The Summer I Became an Author (Part 1)

Do we even have summer in Nigeria? Not really. We just borrow the word so we can “feel among.” And lately, there’s been this trend, the summer I turned pretty, the summer I became this, the summer I became that.

Well, this is my own version: the summer I became an author.

Even though “summer” is technically over (it’s mid-September, and if we were borrowing weather, it would be fall).

Recently, I attempted a 7-day writing challenge with prompts from Olufemi Babalola. And on the 7th day, what I thought was going to be just another newsletter blossomed into a story. And not just any story, it became my first book: Olúwàtiseun.

Some letters are easy to write, and some are hard. This one was one of those hard ones.

God has been training me to look at every season with fresh eyes, not as a time to complain but as a chance to ask, “Lord, what are You showing me here?”

Through the process of writing Olúwàtiseun, God began to teach me lessons I didn’t expect. Here’s the first one.

Lesson One: Ask and Receive

You know when you ask someone for help repeatedly, but because of delays, you eventually stop asking? That was exactly where I found myself.

I desired something from God concerning a responsibility He had entrusted to me. But I refused to pray about it, not because it was outside His will, but because I was tired of waiting on other promises that hadn’t yet come to pass.

So I quietly decided to settle for less, even though God had already invested so much in me.

My faith was tired… more like impatient. Not dead, but comfortable. Instead of being audacious, it chose convenience. It felt easier to lower expectations than to believe boldly.

But God always has a way of reaching His children. A day later, my friend Netete (who also attempted the challenge) wrote an article anchored on Matthew 7:7 - 8

Matthew 7:7 (KJV):

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”

Matthew 7:8 (KJV):

“For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”

I was convicted immediately. I realized that by refusing to ask, I was indirectly telling God my circumstances were bigger than Him, when in reality, I should have been telling my circumstances how big my God is.

I had grown impatient with the One who makes everything beautiful in His time. Impatient with the God who sees the whole picture while I only hold a few incomplete pieces.

And it hit me: impatience with God often grows from an ungrateful heart. Because in those moments, we shift our gaze from the splendor of who He is to the things we are still waiting for.

Finally, He pointed me back to childlike faith.

No matter how many times you tell a child “no,” they keep asking, believing that one day, you will indulge them. They don’t calculate timelines, they don’t overthink delays. To a child, “not yet” doesn’t mean “never.”

They will tug at your shirt again tomorrow with the same boldness as yesterday, certain that your love for them is bigger than your refusals. That’s the posture God kept reminding me of: to come to Him, again and again, not with entitlement but with trust.

Children don’t carry the weight of outcomes; they carry the weight of expectation. They don’t look at what they lack, they look at who holds it. That’s the kind of faith Jesus asks of us.

I’ll pause here for today.

On Wednesday, our book release day, I’ll share the second lesson: Grace for Seasons. ❤️

I feel so many things just saying that out loud.

About Olúwàtiseun

Olùwátiseun looks like she has it all together. But behind the smiles is a young woman weighed down by expectations and the quiet fear that maybe God has gone silent.

Her whispered “Abba, can You speak to me?” opens a tender conversation that mirrors what so many of us quietly ask.

This isn’t just her story. It’s an invitation for you too, to ask boldly, to trust God’s timing, and to rest in His nearness.

📖 Olúwàtiseun is now available for preorder here:

👉🏽 https://selar.com/l83m4h9117

✨ 25% discount for the first 25 people, don’t miss it!

It would mean so much to have your support.

All my love,

Adaeze 💌