I came to the US a few years ago on a student visa. Since I was a small child, it had always been my dream to work in corporate America. At that point in my life, I had an ‘ATM’ relationship with the Lord. I went to him when I was in need but otherwise I was completely faithless. I had become born again early in life but never had a relationship with God. I finished school and God came through with a job at a time where jobs were scarce. It felt like my dream of working in corporate America was coming true. With a student visa, you are allowed to work in the US for a year after school and then upgrade to a H1B visa. When the time came for the H1B process, once again, I went to God. I fasted, prayed and called on family, friends and my pastors to pray for me. I ended up not being picked up in the lottery. I couldn’t believe it. Everything I thought I had been building fell to pieces. I was completely shattered. 

Recently, I read a quote by Bill Johnson of Bethel Church. It succinctly captured my life back then. “If God is your servant, He will frustrate and disappoint you forever, but if you are His servant, you will constantly be amazed.” Everything that could fall apart did so in the same year. Friends disappointed me; family came with their own issues. Looking back now, there was no way I survived all that. It has been a few years since then. God used that season of my life to bring me to a place where all I had was him. A few weeks ago, I became a permanent resident of the US; a process that if I had gotten the H1B visa I had earnestly prayed for would have taken me ten years. It took God less than a year. 

These days I know better. I know that blessings are icing on the cake, a natural offshoot of serving and loving God. I am not a big fan of icing. Sure, it’s yummy but I am more interested in the actual cake.