It was a pleasant hangout with a daughter of mine in Manhattan, New York recently. I was there for business briefly and we were able to squeeze in some daddy-daughter time. One of the subjects of our discussion was why children turn out with various outcomes even though they grow up in the same family and at times under similar circumstances. I was blessed by her insight into the fact that this was due to the varying seasons while parenting children. They end up growing up in different ‘homes’ in the same house and in the same family. I immediately recalled a conversation which I had with our first biological daughter recently who pointed out the different experiences of herself and her immediate younger sister _vis a vis_ that of our last born twins who have no memory or experience of some of the financial difficulties their mum and I battled in the early years of our marriage.

The crux of my discussion with my daughter in Manhattan was our gratitude to God that in spite of life happening to both of us differently, there was a mental shift that redefined our life trajectories. I am happy that we were both able to identify the circumstances of our upbringing that we wanted out of and did not want our future children to experience. It reminded me of a recently authored book titled SHIFT by Sam Adeyemi (my brother), which is available on every major book selling platform.

Every life moves in the direction of its mindset. Negative mindsets have perpetuated poverty, failure, crime and various undesirable outcomes from generation to generation. To break patterns, redefine stories and reshape destiny, there must be a mental shift. Something must intercept our thinking patterns and remould them. It’s always a joy to see a life, family or even a nation experience that shift. Sam Adeyemi in his book applies a system he has discovered to experience that shift to individuals, organizations, societies and nations.

I couldn’t be more proud of my daughter who has been able to rewrite her story, break boundaries, set new standards and blaze new trails in her family and profession. I am even more excited about the future because again, the future is predictable by the dreams of today. The mental conditioning of today will determine the outcome of tomorrow. The heart is to be guarded carefully so the wrong thought seeds are not sown into it. They will produce the wrong harvest. It is pertinent that we are intentional about the quality of ideas, images and knowledge entering our minds and taking root in our hearts. They acquire life giving force within us and attract their material equivalents which turn them to realities in our lives.

For my personal story, I credit the Word of God principally. I would be naive to claim this has been the only way people have turned their lives around but for me it is a true story. The Bible and resources based on the Bible have been my agents of transformation. From character to finances, values to competence, the Bible has been the transformer. The difference between the Word of God and other resources however lies in its ability to impart eternal life through the revelation of Jesus Charity and His plan of salvation (John 3:16). This kind of change goes beyond the behavioural modification that psychology offers to the release of the creative power of God to effect desired changes and transfiguration into the image of Jesus Christ.

The Bible may look like another book on the surface and yes, it is made up of stories, songs, poems and instructions like other books but inherent within it is the Revelation of Jesus Christ. That revelation is transformative. Our responsibility however, is to read it, study it, meditate on it and believe it. Such immersion into the Word of God is what it takes to truly encounter the Holy Spirit.

Victor Adeyemi