Your Dream Will Come To Pass

BY SAM OTTI

Do you still remember when GSM first came to town? I was teaching in a private school in Port Harcourt at the time MTN Group painted the cities with the popular “yellow” brand. It triggered a frenetic rush by Nigerians to acquire new GSM lines. At MTN outlets nationwide, new SIM card and Nokia 3310 phone sold at sky-high price of N50,000. That was in 2001 precisely.

Mobile phones became friends of the rich, and conferred a high status symbol on end users. Without a mobile phone, you already know the class you belong. I was in this low class. With a monthly salary of N7000 from a private school where I dutifully taught English Language and Literature, the thought of owning a mobile phone was like crying for the moon.

So, I watched with envy as people courted attention by displaying their phones in public places. Church services were disrupted by riotous tunes of Nokia phones. At social ceremonies, proud owners swaggered about, shouting “halo, halo”. When money speaks, the poor is silent. The showmanship and ostentatious displays crept into holy places of worship.

Mobile phone became a seductive god across Nigerian cities. Beautiful ladies threw decency to the wind and paid in flesh. Men took their deceptive game to a new level by advertising their fake life. Phones were stolen right in the church, in a taxi, everywhere by those bent to join the big league. Indeed, the temptation to get a mobile phone opened wide the gates of hell.

Talk of covetousness, and many of us would plead guilty. So, you could imagine how I felt when I had a dream one fateful night where I had two mobile phones in my hands. I stopped at nothing to pray down the blessing. Don’t blame me. Blame my poor wage that couldn’t buy even a SIM card.

I put on the cloak of Thomas. Unless I hold those two phones in my hands, I won’t believe. Months passed, years passed, I couldn’t save enough to buy even a SIM card. Materialism and ephemeral glories blindfolded my eyes of faith. I descended to the lowest point of unbelief. In fact, wealth or lack of it is always our first prison. They number in millions those held behind the bars of a golden cage.

Years later, vendors took to the streets, begging customers to take new SIM cards of various telecoms networks for free. Mobile phones fell from an Olympian height and became a common man’s device. The same luxury I craved years ago now lay under my feet.

The crux of this message is that no matter how lofty our desires could be, they will be fulfilled at the appointed time. Such desires might tarry for weeks, months, or even years, but surely, they have a date for their fulfilment. The price we must pay is patience and hardwork.

I have seen great men rise from the dust. Multi-billion naira businesses have germinated from peasant start. It is just a matter of time. So, when your dream tarry for so long? Wait for it. Is your business or career snail-pacing? Be patient. A crawling millipede will still get to its destination.

That your dream hasn’t come through yet doesn’t mean it has failed. A child is not born the very day a woman conceives. There is a nine months gestation period. This is what Insurance Company calls maturity period. Your investment will take time to mature. Keep watering your investment and be sure of great dividends.

For every height you will attain in life, there is a waiting period. I left the classroom for the job of a reporter in Sun newspaper in 2009. It was the fulfilment of a dream. The job of a reporter didn’t come immediately I graduated from school. There was a nine-year waiting period. I walked under rain and I stood in the blazing sun. During that gestation period, I became Lazarus at the rich man’s gate.

I taught in five private schools in Port Harcourt and earned a pauper’s wage. My salary ended in my pocket. So, there was no take home. My elderly parents pined away in want. That was part of the sacrifice. Those that sow in tears will reap in joy.

I later worked as a night security guard in a residential home, with a monthly stipend of N4000. At other times, I was a lesson teacher. I worked with the Shepherd Newspaper, Nsukka for a salary of N10,000. I did other menial jobs as well. For every journey to the Promised Land, prepare to cross the wilderness. I, too, had a fairshare of wilderness experience.

God admonishes us not to despise the days of little beginning. Go to various construction sites, and you will find young graduates carrying cement and stone to earn their daily bread. On the streets and highways of our cities are young men and women with very bright prospects, yet braving the odds to survive. By the sweat of their brow, they earn their bread. Though they walk on foot today, I won’t be surprised seeing them on horseback tomorrow.

“Seek and you shall find” are not vain words. “Knock and the doors shall be opened to you” are timeless message of hope and divine assurance. However, what we seek with our eyes, we must support with the right action.

Don’t wait for opportunities to come. Look for one. Create opportunities where none exists. Many jobless youths play the sympathy card and tell you that they have nobody to help them. The world lacks pity for a failure. So, get on your feet.

Few weeks ago, I met a young photographer at a social ceremony in my village. During our discussion, I discovered that he read Physics and Astronomy in University of Nigeria Nsukka. Is photography his best option? No! But he was courageous to start from somewhere. I gave him a high-five.

No matter your argument, God hates idleness. God would position the right people in your way if you make personal efforts. Manna won’t fall from heaven into an idle hand. Rather, God will multiply the small loaves you have. Nothing yields nothing!

The Red Sea didn’t part its way until the Israelites got to its shore and stepped on the water. Now is the time to step on water. Now is the time to leave your comfort zone. God is waiting for you at the shore.

As you take the bold steps, be patient. Time and season would test your will. Friends and relations may forsake you at critical times. Those you look up to might forget your name. You become a lonely man in a crowded world. Detractors will mock you. Toxic tongues would launch tirades against you and call you a failure. Don’t judge yourself by what people say.

At one time, I worked for a boss that called me names. I refused to define myself by his words.
Blows might rain heavily on you and leave you bruised and battered. You will bleed in silence but don’t let the world see your tears. Don’t be discouraged by these setbacks. They are stepping stones to your greatness.
Don’t look back when tough times come. Remember the wife of Lot. By looking back at her lost fortune at Sodom, she became a pillar of salt- a monument of folly.

A patient dog no longer eats the fattest bone, but the biggest flesh. Dream big. Better phones are coming. Cozy cars are on their way. No matter how I admire Venza car today, I can see a better model coming. Better shoes, bags, electronics are coming. Better clothes, wrist watches, jewelries will soon be unveiled. Better houses are yet to be built. The list goes on and on. So, don’t settle for less.

For two days now, I have borne this burden to write this message. I do not know what it will achieve, or to whom it has been directed. I can only urge you, the reader, to take every word to heart. Write it down on a tablet on stone. Meditate on the promises of God in Habakuk 2:3, “This vision is for an appointed time. Though it lingers, wait for it since it will surely come to pass.”