Women of Rubies | My Interview @WomenOfRubies

I was blessed to have the incredible organisation based in Nigeria, Women of Rubies interview me earlier this year. It is encouraging to see a rise in the number of organisations set to empower women, especially back home!

In the interview, I gave a little insight into who I am. I also shared how my challenges became golden opportunities and my passions revealed my purpose. Finally, I gave a charge of encouragement to my fellow queens! The full interview can be read here and I have included a few nuggets of the interview in this blog post for you to enjoy and to get to know me a little bit more 🙂

Meet Kanayo

I am a young lady on fire for God with a passion for His word. I am the author of the Bible challenges devotionals on the YouVersion Bible app. I graduated from the University of Surrey with a Psychology degree and a special International award for my international work over the years. I am now working as a Psychology teacher, while completing my postgrad at UCL.

I live in London with my Queen Mama and two siblings. My parents are from Anambra and Asaba in Nigeria and my title is Adaeze from Umu-Eze-Aroli. I love travelling, I love reading, I love contemporary dance, I love good soul food (the kind that sends you to sleep) and I love pampering sessions. This is the part where I profess my love for working out, but that would be a lie, God is working on my six pack. I run my own blog,doctorkanayo.com with over 186,000 hits. God has blessed me with the grace to teach, not only my passion for psychology but also my passion for His Word. My desire is to see people fall in love with the Bible, so that they can fall in love with The Author, God.

Discovering My Gift of Teaching

My mantra is ‘To show love is to share edifying knowledge.’ This statement is at the top of my blog and I believe that my passion for teaching is an overflow of my love for others. There is something about seeing my students, peers and elders glow or have a ‘light bulb moment’ when I have taught them something and that is what pushed me deeper into discovering my gift of teaching.

Challenges 

A great challenge is being consistent with my posts as life can get really busy. In addition, being measured in terms of what I share concerning my personal life. I have had to learn how to strike a balance between inspiring and being appropriately transparent. A fun challenge is expressing my two passions; Psychology and Christianity simultaneously via this platform. The hardest challenge is being put on a pedestal and constantly having to remind people that I am not the standard, I am human, I am not immune to trials etc. If you allow men to put you on a pedestal, they’ll be the same ones to bring you down. But when God elevates you, He will keep you there, not by your own strength, but by His sufficient grace. Finally, learning how to deal with the critics has been a major challenge that I learnt to overcome using God’s word.

About My  Bible challenge platform

I was frustrated, like many Christians. I felt like I wasn’t ‘hearing’ God, like there was absolutely no connection. Prayer didn’t help because I had no scriptural foundation to my prayer. But one day, I read that scripture, John 1:1. A scripture that I had heard so many times, but in that one moment God assured me that this is how He will speak to me, this is how I can connect with Him, this is how my prayer life will get better. By reading His Word – which IS Him!

I developed a strong desire to encourage those who struggle with the Bible to fall in love with The Word and consequently fall in love with the Author! So I created Bible Challenges also known as devotionals, to connect my love for His word with the efficiency of social media.

Bible challenges go beyond reading because we share our understanding with each other using various social media platforms to share our thoughts. My Bible challenges can be found on the world’s number one Bible App, YouVersion, and there is more information on how to start a Bible challenge on my blog.

Spirituality of Nigerian Women

Spirituality is an awareness that there is something far greater than we are, that created this universe, created life and that we are an authentic, important, significant part of it, and can contribute to its growth.

I’d be careful not to overgeneralize with this question. Some Nigerian women are spiritual and some aren’t. A spiritual woman is able to relate to the depths of an individual, and is able to see them for who God created them to be. A spiritual woman does not just focus on her outward appearance, but strives to better her inner spirit man.  A woman who believes in the Almighty God, understands that her spirituality is evidence of His nature and beauty. She has beauty to unveil because she bears the image of God. She doesn’t have to conjure or fake it, it is her very essence. Beauty is me. Beauty is you.

I am a Woman of Rubies

I am a woman with dignity, influence and respect. No matter the challenges or the obstacles that come my way, I have chosen to live through them and to inspire with them. I am evidence that God exists, I am evidence that He is indeed faithful and so gracious. My heart for others pushes me to serve in any capacity, to love with my words and encourage with my life. Some days I feel like my life isn’t all together, other days, I feel like Wonder Woman, but I have learnt that I minister the best when I’ve been through the lowest of lows because it is more about God flowing through me, as I yield my life to be used by Him without focusing on my feelings. Rubies are beautiful, they are formed under severe heat and pressure. The heat of life refines me, the pressure of life strengthens me. This is why I am a woman of Rubies.

Final words for Nigerian Women

Nigerian women are strong, we are endowed with defiant passion for the things we love and hold dear. My charge to Nigerian women across the world is to never allow your passion to cloud your service to humanity. Never allow your strength to exceed the beauty that is within a woman who is graceful and measured. Continue to fight for what you love and those you love, but do so gracefully, wearing humility wherever you go. I love you my fellow Queens.

Thank you Women of Rubies! With edifying love always, K x