By Dr jalarth Uche Opara

Yesterday, the 25th of March, Catholics around the world celebrated the Solemnity of the Annunciation , the day tradition holds that, over two thousand years ago, the Blessed Virgin Mary was visited by the Angel Gabriel with an unusual message: that she would conceive a child by the power of the Holy Spirit.

It was indeed a strange message by human standards, yet it speaks volumes about the limitless possibilities that exist in God.

A few days ago, during our Parish CMO meeting, a brother was asked to pray for those celebrating their birthdays in March. In what many would call a slip of the tongue but what I consider a moment of divine insight he wished the March celebrants a Merry Christmas.

Some laughed. Others brushed it aside.But to me, it felt like a quiet reminder from heaven.Because the truth is simple: the 25th of December would not exist without the mystery of the 25th of March.

That moment stirred deeper thoughts in me about when life truly begins. Life begins not at birth, but at conception. Birth is only the manifestation of something that has already begun. Until conception happens, birth is impossible.

To bring forth, something must first be conceived.
This truth goes beyond human life. It applies to every area of existence.
Every achievement was once a thought. Every project was once an idea.
Every breakthrough was once a silent conception in the mind or spirit.

Until an idea is conceived, birthing it becomes almost impossible. If you count nine months backward from the day you were born, you approach the season when your existence quietly began, the moment when your story started forming, long before the world saw you.

In many ways, that moment of conception carries as much significance as the day of birth itself.March, the month that conceived Jesus, is therefore as meaningful as December, the month that presented Him to the world.

In life, conception is the first gate. If that gate remains closed, nothing begins. An idea not conceived remains suspended in the unseen world of possibilities.

A dream not conceived never becomes a journey.
A vision not conceived never becomes a reality.
This is why conception matters spiritually, mentally, and even in destiny.

Pray for conception in all that you do.Pray for the birth of ideas, visions, solutions, and opportunities.

Because once conception truly happens, the process of manifestation has already begun. The journey may take time, and there may be challenges along the way, but the seed has already been planted.
And that is powerful.

So there is wisdom in celebrating not only the day we were born, but also the day we were first conceived the hidden beginning of our story, known fully only to God.

For many great things in life begin quietly, long before the world ever notices them. Celebrate the day you were born physically. At best celebrate the month of your conception, that moment that you raced against millions of sperms to hit the goldmine of conception.

Jarlathuche@gmail.com