Ifeoma Chuks-Adizue 
September 21 2020 is a date I will never forget. That night, our house caught fire. It started in the most unexpected place – our bedroom, from our bed. By every natural calculation, I should have been lying there asleep.
But I wasn’t…
I was exhausted. I had already finished a full day at work and was truly ready to sleep but the Holy Spirit nudged me to keep writing the weekly emails for my Uncommon Woman community -my purpose project and assignment beyond my 9–5.
That simple act became the reason I was awake when the fire started..
That assignment saved my life.
We lost nearly everything we owned that night but to His glory, we ALL survived and that fire became yet again a major life-quake moment
So what are life-quake moments?
They are those unexpected moments that shake us to our core. They interrupt our plans, shatter our routines and sometimes threaten to undo us completely. Yet, paradoxically, they also have the power to awaken a deeper, stronger and more purpose-driven version of us.
Looking back, I see three lessons from that fire that I carry with me today:
1. Assignment Protects You
That night, I could have been asleep in the very bed that caught fire but I wasn’t, because I was at my desk doing something that mattered to God – tending to my assignment.
I believe with all my heart that God’s hand of protection was tied to that act of obedience. It reminds me of a principle He has repeated to me over and over again – “Do what is important for Me, and I will do what is important for you.”
When you give weight to your divine assignment, even in the midst of your full-time job and other responsibilities, God not only graces you for them all but He also defends and preserves you.
2. Life-Quakes Are Invitations to Reinvent
In the aftermath of the fire, I was forced to re-examine everything. The first time I’d done this was 10years prior when I survived an ectopic pregnancy; and that one action totally changed my outlook and the trajectory of my life.
So once again, I knew that If God had spared my life, then surely it wasn’t just to continue as before.
Life-quake moments are painful, yes, but they also create opportunities to become MORE of the person God had in mind when He created us. They strip away illusions of control and force us to ask the deeper questions:
- Why am I still here?
- What really matters?
When you dare to ask those questions and respond with obedience, reinvention happens; and reinvention often accelerates growth.
For context, at that point in 2020, I was 15 years into my career, serving as a Senior Marketing Manager. BUT in the 5 years since that fire, I’ve moved from Senior Marketing Manager → C-Suite Executive → now Managing Director for Africa. Given my track record, what could have easily taken me another 10 to 15 years, God compressed into 5 years because I embraced reinvention.
The same is true of the Uncommon Woman Movement. In 2020, we had helped maybe 20 Career Women identify their MORE. Today, five years later, that number has grown 25x to over 500 Career Women who have identified and about 505 of them birthing it and growing it even with their full-time jobs.
3. Your Pain Can Become Purpose
Sometimes, the very thing you survive becomes the purpose you were meant to serve.
When you walk out of a fire, literal or figurative, you carry scars, stories and strength that others desperately need. What you survived is no longer just yours, it becomes a lifeline for others still walking through their own flames.
This is why Scripture says we comfort others with the same comfort we ourselves have received (2 Corinthians 1:4). Your survival may be someone else’s survival manual.
As I mark 5 years since that defining moment and God’s hand of mercy, I’m reminded again that we are not kept alive just to exist. We are kept to live on purpose.
So today, I want to ask you:
- What life-quake moment have you walked through?
- How did it reshape your perspective, your priorities or your sense of calling/assignment?
- What new strength or clarity emerged from it?
Maybe it was the loss of a loved one, a career setback, a health battle or a financial storm. Hard as it might be, whatever it was, I invite you to see it not only as a breaking but also as a birthing.
As you decide to do this, here are 3 simple ways to do so and not waste these life-quake moments.
1. Pause and Process.
Don’t rush past the pain. Sit with it, acknowledge it and ask the right questions. The biggest one is: “Lord, why have You kept me alive? For what reason am I still here?” Write down your thoughts, document your wrestlings and capture any clarity God gives you. Those answers become anchors for the next season.
2. Reinvent Through Self-Assessment.
Ask: “Who do I need to be to deliver on what God has shown me?” Be honest about where you are and where you need to grow. Upgrade your knowledge, skills, habits, mindset and even the company you keep. Remember, reinvention is about aligning your identity with your assignment.
3. Obey and Live Intentionally.
If God gives you an instruction or idea of what to do – no matter how big, how crazy or how costly, please just do it. I have come to realize that these instructions He gives us – purpose work like i call it, do not necessarily need you to quit your full-time job. You can deliver the instructions while still thriving in your career, your family and your daily responsibilities.You can nurture your assignment right where you are, even in the middle of deadlines, motherhood, and responsibilities. God graces you to carry both.
Sometimes the answers may not be clear or the instructions concise. In these situations, simply decide that in every sphere of life you touch, you will leave a mark that is distinct and purposeful. Clarity will soon come as you do this diligently..
As I look back with gratitude that my whole family walked out of that fire alive, I’m reminded not only of God’s mercy and kindness but also the fact that even in the middle of demanding careers and complex lives, God’s assignment is always calling.
…and your assignment doesn’t have to wait until the craziness at work slows down or the children are all grown. If God says it is now, then you are already graced for it.
This is why I write to you each week: to remind you that while your job matters, your assignment is bigger. So Step out. Say YES. Do it NOW.
Until next week, keep saying YES to your MORE.
Ifeoma Chuks-Adizue, fondly known as Iphie, is a seasoned professional with a rare mix of experience in brand management, sales, media and over 20 years’ experience building global brands across Africa. Iphie is the Managing Director Africa at Global Citizen – an international advocacy organisation focused on ending extreme poverty now. She is the author of two books – The Uncommon Woman and Made for More, and is Founding President of the Uncommon Woman Movement.