Sankofa

As we celebrated 23 years of marriage last year, it was great to reflect on how it all started and how far we’ve come by God’s grace.

Shortly after we got married, our home was burgled. It happened one Sunday while we were away at Church. They made away with our TV set, in addition to other gadgets and valuables, but what stung most of all was that the thieves took away a bag full of all my engagement gifts; cloths, jewelry, everything!

Of course I was thankful we weren’t home to be harmed by those miscreants but that loss was painful!

All I had as a reminder of my engagement was the lace “alata” outfit I wore that day.

It held such sentimental value for me and I kept it over the years as a reminder of the day I stepped out of my Father’s house into an adventure with my Akoto Lante boy!😄 And oh what a blessed journey it has been!

That house break-in is the least of the challenges life has thrown at us but through the highs and lows God has been good! We have so much to be thankful for! Who are we? What is our family? It is just because of the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed! He has been good to us! I salute my husband too for being a promise keeper! The guy promised to make loving me his business and indeed, he has kept his word!🥰

So last year I decided it was time to take out my engagement outfit, spruce it up and celebrate God’s faithfulness through the years. So in these pictures, here we are sharing the fabric as we have shared our lives, our love, our struggles, our triumphs, our failures and weaknesses over 23 plus years of marriage and 28 years of friendship!

My son said I should have kept it and passed it on to my first girl when she is getting married. Well, who knows, I just might! But more than a fabric i want to bequeath to her and all our children the legacy of a marriage built on Christ the Solid Rock and more importantly the fruit of lives surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus Christ!

So this is Sankofa for us! Going back to the fabric that ushered us into marriage! 😄

And more importantly, coming back to give praise to the One who bound us together and has granted us grace, wisdom and strength to get over ourselves, our egos, our backgrounds and hang ups and choose to honour Him and each other daily!

This Sankofa also reminds me that as in life, in marriage we often need to take a moment to reflect, review our relationship and renew our commitment to each other. It also means, continually going back to the beginning to do the things that created excitement in our marriages. What tickled my husband, what tickled me?

In the hustle and bustle of life it’s easy to slip into automatic living mode and forget about enriching each other, but that is a mistake!

So today I challenge you to reflect on your marriage. Where have you “lost guard”? What do you need to recapture? How can you rekindle the spark or keep the flame alive?

And yes what do you need to discard or tone down on?

Every marriage needs maintenance to thrive! Like a garden, love blooms when it’s tended. So be intentional! When the ingredients from 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 are applied in generous doses in the garden of marriage, the result is a healthy relationship that stands the rest of time!

”Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.“

And oh yes to my ladies especially, in support of Sustainable living, it’s always possible to repurpose and redesign an old outfit into something new that prevents over consumption and supports environmental sustainability! 💚