I moved to Geneva, Switzerland a couple of years ago. This move was inevitable.  Hence I started applying for jobs in English speaking Organisations ahead of time. I did not get an offer before I relocated but continued applying after I arrived in Geneva. I also enrolled in a French School. I registered on LinkedIn where I got quite a few breakthroughs with head-hunters, except for the required working knowledge of French language which I did not have.

Receiving calls from head-hunters with the possibility of getting a job boosted my confidence. I was consistently applying for jobs whilst doing a few menial jobs which included cleaning, cooking and babysitting.

It would be worthy to note that the people I cleaned for were expatriates from Nigeria. These people could easily say, “Oh she was my former cleaner”. I am particular about the cleaning job because I did not obtain my educational qualifications from reputable universities to end up with a cleaning role. I would like to point out that though I took up a cleaning job, I did not lose focus of my goals and what I wanted out of life. Most times after a cleaning job, I would return home, take a bath and pick my laptop to apply for jobs.

I remember on one occasion, someone actually referred to me as ‘the cleaning lady’. I smiled, and said inside me in my local dialect, “èmi, omo onílé, omo olónà” – this may mean one whose father has land and house. I went further in my thoughts, it is not your fault, I am sure you do not have the degrees I have, if not for this new start – will I be cleaning for you? However, God cautioned me immediately about those thoughts. He chastised me against the Spirit of pride. I accepted this truth and turned my pain to prayer.

I remember I used Jeremiah 29:11 to pray “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end”.

God particularly asked me to tell Him what I expected in life and Express these to Him (God) in prayers.

I also remembered the scripture that admonishes us to be diligent in whatever our hands finds to do. Ecclesiastes 9:10.

 Therefore, I ensured I was steadfast in doing my menial jobs.

I arrived home one morning from a cleaning job and grabbed my laptop to apply for a job, my husband encouraged me to take my bath and eat but I insisted I would complete the application first before taking a bath and eating.

On this morning, I  applied for that particular vacancy and my breakthrough journey began, this was around July 2016. By November 2016, the recruitment process had been concluded and I was offered a job.

That was a turning point in my life, though other obstacles/challenges came my way on the job but one by one, God surmounted them.

My story will not be inspiring or complete if I fail to mention that during my period of challenges, I embraced three important attributes:

I embraced each challenge in itself. I would also asked myself, where do I go from here? What do I need to do? Still, I will say for now, it is what it is. Whenever I was given an opportunity to clean or babysit. I grabbed it and forgot my credible educational qualifications. Those certificates were not sufficient to put food on the table at the time, doing what I was able to find legitimately would do.

 Secondly,

 I saw God in my challenges every day. And because I was seeing God in it, He never ceased to come through for me. My family did not lack any immediate needs, God always came through for us and it taught me that there is nothing I have that is mine. When I say God came through always, I meant He used people. Hmmm no wonder they say, you cannot give what you do not have. In my case, I had experienced the selfless act of others towards me and it made it easier to extend a selfless act to another. Above all, I received the understanding of giving in a new dimension. In addition to learning to give wisely. There are lines I cannot cross.

And thirdly,

 I learnt every day and I am still learning to grow. I mentioned earlier God chastised me over pride. I would never have seen that as pride, I would have seen it as a statement of fact. Am I not “omo onílé omo olónà” but God said it is pride. Who is not “omo onílé, omo olónà?”. God said to me, FOCUS, and tell me what you want.

I have had many people lament to me that “Life is not easy, they are not where they want to be in life”. Isn’t it for every one of us? There are times we are not where we want to be. However, it is important to let you know that with the right guidance, with the right admonition, with the right circle of people, and most importantly, with the right mind-set, you can overcome any challenge and move into the space you have envision for yourself. This is what I can call Transformation.

 This is not my only challenge, I have had many more life challenges, sometimes, one after the other and through them, I discovered myself. I also realised it was not enough for me to discover myself, I had to apply my discovery to my life in order for my transformation to take effect and now I am growing. Growing daily. I learnt much more life changing lessons that I would love to teach. I am confident that you can be transformed as well. If you are interested, please click……

In the meantime, permit me to admonish you: embrace your experiences and challenges at this moment. Whilst embracing them, ask God what He wants you to do and pay attention enough to learn the lessons He wants you to learn, because only then, can He elevate you.

To Your Transformation

Feyikemi Oyewole