On September 21, I released a memoir called Along the Way. In many ways, it felt like it was where my life had been headed for a very long time.
I grew up reading books with deep adult subjects, and I especially loved those that had illustrations. I used to flip the pages to just see the next illustration, but gradually as I grew, I also began to read the content of the text. I loved how the drawings drew me in, and I looked forward to putting out books like that. Books that cover subjects that are relatable to both adults and children.
As my 30th birthday approached, I wanted to put out something into the world to encourage someone out there who, just like me, may have been trying to make their way through the uncertainties and decisions of their 20s. I certainly don’t consider myself an arbiter of all knowledge, and I’m still learning, but there were a number of things I had learnt along the way (see what I did there?) that I figured could help others too.
One of the major things I am learning, and which formed the major framework for Along the Way, is the fact that the ordinary is not mundane. Because God made our times and seasons, He has treasures and glorious wonder deposited in every person and every moment. All of Creation is a testament to His wisdom and glory, but we would only see it if our hearts and mindsets are trained to see this way. It’s why Paul wrote about the ‘renewing of the mind’ that is necessary in knowing God better (Romans 12:2). Life is finite, but there is so much wonder in the moments we get to experience. I want to live like that, appreciating the little things and able to bring forth God’s wonders through them. To see no one as ordinary, but to value them the way He does.
That is the core concept of Along the Way, and what I wanted to put out into the world.
And do you know one of the most awesome parts? The content of this book was made up of articles I had written over the past decade, at various points in time. I gathered them together, revised and modified much of them, and eventually the book to shape. It was almost as if, in those moments without my realizing it, God had been prompting my heart with just what I’d need to put this book together long before I even knew there would be a book. That blows my mind in no small way.
It encourages me for the road ahead, that my best bet is to trust in His process and keep on following Him. I do not know the future, but He does. And one thing I hope to keep doing is to trust Him and take each step in faith and trust, as I follow Him along the way.
I pray the same for you too.
Along the Way is available in paperback at Householder Books (US only), as a digital download on Amazon and Selar, and to read on OkadaBooks and Bambooks.
The Faces of Christmas comes out this Christmas! I’ll be writing about that in a moment.
Emmanuel Onimisi 