Ask Me Anything! A 5-Question, Mother-Daughter, Transcontinental Interview. Just For Fun!

We thought this would be a fun exercise for this week! we know everyone is busy this time of year, with full schedules, and this is a quick, get-to-know-us a little more, because we love connecting deeper with you! Thank you for being here, sincerely. We hope you are having a beautiful Christmas holiday and that you are experiencing moments of deep connection with our Savior and your family and friends! From Gemma-Elizabeth and I both---We wish you a very joy-filled Christmas!

Catherine's ask-me-anything questions for Gemma-Elizabeth:

1. What is one of your favorite things about Nigerian culture?

One of my favorite things about  Nigerian culture is the brilliance and variety. Nigerians are such colorful people. 

2. What is one thing you would want a person to know about life growing up in an orphanage?

Life in an orphanage is never easy, no matter how well you are treated. Children belong in families, not orphanages. Every orphan has wondered where he/she stands in this world. Every orphan has felt like a lost, unclaimed item at some point in their lives.

3. What is one of your favorite childhood memories?

I have quite a lot, actually. Busy Saturday mornings with the smell of delicious pancakes heavy in the air; Christmas mornings in Rafiki foundation (the run during the coldest hours of the day to give friends Christmas cards and receive cards and sweets in return); occasional mango orchard raids with a lot of friends; stealing books from the adult section of the library (they had all the interesting historical fiction novels).

4. What advice would you give to a senior in highschool who is graduating and entering the "real world" from orphanage life?

Brace yourself. You're gonna be hit hard in all directions. Do not break. If you do break, do not crumble to pieces. Whatever happens, keep on going. 

5. If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why?

One superpower ... I would choose the ability to take away pain from people who are hurting because I hate pain. I think too many people are suffering from pain.

Gemma-Elizabeth's ask-me-anything questions for Catherine:

1. Looking back at the different seasons of your walk with Jesus—especially as a woman, a mother, and a business owner—what season stretched your faith the most, and how did God meet you there?

Definitely motherhood. I have had to fight for each of my children. The prayers I have called out to God on behalf of my children have been raw, messy, and from the deepest parts of me. God has taught me that my children are ultimately His children. This has released me from the burden of trying to control y'all's fate the way I think would be best for you. I have learned to surrender like never before.

2. What has loving me from a distance taught you about God’s love—especially the way He stays present even when we can’t see Him physically?

His love is permanent. We are never not on His mind, or on His heart. His love cannot be diminished by distance. I get that. He has asked me to love you from a different side of the world. I hate it some days because I just want to sip coffee with you and talk in our PJ's...in the same room, not over WhatsApp. But, God has chosen this for a good reason, and I have to trust Him in the story He is writing for your life. And I do. 

3. Your organizing business brings order out of chaos. How do you see that gift reflecting God’s character, and how has He used your work to shape your spiritual life?

God is a God of order. He brings clarity to our mess. I see the spiritual value of minimalism. It's not like I think you have to be a minimalist to be spiritually deep, but for me personally, my organizing business has given me spiritual eyes for the true worth of our physical belongings. It's all just stuff, and one day it's new, and the next day it's being thrown out. God will never disappoint us. In fact, the more we get to know Him, the sweeter and more fulfilling He becomes -- unlike our stuff.

4. As a white mother raising Black daughters across cultures and continents, what has God taught you about listening, humility, and seeing beyond your own experience?

A couple of thoughts on this beautiful question...

We are one as a family. Love trumps any difference, so much so that Dad and I literally don't even notice our skin and cultural differences, truly. There is a beauty to that. That said, we also notice things we would not have noticed before - our children have given us new eyes because we are one with them. 

Secondly, God has taught me that I understand far less than I thought I understood. Listening is key to a heart of humility - and it's powerful. The world is not my lived experience, only. Your experience is your experience. And the person beside you, they have their lived experience -- they are all real. God has taught me that we would do well to listen and hear one another as servants, verses as nay-sayers.

5. When you pray for me and for my future, what do you ask God for most?

I ask God for His protection and blessing over you. I ask God that you be a woman of His Word who knows your identity in Christ. I also ask Him to bring us together again in his holy timing and way. I ask Him for these things every day.