OLDIE, MY GOLDIE!

Well hello there dear gist partner. 

How e dey be? How was your day? And your week? Here’s hoping that you see the hand of the Lord in all that you do. 

Welcome to today’s gist. 

Today, the 22nd of August 2025, my sister finished from the University. It is in commemoration of her graduation that this week’s gist is coming today. 

There are very few people in this world who inspire me as much as my sister does. My sister is probably the most resilient person I know; there is absolutely nothing that keeps my sister down or causes her to give up. Her journey towards getting a degree began 10 years ago. Like me, she also, inexplicably, was de ied admission. We didn’t know why, we made our papers, passed Post-UTME yet we didn’t get the admission. So we stayed at home. The next year, we wrote JAMB, did well, but only I got admission. But you see my sister, she’s my biggest cheerleader! She celebrated my admission like it was hers, she was overjoyed at my going to school even if she wasn’t going too. 

She kept trying and trying and trying, for 4 years, until on the 27th of December, 2019, she ran to me, waking me from my doze to show me the proof of her admission!!! Guy, sleep clear from my eye!!!!! This was a dream that kept seeming out-of-reach and there it was for us that day!!!!

Then, one month into her student-ship, if at all, COVID happened. We got stalled again. In 2021, she resumed school back. In 2022, strike happened and at the end of 2022, she got back. 2023, I graduated and left her in Jos. 

Today, she’s done!

This brief summary of the journey isn’t really why we’re here today. We’re here because I want to share with you some things that I’ve learnt from watching my sister these past decade. 

I’ve told you a little bit about my sister’s resilience. Throughout the period where my sister had to wait, she didn’t lose hope, she didn’t become bitter. She remained optimistic, she kept trusting God, even ehen things didn’t look hopeful. In watching my sister, I saw what my father used to call “trusting God foolishly” –a crazy determination to hold on to God has trust Him to fulfill His promises to you. Even when people, our mates, started graduating from University, my sister refused to let that cause her to lose hope, she remained convinced that her time would come and when it did come, e no too too surprise us because we had alll trusted God to do it! 

The time my sister spent waiting at home was time she invested into God’s service, she could have become bitter and angry at God that she was being ‘delayed’ but my sister decided that she was going to spend the time serving God, growing closer to Him and being about Kingdom business. That a lesson I learnt from my sister has helped me now that I too am facing somewhat of a ‘stall’, I’ve learned now that the proper thing to do is to serve God while you’re waiting to move on to the next phase. 

The last lesson, which is really the most endearing to me, is how my sister celebrated all of us in her life who were getting admission and going to school, and she did it genuinely!!! You would never see her bitter rush we were advancing in our academic journeys while she was still waiting; she was cheering for us, encouraging us, celebrating with us like it was her own. That’s why hers is so personal to us all: we saw her so selflessly love us so, of course, we love her like mad!!!! My sister taught me that having your own personal battles to fight did not mean that you would not celebrate with others who are winning their own battles, even if the battles were in similar areas. So now, when you see me cheering for someone winning, even when e be like say na me the person win, know that I do it genuinely because I learnt it from my sister. 

Who know me know say if you dey find who to report me to, just report me to my sister, she no dey fear me😂 (me using this phrase is just to push her buttons because she hates when I say “before I dey fear you?” to anybody or in any situation). In fact, for as long as I can remember, the person who had my ‘mumu-reset’ button has been my sister, I dey hear wetin she dey talk –whether or not I want to. I look up to the girl like mad!!!!! 

So, dear gist partner, please join me in celebrating S. E. Salifu, B. A. (Hons) Mass Communications, the latest and sweetest graduate on the block! She deserves all the love and celebration, please say a prayer for her. 

TUNES AND THOUGHTS: our song recommendation for the week is ‘Undignified’ by Dunsin Oyekan. This song has been ringing in my heart since we started counting down to my sister’s graduation because nobody knows like we know what the Lord has done for us; through tears and disappointment, heartaches and delays, God has brought us here, so we get undignified before our Lord, He has done us well!! I pray this song blesses you and that it helps you remember to thank God for what He has done for you. 

Audiomack: https://audiomack.com/dunsin-oyekan/song/undignified-excuse-me?share-user-id=140072136 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/4gP0lFMHrIl5dzTBpDytJ7?si=zYW-o_RHQD6OzZK7e9nPEg 

YouTube Music: https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=VZYq7Zjvv8Q&si=8DxcQPQoI-T49_kZ 

Well that is that about that as far as that is concerned, see you next week at out regular scheduled time. 

Love,

Sister to the latest Graduate😁.