Uncommon Path Network

Dear Path Finder,
 

I pray you find your purposeful path, walk audaciously in it, and inspire others to find theirs too. 

It’s been exactly a month since I last shared a newsletter.
You might be wondering  “Where on earth have you been?”
Or perhaps you didn’t even notice that I’d been away for a while (no judgment at all ).

Whichever Uncommon Reader you are, the one who waits eagerly for the next edition, or the one who remembers this platform only when an email notification appears, I have missed you both deeply.

Please, grab something warm and settle in. This one’s a little longer than usual.

Birthday Reflections:

On the evening of my birthday, one of my closest friends ambushed me… with love. 

I call it an ambush because I had told all my friends that this year, I wanted no celebration. Just stillness, solitude, and reflection. I should have known she was up to something when she asked too many questions about how my day was going and whether I was truly still indoors.

At around 8 p.m., she called to say she was at my gate. Before I could protest, she was inside my home, with cake, candles that read 28, my favourite chocolate, and even a camera to capture the moment.

It felt like receiving something you didn’t know you needed.
I’m so used to being the giver, the one who loves, pours, and serves, that I sometimes struggle to receive love without feeling the need to earn it. But that night, my heart surrendered. She disarmed me with kindness.

I immediately decided to cook a hearty meal, lamb stew and steamed bread (dombolo). She rated it an 11/10 (I’m convinced I should open a cooking company now).

Sisanda is truly a gift from God that I didn’t think I needed. I am so grateful to call her FRIEND. It’s almost a year since we’ve officially become friends – but it feels like forever. She’s so selfless, an attentive and present friend, she’s graceful in our disagreements, she sees me, she’s extremely funny. Okay – if she ever dares to leave me, we are all fetching her right? Thanks!

That evening marked more than just another birthday. It felt like the turning of a page, a quiet announcement from heaven that 28 would be another defining year, just like 26 was.

A New Spiritual Home

If you had told me a year ago that I’d ever move to a new church, I would have laughed. I was certain the only way I’d ever leave my church would be through marriage, maybe if my husband came from another one (and even then, I was planning to “encourage” him to join mine instead).

I loved my church deeply, the people, the community, the leadership, my spiritual parents. But early this year, in January 2025, God began stirring something unsettling in my spirit. 

I tried to wrestle with him – on this idea of leaving church until March 2025, when he truly caused me to confront his command. My reason was – how do you leave a church that has done no harm to you, a community that loves & supports you so dearly, spiritual parents that are present and invested in your life. I felt a deep pain that I could not put to words.

That same month, He called me into a 40-day fast. It disrupted everything I thought I understood about myself and my faith. I encountered God in a way that words still fail to describe. I came out of that fast utterly changed, undone, renewed, realigned.

It was in that sacred season that God confirmed His instruction for me to leave my church. Communicating that to people I loved was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Some received it with grace. Others felt hurt. Both responses were okay, because obedience sometimes costs comfort.

Here’s what I learned:

God is more invested in our alignment than our comfort.
He desires that we live genuinely, not perform godliness.
That our worship be pure, our hearts yielded, and our purpose effective.

And so, in August 2025, I joined my new spiritual home. I can confidently say, this has truly been the biggest gift God has ever given me, in my entire life of salvation. That is all that I can say. 

Career Opportunities Without Social Media

This reflection truly deserves its own full newsletter, and I promise to write it soon.

In this past month alone, God has shown me what He meant when He said, “I will make you.” (Genesis 12:2). I’ve experienced God truly showing me what He truly meant when he said that HE makes a man and that HE will MAKE me.
He has caused doors to open and people to find me, not through algorithms or social media visibility, but through divine orchestration.

It’s wild to see that even after stepping away from the platforms that once defined my brand and built my career, God continues to elevate me. Highly esteemed individuals have sought me out for opportunities I didn’t chase. It’s all Him, all grace.

Letting go of social media felt risky, even foolish. But every day, I see how wise His instruction was. The very platform I thought I needed was actually something He wanted to free me from.

Losing My Dad

My dad had been ill since 2019, almost seven years of praying, hoping, and believing for his restoration. I’ve seen God perform undeniable miracles in his life. I’ve watched Him raise my father from life support machines when doctors said there was no chance.

I’ve prayed at 2 a.m., begging God for his life, and time after time, He answered. But in these past months, my prayers began to change. I started asking not only for healing but for rest. I wanted my dad to be free from pain.

And God, in His mercy, granted that request. He put my dad to rest.

Nothing prepares you for the work of planning a funeral, it is a labour of love and grief. Yet, through it all, God sustained us with supernatural strength.

And my friends… oh, my friends.
They loved me like Christ loves, sacrificially, not conveniently. They travelled 26 hours round trip just to be there for me. I don’t know why I am wired the way I am – but for me, the true defining moment of my friendship is when I experience love that did not come out of convenience but one that was sacrificial.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.”
 That verse shaped my understanding of love, that real love gives.

Their love reminded me of that truth.

So, Where To From Here?

Firstly, I cut my hair.  I plan to wear my natural hair for the rest of the year.
Second, I’m learning to live life without my dad, and I call my mom every day (she’s my new best friend now).
Third, I’m committed to living fully in purpose, holding nothing back.

This final stretch of the year is for surrender and groundwork, preparing the soil for what God will birth in 2026. Expect tangible fruit then.

How have you been, Path Finder?
What has God been speaking to you about in this season?

Until next time 
 

Shalom,
Oyena