An Obstacomer’s Journey through Foresight and Hindsight
Persevering through Life’s Unrelenting Trials
by
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Preface
An “obstacomer” is a person who has had to overcome many obstacles in life. I coined the word obstacomer on October 24, 2016, inspired by the song “Overcomer” by Christian singer Mandisa. I combined the words obstacle and overcomer to form the word obstacomer. Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines overcomer as a person who succeeds in dealing with or gaining control of some problem or difficulty. An obstacle is defined as something that makes it difficult to do something. Throughout my life I have met and been inspired by a myriad of obtacomers: men and women, boys and girls, who continue to persevere one day at a time through life’s struggles.
Obstacles experienced in my life at times only made sense in hindsight. William Blake famously said, “Hindsight is a wonderful thing but foresight is better, especially when it comes to saving life, or some pain!” In trying to determine whether 2020 is hindsight, I have come to realize that unfortunate circumstances can be best prevented through foresight. In my life, the Bible has been my guide for gleaning foresight. The lessons learned and pitfalls prevented throughout my life have all been guided by foresight garnered from the Bible.
The Bible has been my moral compass and the light unto my path. In my quest to comprehend the meaning of life, I have sought for guidance from the book of Ecclesiastes and the book of Proverbs for gaining wisdom. The book of Psalms has brought me solace during numerous challenging seasons of my life. The book of Genesis has helped me understand where I came from, and Revelation has revealed to me where I am going to spend eternity. My faith in God has continued to strengthen due to life experiences I believe God has helped me overcome and also due to scripture predicted in the Old Testament and later fulfilled in the New Testament, culminating in the birth and death of Jesus Christ, who, through the crucifixion, demonstrated God’s love for sinners like me. Life exemplified through the life of Jesus Christ has been my only benchmark of the epitome of unconditional love.
So long as the devil is alive, we will continue to face obstacles until our time on this earth expires. The only way to overcome is not to eliminate but to alleviate the painstaking sorrows of this life the only way I know how: keeping Jesus Christ at the center of my life, which has been borne out by my own experiences. Jesus does not force anyone to come to Him; we have all been given the freedom to choose. From the moment I decided to follow Him, God’s presence has been with me throughout my struggles. I have learned that following Jesus does not guarantee that all our problems will be solved, as He sometimes answers our prayers while other times He does not; one day we will understand why. My prayer is that I forever remain committed to Christ and never cease from sharing His goodness, which I have encountered through countless answered and unanswered prayers.
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About the Book
I have been maintaining a gratitude journal for the past twenty years, which I now refer to as my “gratitude timeline.” I never thought to share some of its contents until after my attempt to purchase inspirational books whose authors have inspired me throughout my struggles to provide as gifts to orphans and vulnerable youth I met during my travel to sub-Saharan Africa. After returning from a trip to Zambia in June 2019, I began to plan future travels to visit the orphans and vulnerable youth, and it suddenly occurred to me during a conversation with a friend in August 2019 that sharing my own story would enable me to connect and relate to the orphans and vulnerable youth, since I have walked in their shoes after losing both parents at a young age. I was further inspired to share my own story after a Sabbath school discussion at church about living a legacy of God’s faithfulness in one’s life for the generation behind you.
In October 2019, I finally made the decision to publish this twenty--day devotional on God’s continued faithfulness in my life. First, I created an outline of key topics and life lessons I wanted to impart into the lives of my readers, which made me realize I had a lot more to share than just a few pages. My hope with this devotional is to encourage orphans, vulnerable youth around the world, and anyone who has had to overcome many obstacles throughout life.
About the Author
Elizabeth Mulenga has developed a passion over the years to offer support in any way she can to those who she believes have experienced struggles in life similar to hers. Through her volunteer work with A Child’s Promise International (CPI), the team of unpaid volunteers continues to fundraise for scholarships that go toward supporting educational expenses for vulnerable youth in sub-Saharan Africa. She is a firm believer in education as a vehicle for alleviating poverty and spends her spare time volunteering her time and resources to ensure that vulnerable youth have the opportunity to improve their livelihood. A percentage of earnings from this book will go toward supporting the mission she deeply cares about.