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 a while since I’ve written to you.

Not because I didn’t want to, but because this time I struggled to bring you into my emotions in real time. I wanted to sit with everything first, to feel it, to pray through it, to let God make sense of what my words could not.

This journey of mine is truly uncommon. I still discover new layers of it every day. There are questions that linger quietly in my heart, ones I don’t yet have answers for.

But on the lighter side of things… I’m going back to school.

After years of studying to become a Chartered Accountant, I thought I had reached the mountain top. That perhaps this was it, the dream realized, the finish line crossed. And it truly is a powerful qualification, one that opens doors across industries and possibilities. The real magic of being a CA(SA) lies not in adding more to it, but in how you use it.

And yet, God began to whisper, “There’s more.”

He started stirring something new, a pull into spaces of global influence and economic development where I could bring godly wisdom and contribute to policy-making and reform. It was a nudge in the spirit that I simply couldn’t ignore.

Letting go of the old, the familiar, and the safe hasn’t been easy. But God has been gentle, slowly weaning me off what I knew, calling me into deeper consecration.

No social media.
No TV.
Long periods of fasting and prayer.

He was silencing the noise of fame, relevance, and validation so that I could hear Him clearly.

And in that stillness, He imprinted in my heart the instruction to study again.

I said, “God, me? Study? You know I’m not a fan of school.”
And He replied, “This is a Kingdom assignment.”

He reminded me of Daniel, how he was placed in Babylon yet refused to be of Babylon. How he carried divine wisdom into spaces of governance, policy, and influence without losing his consecration.

That became my portion.

Not to conform, but to transform.
Not to blend in, but to reflect the sovereignty of God in the systems of the world.

So, with trembling hands, I applied for a Master’s in Development Finance, a programme I knew I didn’t technically qualify for. I had no prior academic or work experience in this field. And if I’m honest, I feared rejection.

It was the week of my father’s funeral. I sat in my mother’s room, laptop open, and finally submitted my application, 30 days before the deadline. I whispered, “Lord, Your will be done.” Then I closed the laptop and left it in His hands.

Fast forward to the 29th of October, I received an email of acceptance from Stellenbosch Business School. I just stared at the screen. How? I still don’t know. But what I do know is that it was all God.

Though these were exciting news, the joy was quickly followed by reality. I don’t have funding yet. For a moment, that thought tried to cloud my faith. But God gently reminded me, “If I called you to it, I will provide for it.”

And so I rest in that truth, that this is not just a degree, it’s divine preparation.

Lately, I’ve been reflecting on how this pivot mirrors what many of us experience when God calls us higher. The stretching. The uncertainty. The letting go. The fear of being misunderstood.

But here’s what I’m learning. Growth in purpose often comes with birth pains.

You don’t lose yourself, you expand.
You don’t abandon your faith, you deepen it.
You don’t stop inspiring, you start impacting.

This season isn’t about rebranding for recognition. It’s about obedience to influence.
It’s about allowing God to merge faith and intellect, calling and capacity, ministry and mastery.

I want to be a voice that carries light into spaces where faith and finance rarely meet.
To be present in rooms that shape policy, development, and economic direction, and to lead there with both intellect and wisdom.

Because I believe with all my heart that the Kingdom belongs in those conversations too.

This is new territory for me, and maybe for you too. But I trust that God equips those He calls.
And so I walk forward, not in certainty, but in surrender.

“Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion…” — Philippians 1:6

How have you been, Pathfinder? What season are you in right now? I’d love to hear from you.

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With love and grace,

 Shalom,
 Oyena

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