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The journey of a small beginning can be discouraging, tough, bleak, and disheartening but like it is said, every great journey begins with the little steps. 

As an individual, religious, entrepreneur or an employee, if we want to succeed in life, we must not despise the times of the early beginning, otherwise, we would be discouraged and tempted to back out.  We must always remember that little steps often lead to greater achievements.

This takes me to the story of the mustard seed and the yeast in the bible. In Matthew, 13, 31 – 33, Here, Jesus describes the mustard seed as the smallest of all the seeds but He said ‘’when it grows up, it is the biggest of all plants. It becomes a tree, so that birds come and make their nests in its branches’’ Jesus also likened a small beginning to the yeast where ‘’a woman takes some yeast and mixes it with forty litres of flour until the whole batch of dough rises’’ From these readings, we see that the mustard seed usually starts as a very small  seed but grows into a big tree with time while the yeast is used as only a leavening agent which  when mixed with flour, helps the dough  to rise.

The same goes for our spiritual life and our journey to the Kingdom of heaven. We start small with little steps and gradually with prayer and the grace of the Holy Spirit, our spiritual life grows. We can practically say that whatever we do or start in life simply begins like an idea which we consume in our minds. It can an idea consumed either as a startup, an entrepreneur or a religious. The bottom line is that every idea has the tendency to expand or grow into great accomplishment.  In essence, the journey of a small beginning starts with an idea and a little step. There is always the original agent in every achievement, there are people or things that help drive the idea to growth and success. So, in the case of the mustard seed, the man who sows the mustard seeds in the field, is the agent of growth here while the woman who mixed the yeast with the flour, is the agent that made the dough to rise. It therefore means that the little efforts of these two people to their work, yielded good results. Thus, those little efforts that the Christian or religious put to work for the kingdom of God or the efforts that the start-up, entrepreneur or employee put into the business or work respectively, do not go in vain. Therefore, as Christians, we have to sow the seed of love, peace, forgiveness and kindness because one good act that we carry out can have a very big impact. Consequently, as entrepreneurs, start- ups or employee, we cannot afford to fold our hands, do nothing and expect manner to fall from heaven. We have to sow the seed of hard work, with honesty and integrity so that we can achieve growth and success. We need to start small and little by little, we move and after a while, those little efforts will grow and accrue over time into growth and success. We must always have the hunger to turn our idea into success just as the Christian should have the zeal and hunger to touch souls and achieve something positive.

We do not need many numbers to start a business or to show kindness as the case may be, all we need is to start with the little we have. Afterall, Jesus began as a travelling teacher but today the church has spread all over the world. Who could have known that a journey that began with only twelve apostles could be able to envelop the whole world. Consequently, only a simple good act you did to just one person can affect the faith of many who are witnesses to that act. Moreover, only a simple business that you started with few Naira notes can turn into a big enterprise and create employment for thousands of people. So, despite the challenges, the church will always grow besides, man has the inherent capability to grow and conquer challenges. What man needs, is to continue to make little efforts and also to pray for the grace of God to multiply those efforts. Always remember that the journey of a small beginning has a great end but this will only happen if we are patient and persevere to the end.

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Beatrice Egbuna is an experienced Broadcast Technologist with a strong background in managing broadcast equipment and sound technology. She has played a leading role in building and installing various radio studios, as well as maintaining and repairing both analogue and digital equipment at Voice of Nigeria (VON) studios. Egbuna holds a degree in Mass Communication from the University of Lagos (UNILAG) and the Lagos State University (LASU), and has received training in Audio Engineering from the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom. She also holds certificates in Senior Management Programmes from the Lagos Business School (LBS) and the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), as well as a certificate in Entrepreneurial Management from the Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) of the Pan-Atlantic University (PAU). Prior to joining EDC in 2011, Beatrice worked in various capacities at the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) and VON before retiring in 2010 as Deputy Director Programming. She has also worked as a Consultant/Mentor on projects like "Road-to-Growth" powered by Cherie Blair Foundation and Access Bank Plc. Egbuna produced and presented "Enterprise Stories", a live radio program on Inspiration 92.3 FM, which brings entrepreneurs together every Tuesday at 3 pm to share their success stories and inspire startup developers to follow their dreams. She also produced "The Economy and You," a program that aired for about four years on Rhythm 93.7 FM, which brought policymakers, technocrats and successful business executives to discuss government policies and their impact on the economy and businesses in Nigeria. Currently, Beatrice Egbuna is the Principal Consultant at Maluwe Capacity Builders International, Nigeria, where she provides real-time feedback and actionable advice that adds value to her clients. She is also a mentor and faculty member at the Enterprise Development Centre of the Pan-Atlantic University, and a BDSP Consultant on the 5-year (20??-20??) MASTERCARD TRANSFORMING NIGERIA YOUTH PROJECT (TNY). Egbuna is passionate about developing the entrepreneurship ecosystem, providing business support and advisory services to entrepreneurs within and outside the EDC business network for over a decade. She is a certified IFC/LPI Trainer, certified SMEDAN Business Development Service Provider (BDSP), life coach, work-life balance advocate/coordinator, and marriage counsellor who helps employees/career/business people find fulfilment in the workplace, balance in their daily activities, and solutions to their marital challenges. To reach Beatrice Egbuna she can be contacted through her email addresses: bettyegbuna@yahoo.com and maluwehelp@gmail.com. She also has a website, https://momentwithbetty.com.

10 Comments

  • Matthew Ngwu, November 7, 2024 @ 4:37 pm Reply

    That is so true. Very insightful article.

  • Helen Ogidi, November 7, 2024 @ 5:35 pm Reply

    This was for me.
    Just this morning, I asked God if my new enterprise was worth the effort at all, because we were going at a snail speed, now I know I should not despise the days of small beginnings.
    Thank you for sharing

    • Betty, November 11, 2024 @ 4:08 pm Reply

      Yes Helen , never despise the the days of a small beginning. With hard work, faith and trust in God , your efforts will end in His praise, Amen

  • Grace Nduka, November 7, 2024 @ 7:17 pm Reply

    Absolutely, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a step. Once there is a a vision or an idea, one has to take a decision and be determined to pursue it. It needs focus, patience and conscientious effort to birth or make the idea a reality.
    The same applies to our spiritual life. It’s said that faith comes by hearngi; and buy hearing the Word of God. Our faith in God and His Word is seen in the efforts we make to put the Word of God into practice in our lives. The amount of God’s Word we have and do brings the positive growth in our Christian journey and makes us strong to do exploits for the LORD. Our faith must be living (put to work; that is obedience to God’s Word) and not dead! Any faith without work is dead!
    As Christians, we should daily receive the grace of Jesus Christ, rely on the Holy Spirit and pray for strength and courage to live for God. That is the only way we can grow into maturity.

    • Betty, November 11, 2024 @ 4:01 pm Reply

      Very well articulated. Thank you for sharing more insights on the topic. God bless you Ma.

    • Betty, November 11, 2024 @ 4:07 pm Reply

      Thank you Ma for your insightful contribution. It was well articulated. God bless.

  • Charles Chinedum, November 8, 2024 @ 2:18 pm Reply

    Thanks for the enlightenment.

    • Betty, November 11, 2024 @ 3:59 pm Reply

      You are welcome Charles

  • Derek Ngwu, November 12, 2024 @ 3:13 pm Reply

    “Do not despise small beginnings, for they hold the promise of great endings”

    I pray that everyone who has read this article will be blessed.

    • Betty, November 18, 2024 @ 7:55 pm Reply

      Thank you Derek.

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