2016 In Review

When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary;
When troubles come and my heart burdened be;
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence,
Until you come and sit awhile with me.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up… To more than I can be

 This song basically summarizes the year 2016 for me. A year full of ups and downs, mistakes as well as breakthroughs. Whatever it is, you would find in 2016. However, it has been a far better year. I know I am ending the year a better person than I started. I know that I am much stronger than I was at the beginning, I have definitely (I really had no choice) grown wiser and I have become a much better person as a result.

There were depressing times, as well as exciting times, there were disappointments as well as great news and testimonies. This mix made it a very interesting and revealing year.

However, I will not just talk about what I have experienced this year as I review this year, I will also like to share some of my most inspiring posts in 2016. Don’t get it twisted, the posts and articles were not for your consumption alone. Many of them inspired me more than they inspired you.

Some were lessons I was learning at that time, experiences which I knew no other way to express but through writing, others from other people’s experiences. Before I continue, I will like to state here that I wrote the highest number of articles in a year in 2016, some of which I did not post here. It really has not been easy. There were times I had nothing to write, times I felt too depressed to see the hope I so often speak about, where circumstances around me seemed to get the better of me.

So just in case you feel I am immune to such feelings just because I write so much about seeing hope in difficult situations, well sorry to disappoint you. We all go through similar issues, peculiar in their own way but still similar. Writing made me see hope even when I did not want to see. Sometimes, it starts with writing how I am feeling at that moment, the terrible feeling of “nobody cares, nobody loves me, I am all alone, this is too much for me”. But no matter how much I write about these feelings, the conclusion is always the same; There is Hope, I am Never Alone.

So it has been God’s way of restoring hope where I have lost it, strengthening me where I have grown weak and fixing the pieces of my life.

Oh… I am supposed to select my best posts of 2016; almost forgot. I guess there is just a lot about 2016 that has been remarkable. It was quite difficult picking out 10 out of all posts published this year.

In no particular order, here are my top 10 posts:

Great Pain?? Great Glory!!

Every one of us find ourselves one way or the other in this same situation; faced with unbearable pains we feel we cannot bear for much longer. The excruciating pain we feel we might not survive, a lot of times we think we would be better off dead than to live with such a burden. However, we should not be so focused on the present that we lose sight of the future.

That Awkward Moment When My Feelings Seem To Get The Better Of Me

This beautiful piece was written by someone I admire a lot, Amosu Toba. From this, I got to learn that it is not wrong to have feelings, it is not a terrible thing or something you should be ashamed of; what matters is how much you can stay in control. Trust me, even the most overwhelming feelings can be controlled.

Our Deepest Fears (Part 1, Part 2)

This two part series was a real eye opener for me; Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. We ask ourselves; Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

God Wants You; It’s Time To Be Different

Also written by a young lady I respect so much, Akegbesola Yejide, this post shows a battle going on behind veiled eyes. Funny enough, it is the kind of battle where you decide who wins. God wants you, the devil also wants you, your society wants you. The only way out is to realize that though you are in this world, you are not of this world so you have to be different and choose God above all others.

The Cry Of The Lost

There is a personal story behind this post which I will not be able to share here. However, you should know that it was a personal cry when I really felt all alone in this world. I started writing this in frustration, bitterness and so much sadness but by the time I was done, I could boldly say that I was never alone. It really was the cry of a lost guy who was found at the end of the piece.

The Industrious Youth; A Powerful Individual (Part 1, Part 2)

I asked a friend of mine Osiname Micheal, to help me with a piece for this site and he came up with one of the best as well as most interactive post in 2016. It is high time we stopped being the Leaders of Tomorrow because, tomorrow never ends and having this mindset means we might never be leaders. We so often underestimate what we have within us, neglecting the immense power and strength that we posses. This is our time to take up the mantle of Leadership because we are the Leaders of Today.

The Jungle Book (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)

This happens to be my most recent post, inspired by a movie having the same title. In this post, I shared 6 lessons I learned from the movie and how they can be applied in reality. Each part containing 2 lessons each inspired me. If you have not gone through each of them yet, please do.

The Eagle; An Icon of Focus and Strength (Part 1, Part 2)

Words cannot express the feeling I was having while writing this post. It was like the more I wrote, the more I understood and knew. The Eagle is a symbol of quite a number of things but I discussed just 2 in 2 different parts with 1 in each part. Just in case, you missed it, you have the opportunity to go through it or if you have read it before, it would not hurt going through it again.

Just trust Dad

This was my lesson for this year. More than ever before I have learned to just trust my Father. Many of us go about worrying about everything there is to worry about. We worry about clothes, food, relationships, the future, our families, academics, what is there not to worry about actually? But imagine your child worrying over so many things which you have and are willing to give.  Wouldn’t you ask him or her to just trust you?

YANA

Finally, 2016 would not have been complete neither would it have made any sense without this word. I heard it on the radio and it has become my tagline, my anthem and my slogan. In this post, I explained how I came about the word, it’s implication and how it has helped me thus far. See, even if I am uncertain about everything, confused about everything and faced with the greatest challenge of all, one thing i will always be sure of, that which I can have no iota of doubt is; I Am Never Alone.

In case you missed any of these posts, you can read them using the links available in each of the subheadings.

Thank you for being part of our 2016, we believe 2017 will be much more better and we look forward to seeing you again.

Remember YANA

Temitope Durotoye

On behalf of DeAltar.