The “Watchman” Who Is Now A Teaching Assistant. Meet Richard Agbedor.

THE “WATCHMAN” IS NOW A TEACHING ASSISTANT – SOME LESSONS FROM RICHARD AGBEDOR: I spoke with our amazing brother, Richard, just a few days ago, and he raised my level of joy when he told me that he has been taken on as a Teaching Assistant, in the same Faculty in the University of Development Studies, UDS, where he has just received his B.Sc (Hons) Upper Second degree in Agricultural Technology. From a security guard to a teaching Assistant – Wow. This story has many more highs to come, under the great grace of Almighty God, we BELIEVE.

Quickly, a “few pennies” were wired to him, and guess what he did? He has gone to purchase several inspirational books that can only help him increase in knowledge and understanding and push him closer to his greatness – as you can see in this photo. His HUNGER FOR KNOWLEDGE, wisdom, and self-improvement, plus SUCCESS, is simply palpable and amazing.

SOME POINTS, LESSONS, AND ADMISSIONS:
GYE NYAME – MAWUKO – ONLY GOD: Some stories are best explained through certain phrases, like, “”ONLY GOD” or “To GOD be the glory.” Indeed, when we use the phrase “We thank GOD,” some of our friends would be excused to think we’re being religious but that’s not the case in this instance. What happened – and still happening – with Richard can only be the result a gracious act of GOD meeting the hard work, faith, and determination of a young person, who desires to do well in life.

TO GOD – ALL THE GLORY: I had forgotten the Words of inspiration that I spoke to Richard. But he never forgot. I forgot the image or mental video I painted of him, driving one day through Cantonments in his own car, and stopping by the apartment complex where he used to be a security guard, and being able to say with appreciation, gratitude, and pride, “I used to be a watchman in this place. Now I have my own higher degrees, profession, and family, in Jesus Name.” It’s good I forgot so I wouldn’t go anywhere and claim, in any boastful way, that I made Richard what he has become or what he is becoming. It has to be GOD.

TO RICHARD – ALL THE CREDIT: Sometimes you can motivate and inspire a nephew, a relative, or a young person who comes your way, but you can never be sure of the outcome of your inspirational or motivational input. The Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13) comes to mind: A farmer went out to sow seeds. But as he sprayed the seeds, some fell on the pathway, others fell into a rocky place. Some fell into the thorny place and the rest fell into the GOOD SOIL To be Richard is the good soil. The Words I shared with him, urging and challenging him to go back to school, connected deeply with him and spurred him on to take action. He didn’t come back asking me to find a school for him, give him money, buy him books, or any other requests. He simply took my Word to heart and got to work. He “worked the Word and Word is working for him.” He deserves all the credit (humanly-speaking.)

TO ME, A HUMBLING EXPERIENCE: We’ve all heard someone declare how humbled they felt by someone’s actions or words, and for me Richard’s unfolding story is proving terribly humbling for me. The moment I spent with Richard were fleeting and brief – and not totaling even 30 minutes. I believe he gives me more credit than I deserve. At best, I was just a tool, used by GOD to implant a key message into Richard. His attitude of gratitude is something rare, unique, and just awesome. He is a man of few words and his expressions over the phone, whenever we speak, render me almost speechless. He is “the one leper that returned.”

TO ALL OF US – A TEACHING MOMENT: Words have power. Words spoken with a certain kind of intent, purpose, vision or spiritual force can have a great effect. All I did was to speak dream-filled Words of faith to a brother, in a moment. But in that moment the Words became seeds sown in his heart and mind to fuel his ambition for greater. We can choose to speak life at any or every time, or decide sadly to dwell on the negatives that will never change anyone. Choose to speak life. Choose to speak words that lift up and not bring down. Choose to encourage, even in the bleakest of moments. There is power in your words and my words. There is power in the tongue.

EXTRAS: Someone has questioned why I’m “disgracing” Richard by saying he was a “watchman.” Please, there is no disgrace in the title, “watchman” or “security guard.” I could be calling Richard a “PROTECTION MANAGER” at the Apartment Complex but the reality is that he was a “watchman” and putting it this way shows the depth of God’s grace and intervention.

The spirit, substance, and song of this whole story is to show what God’s grace can do with us and for us, when we take on good Word and work hard, with faith, determination, and an attitude of gratitude. That’s all. We hope this inspires somebody. We hope this helps all of us to see the worth in the kayayo or watchman we encounter every day. We hope this motivates anyone who is struggling to achieve their dream to find or receive that inner strength or boost to believe again and do well. With determination and hard work, AND GOD’S GREAT GRACE the impossible becomes POSSIBLE.

God steps in anytime – somehow and anyhow – we make a move … And still I ask, please: Is there a “Richard” hiding in (#your) plain sight?