; You hold my future. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.”
Psalm 19:5-6 HCSB
Prior to my senior year, I thought the blessing of God was so great. Little did I know, that was the beginning of more blessings. Fast-forward to my senior year. The Lord favored me in ways and opportunities I couldn’t even imagine. At this point, the Lord gave me a great internship position with the federal government. I was also nominated to participate in a university sales competition. I did not desire to partake in this competition but wanted to honor the director of career services, so I did and God gave me the grace to win. The winner was offered a chance to land a position with a fortune 500 company. God opened opportunities for me to get a full time position at different places. The Lord gave me options. Not only that! The Lord has given me the opportunity to matriculate at the school that I dreamed to attend. Glory to Jesus!! I am in total awe of what God is able to do. I never feared because I knew God was at my right hand. My senior year was a year of rest. God made academics easy for me, He did that so I could focus on doing His will on campus. I am here to declare to you that God is surely able to do that which He said He will do. Because of the promise He has given me through that Psalm, I was able to find the encouragement to keep responding to the faith He has placed inside of me.
“I know that whatever God does, it endures forever; nothing can be added to it nor can anything be taken from it, for God does it so that men will fear and worship Him [with awe-filled reverence, knowing that He is God].”
Ecclesiastes 3:14 AMP
My college experience is summed up into this very verse. God did a thing in my life and in that, no plan of mine nor of my parents, was able to contribute or negate the perfect plan that my Heavenly Father had planned for me. Looking back at all of this gave me a deeper reverence for the Lord. Through my experience I came to learn three things about God: 1) God is more than able to do that which we ask of Him, 2) Despite the situations and hardship that occur, God is a God that keeps to His word, and lastly, 3) if you commit yourself and your plans unto the Lord and trust Him with your whole heart, He will do exceedingly and abundantly more than you could ever plan because He is our hope of Glory. I encourage you to truly commit your plans unto the Lord and stand on the word that He shared or will share with you and just BELIEVE…
Samuel Akinribade is a recent graduate of University of Maryland, Eastern Shore with a Bachelors of Arts in Accounting. In his free time, Sam enjoys playing the guitar and experiencing life with his friends.
I Didn’t Really Get Straight As: How God Changed my Grades
By: Winnie Monu
Permit me to debunk the preconceived notion of that title by stating, yes, I did in fact obtain Straight As – and only by the grace of God.
2015 was not the easiest year for me. March was the “beginning of the end,” as I used to call it, as that was the month everything that was “perfect” in my life was pulled from right underneath my feet. It was one of my darkest moments, as I dealt with who I was, thus being catapulted into God's presence desperate for Him to fix it.
What is it?
Everything.
A broken relationship, freedom from past pain, fear of the future and oh of course, the present – my grades.
So, on March 22, I had enough. After having quiet time with God, I became mad. I know. That’s an oxymoron. A paradox. God is the peaceful safe haven we run to. We give our yoke for His (Matthew 11:28-29). We’re supposed to come to Him upset and leave happy. Well, I came broken and left a soldier. Ever heard of Holy Anger? I had some and I was ready for war. I was sick of crying, and asking God, why me? And the only way I knew how to fight was through prayer.
During my quiet time, I reminded God of every story, I could think of, in the bible of where He had moved in the impossible – Gideon (Judges 6), Daniel’s prayer (Daniel 9:3), Joshua (Joshua 1:9), and Isaiah (Isaiah 45:2)– I ended my winded rant with God and said,
“If You can do it for them, You can do it for me. You promised me that You don’t lie. The moment that happens I’m closing my bible and turning away from Christianity. So fix this.”
Yes, I had an audacious Olivia Pope moment, but God handled things far better than an over-hyped fictional character ever could. And yes, grace is very sufficient as God allowed me to remain alive after speaking to Him with such fervor and tenacity. I plead with you to not use this as an opportunity to speak to God anyhow!
But I did not care. God does say, “Come boldly before my throne;present your case to me and let us reason” (Hebrews 4:16, Isaiah 41:21)And I did. I proceeded to write down everything on my heart that I knew I needed for God to move in. And, unashamedly, the very first point I wrote was “Straight A’s in my academics.”
As a then junior, I knew what my anticipated post-graduation plans were, but my grades didn’t match those dreams. For someone as myself who effortlessly glided through High School with Straight A’s all 4 years, I never saw anything less than a 4.0 on my report card.
For those who know what it means to attend a public Ivy League or a commonly known institute, such as University of Maryland, College Park, you know why we attribute that informal prestige to ourselves. University of Maryland is where many high school scholars, like myself, are humbled within their first semesters as a student. It was in 2012, the year I matriculated to college, that the universities board decided to up the antsy and implement the plus/minus system. What possessed them to do such, till today we Terps may never know. But it happened, and I joined everyone else and studied the way I knew how.
But that was the problem. I didn’t know how to study. So I assumed no physical homework meant one of two things: I chose a great major that had little to no homework or I had more time for sleep. The combination of the two soon resulted in a stark, harsh reality leading to failure, as my first semester grades became the combination of the first three letters of the alphabet. I soon learned the truth behind, “There’s always something to do for a class even if you have no homework – read ahead.”
Backtrack to March 22, 2015: I knew enough was enough. After writing down a few things that I was trusting God for, I put the pen down and got to work. Unfortunately, after that semester I did not get Straight A's, but I did proudly make Dean’s List with a 3.67 gpa.
After I had cleaned my room of all textbooks, I found the same list that I had written earlier in the semester. I quickly skimmed the list and laughed at the eight audacious requests I wrote to God and said, “Well God, maybe it is impossible to get Straight A’s at University of Maryland.” And I put the paper back down.
Some months later, the movie that many Christians, like myself, rushed to watch in anticipation – War Room – stirred a new fire in me. After seeing it with a girlfriend of mine, I went home and heard the Holy Spirit say, “revisit that list you wrote, keep it in plain view, and watch Me move. My timing is not your timing.” So I did. I thumb tacked my list to the wall in my closet and used that as my reminder.
Fall semester began and proved to be one of the hardest semesters of my life, as I believe I was spiritually attacked at so many strategic times. These attacks always seemed to happen right before an exam. There were days, I would be studying and I would be presented with some bad news that shifted my whole mood right before an exam.
Surprisingly, this was also the semester I decided to do more – in everything. For the first time, I led a women’s connect group, remained a research assistant, held office as President of the School of Public Health Dean’s Committee, worked as an resident assistant, all while challenging my sanity to take an 18 credit course load.
Through the hype of all my obligations, I found myself doing the opposite of my responsibilities. There were days I would watch John Gray messages on YouTube rather than write a paper. Nights before an exam, I would prefer to journal in my quiet time and eventually fall asleep! It just seemed like I wanted to do everything else, but schoolwork.
Those who know me closely know I have a very unorthodox way of studying. Please don’t copy me.
Finals came and my confidence level to easily pass one of my classes, Family Law, exam was quickly plateaued once I finished the exam. I left knowing I didn’t do so well. I didn’t study. I relied on my own ability to just wing it and possibly end with an A in the class, but I was greatly mistaken. I indeed failed. I got a 16/33 –( for those who tried to reach for a calculator, it’s a 48%).I had never scored anything that low in my life. I couldn’t even cry; I was numb. My 96% in that class dropped to an 85.3%.
As soon as I was about to accept my grade for what it was, God gently said, “study as hard for every other exam and make this your only B. And after, ask for what you want.” So I did. I put the laziness behind and studied for every other exam as if my life depended on it.
After the first set of exams, I kept feeling edgy, and God repeated the latter part of what he said to me, “Ask for what you want.” I challenged God and said, ‘how? It’s impossible. Final exams are final and my grade is a B, there’s nothing she’s going to do, my professor is a Lawyer! If I email her with anything, she’ll shut me down because lawyers know email threads could get them in trouble.
But God gently reminded me,
“I have already gone ahead of you, ask for what you want.
So I boldly did. I asked myself,“what’s the most she could do? Say ‘no.” I initially requested if I could see my exam grade (hoping that if I stared at it long enough and acted dumbfounded, she would mysteriously do something in my favor) and second, if it was possible to re-do my final exam. Crazy, I know.
She declined the latter. But God! God used my work ethic in her class throughout the semester as leverage. He went above and beyond,reminding her of how well I had done throughout the semester and by His grace, she went ahead and changed my grade to an A-!
I honestly believe that had I not been humbled by this exam grade and listened to the first part of God’s instruction to “study as hard for every other exam and make this [my] only B,” I would have taken my other classes for granted and not studied hard enough.
At the end of finals, I look at my grades and I thank God for achieving straight A’s, but those who know me know I like to push myself and I wasn’t too satisfied. My straight A’s was not a 4.0 as the plus/minus system, for lack of better words, doesn’t let us be great.
But as I was thanking God for my grades and reflecting back, He whispered, “you did not ask me for a 4.0, you asked me for Straight A’s.” Wow!! I started laughing with God because he was so right! My God is a God of humor.
I’ve discovered these lessons through my journey in 2015:
1. In the words of the recent SnapChat sensation, DJ Khaled, “the key to success”…is God.
2. The power of being Specific. I look at my grades and I thank God I did in fact get Straight A’s, but my straight A’s was not a 4.0. Be specific in everything that you ask God for.
3. There is treasure in your darkest moments.
4. Be authentic with God. He already knows what’s on your heart might as well just say it – and write it down!
5. God is still in the business of doing the impossible.
I encourage you, as we begin 2016, to write down everything you are holding onto God for and watch him move.
And at the end may you say, for this reason, _____________________ I put God first.
Winnie Monu attends University of Maryland, College Park, as a Bio-chem & Family Science major. Her hobbies when she's not focused on her new business, TruthbTold, she's exploring new places.
ZONETTA
“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
John 8:36
Let no other name, but the name of The Lord, alone, be praised, and given the glory!
I don’t know why, but I just been feeling pushed to share this testimony any chance I can get. My name is Zonetta, but I go by Zo and proudly would love to scream that Christ has freed me from 11 years of pornography addiction. 11 years?! Yes my friend, you heard correctly, 11 years. It started in the third grade and glory be to God officially ended at the beginning of my sophomore year of college.
As a child, I was always very curious and eager to learn about new things and it just so happens that there was this sex book in my house that I found one day and I thought the things in the book to be interesting. If that wasn’t bad enough, I also one day saw a DVD in the living room and I popped it in. To my surprise, let’s just say it looked interesting.
As I grew up, I found out more and my interest soon progressed from the little black porn book to late night television porn. You know late nights on HBO, there are always very raunchy uncut movies. With the movie package we had, they were made available to me and I tried to watch them every chance I could get.
Then, when I was in the sixth grade, I started actively watching Pornography DVDs and looking at pornographic magazines, which were easily accessible being again they were in my house. As we got a computer and I learned the ropes of it I discovered Anime video game porn, but soon that faded and I upgraded to X sites, but still around this time my primary source of Entertainment was Porn DVDs and late night movies. My mind was so polluted!
When I entered into the 8th grade, I got saved but still struggled with watching pornography. I was not actively watching porn everyday but would fall like 1-2 times in a month, or every two months. I felt so displeasing to God and always condemned when I fell, and like the Good Father He is, when I fell He would always calls me back with loving-Kindness, but I would be too ashamed to answer. Instead I would rebel in my shame. I always felt like I was the only one who was struggling with pornography so I kept it to myself, and I believed that God would deliver me. When I was in the 10-11th grade and for almost a year I was free and flourishing, but then I fell one day. By this time I was only falling once a year or so, but my struggle finally ended in 2013. I remembered the last time I watched Porn; God gave me the strength to overcome my flesh and say No for good. My deliverance would have been much sooner if I would have only listen to the still quiet voice trying to pull me out instead of listening to the enemy's voice of lies and rebelling in shame. Glory be unto God because I'm free and I am never going back, I have tasted and seen that the Lord is Good and only in Him can all my needs be fulfilled!
What really helps is reading your word, and staying in the presence of God and having that intimacy with God; strengthen your Spirit man! Please if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart, yield to his voice, the Lord desires to fulfill the great plans He has in your life for you! I also advise you to know your identity in Christ and know that you are victorious because of what He did for us on Calvary! The devil will try to get you to think that you’re the only one who is going through this but indeed he is a liar and the father of all lies and you can definitely do all things through Christ who strengthens you and you are more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus. Get plugged in with genuine believers who can help you through this struggle. One important thing I learned through this is how important discipleship is, especially to the new convert. Having a mentor would have been very beneficial to help me in my walk with Christ. Know that in Christ alone is your fulfillment and abundant life.
To God be the Glory now and Forever.
KRISTINE
A huge part of my past was a struggle with severe depression. Throughout my struggle, I had a horrible self-image, and to deal with that, I fell into smoking weed and self mutilation. I lived two different lifestyles. When I was at school, I was bubbly and cheery and always made people laugh. I was always told that I had a bright future and that I was going to somehow change people around me. People told me that I was going to be a world changer in some way or another because of my personality and talents that I was blessed with. Those words were the hardest for me to swallow. I became someone else when I would get home. I would lock myself in my room and just feed myself with lies. I was ugly. I was not beautiful. I would never be loved. Yes, I had family. I had some really good friends. I even dated, and those guys who stayed with me went through utter hell. They didn't understand why I did the things I did. Nobody did. I would just go home and begin slicing up my skin because I was so angry. I got some kind of cheap release out of putting myself through torment. I was out of control.
After awhile, these “coping skills” that I had developed just weren't enough. Something in me couldn't handle everything that was going on around me, and I snapped. I had suicidal thoughts for a while, and one day, I decided enough was enough. I went home after school and saw my mom wasn't home, and decided that day was the day. I searched the house and found every pill bottle I could and emptied them out onto the counter.
But after Jesus came in and fixed me up, I became a whole new person. I realized I didn't have to try to take control of situations through substances and self-hurt. Taking all my frustrations and sorrows to Jesus was so much more fulfilling than any razor blade. But, it’s not until we hand over those things to God that we can be liberated from those demons. This includes total surrender. And even though suffering is the worst, it’s still sometimes hard to hand over the way that we have learned to cope with the world around us.
But, God wants to help us. God wants to mend us. God wants us to look to Him rather than hurtful idols.
I’m begging anyone who reads this to reach out to people they know are hurting and show them that Jesus is better. I pray that anyone struggling with depression reaches out for help. I would never wish the pain or the hurt I went through on anyone. Even if you’re alone reading this, and you’re having hurts, to surrender and hand your hurts to Jesus before it gets out of hand. God wants to restore us. I now thank God for what I went through so I am able to help people out. It all ended in glory for Him! Some days, I look at my scars, and Satan uses them to remind me of who I was. But, I am thankful for the days that I look at them, and God gently reminds me that I am not that person anymore. He has restored me in His image. He has made me perfect – scars, and all.
He wants us all to be restored. Surrender.
I hope this helps somebody. As painful as this was to write, I know that it will move somebody to turn to God. Share this with someone. You never know what can come out of something that looks broken right now.
-KrisNgozi