Smelling the Roses

I have been feeling pretty uninspired of late, call it having nothing to write home about . Then bang this week from far and near I kept getting reports of people who had lost loved ones. In particular a young man, Umar Ssengendo Ssebagala(RIP) that I didn't now of till his death stirred my heart. This young guy only 25 reported to be healthy by all standards and having it all working , MBA in tow,loving and going in the right direction met his end after collapsing while playing a casual game of tennis. As I empathize with his family during this time I can't help but think how as human beings we are so busy chasing life while the simplest things are not only free but are right there with us. We strive to have so much only to get it and lose ourselves.

This is not to pour water on our dreams and ambitions cause I can say I am truly one of those people who will give it my best shot as long as I have breath but from now on will also take time to smell the roses. I will have a selah moment and look at the far I have come and anticipate the best that is yet to come. However while at it I will endeavor to just take in the small things that God has given me and not only appreciate them but love, love and love.

 

The poem below sums it up;

To realise the value of a brother /sister, ask someone who doesn't have one.

To realise the value of 10 years ask a newly divorced couple.

To realise the value of 4 years ask a graduate.

To realise the value of one year, ask a student who has failed an exam.

To realise the value of 9 months ask a mother who gave birth to a still born.

To realise the value of one month, ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby

To realise the value of value of 1 hour , ask the couple who turned backs and slept without a word.

To realise the value of one minute , ask a person who has missed the train, bus or plane.

To realise the value of one second , ask a person who has survived an accident.

To realise the value of a friend , lose one and see

Time waits for no one. Treasure every moment you have .

LIFE; Embrace, Enjoy , Appreciate.

Birthdays just like the New Year are a time when am anxiously excited. It is always along the lines of bitter sweet, excited that it is naturally a time to celebrate yet privately I reflect mostly about where I should be as opposed to how far I have come.

My birthday is here again and I am happy that I am not only still here but I am healthy too, better still I am not beating myself up about the where I should be, instead I am content that as I look at the far I have come , am trusting that the best is yet to come. I know I have said that a lot in the past mainly as a consolation to keep upbeat but this time I notice that I am saying it with a certain level of maturity.

 

Suddenly, it is like the specks have fallen out of my eyes and I can see more clearly. You can't change what you refuse to confront and let's say in a bid to become wiser with age, I pondered some questions and got some answers. I like to joke that like the Israelites it’s taking me longer to get to the Promised Land. Luckily for me, after some divine revelation, it won't be the long 40 years as I am on track now and over the landscapes I smell the milk and honey..

 

Life is in the details and on this my special day, I choose to replace the mirror with a microscope. As I look back and through, I realize I am blessed, unlovely at some times but never unloved. First by a God who is not only everything by nature but has given me the special bonus of the most wonderful family and friends. This year He has especially gifted me with a birthday mate that I couldn't be more glad to share this day with, so grateful.

 

Today my mum, bless her, prayed for me to get a double portion for all my heart's desires and as I receive that and look forward to walking on from glory to glory, I pray for a brave heart to do what is required and an open mind to cope with whatever may come my way. Life after all, I have learnt is not about getting to certain places, but being celebrated.

 

 

Life is all about LOVE

UH read this and just felt so challenged to share, call it showing  my love...

“Time is your most precious gift because you only have a set amount of it.

You can make more money, but you can’t make more time. When you give someone your time, you are giving them a portion of your life that you will never get back.

Your time is your life. That is why the greatest gift you can give someone is your time.

It is not enough just to say relationships are important, we must prove it by investing time in them. Words alone are worthless.

Relationships take time and effort and the best way to spell love is T-I-M-E.

The essence of love is not what we think or do or provide for others but how much we give of ourselves .

Men in particular often don’t understand this. Many have said .. “ I don’t understand my wife and kids. I provide everything they need. What more could they want?” They want you. Your eyes, your ears, your time ,your attention, your presence, your focus-your time. Nothing can take the place of that.

The most desired gift of love is not diamonds or roses or chocolate. It is focused attention. Love concentrates so intently on another that you forget yourself at that moment .Attention says I value you enough to give you my most precious asset-my time. Whenever you give your time you are making a sacrifice and sacrifice is the essence of love. Jesus modelled this.

You can give without loving but you cannot love without giving.

Love means giving up-yielding my preferences. ,comfort, goals, security, money, energy, or time for the benefit of someone else.

The best time to love is now.

Sometimes procrastination is a legitimate response to a trivial task. But because love is what matters most, it takes top priority

Why is now the best time to express love? Because you don’t know how long you will have the opportunity. Circumstances change. People die. Children grow up. You have no guarantee of tomorrow .If you want to express love, you had better do it now.

Knowing that one day you will stand before God here are some questions you need to consider.

How will you explain those times when projects or things were more important to you than people?

Who do you need to start spending more time with ?

What do you need to cut out of your schedule to make that possible?

What sacrifices do you need to make?

The best use of life is love. The best expression of love is time. The best time to love is now.

This was extracted from The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren.

It had a bearing with me and I thought why not start by sharing the message with you.

Be blessed.

MAY

For most of last year and a good part into this year, I challenged myself to use social media to bless the people in my world through sharing inspirational stuff that has touched me. One of the things I did was take advantage of the phone app whats-app and send a positive declaration at the start of every month. It became such a ritual that even when I did forget, I would have some faithfuls remind me and ask when that new month message was coming.

This month though, one of them caught me by surprise by sending me one that not only blessed me but gave me a lot to think about. It read,

Welcome to May

May you find Grace

May you find Peace

May you be blessed

May you be Happy

May you never Weep

May you Succeed

May you excel

Why?

Because its May and Miracles await you.

It was so timely that I just copied it and shared it with all those in my contact list. As I did I couldn't help but wish that indeed I would be able to touch those Miracles that May promises. Not only did the sequence and flow of this prose catch me but the fact that it is May and yes, we are nearly half way into the year. This is a time when I usually look back and sort of start to panic and reflect on my well laid plans and how far or near I am about to see them realised.

This particular May, my life seems to be in pause /mute mode in things I hoped would be a done deal by now and getting this message in my waiting window took me back to a time when the word May was first emphasized to me most when used in connection with Can. In the English grammar lessons May was used as a politer way of asking permission whereas Can was used in more of a capability way, I often had to be corrected when I asked for something to say May I as opposed to Can I. I think it is safe to say that I now know the variations of the two and can use them accordingly.

Thus May comes into play now as am asking and willing for the possibility to touch for some things I thought I would have before we are half way through the year. Sometimes you do need stuff and its up to you to put in the hard work and get there, well not this time. I have laid the hatch, put my bait and have nothing to do but wish that the fish gets here soon.

So I am going back to that wish/prayer that I read as I started the month of May and using my politest , most pleading, humble voice with all that I have within me asking the Lord that May things fall in place and May I soon be on my way to seeing these blessings manifest in my life. Living the dream.

Psalm 23

 

If you are like me, most likely as a child you were taught the 23rd Psalm and have at least bits of it to memory. I grew up reciting this Psalm but it is not only until recently that I saw it in a new light.

The Lord is my Shepherd

That’s Relationship!

I shall not want

That’s Supply!

He makes me to lie down in green pastures.

That’s Rest!

He leadeth me beside the still waters

That’s Refreshment!

I shall not want

That’s Supply!

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.

That’s Rest!

He leadeth me beside the still waters

That’s Refreshment!

He restoreth my soul

That’s Healing!

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness

That’s Guidance!

For His name sake

That’s Purpose!

Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death

That’s Testing!

I will fear no evil

That’s Protection!

For Thou art with me

That’s Faithfulness!

Thy rod and Thy Staff they comfort me

That’s Discipline

Thou prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies

That’s Hope

Thou annointest my head with oil

That’s Consecration!

My cup runneth over

That’s Abundance

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life

That’s Blessing!

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord

That’s Security!

Forever

That’s Eternity!

To think that relationship, supply, rest, refreshment, healing, guidance, purpose, testing, protection, hope, faithfulness, discipline, consecration, abundance, blessing, security and  Eternity are all in one Psalm just shows how great God is; It is not for nothing that He is called Omniscient, not only sovereign and all-knowing but crazy in love  over all His creation. 

 

 

Celebrating the Life of Our Dear Departed.

Death just like birth is one of those universal things that we all as human beings must one day face. It reminds me of wise King Solomon rightfully putting it in Ecclesiastes, there is a time for everything , a time to laugh a die to cry, a time to live, and a time to die …his message being there is a season and a time for everything under heaven.

This March my family was overshadowed with darkness as on 19th March 2014 we lost an anchor to the family, a grandfather, father, husband and friend, my uncle Absalom Luyindi  Sengendo. Death of  beloved one is something I wouldn’t want to wish on my worst enemy{luckily I don’t have those} Naturally it’s a dark season for everyone and during those times am one of those people who tends to get locked  into a thought process of life and its meaning and the afterlife.  One such moment was when in July 2012 my father passed on. That time I found solace in the fact that we should thank God that such men have lived instead of mourning them. As I slowly tuned my mind to think gratitude I was ever so grateful that me and my siblings were not orphaned at a young age as many of our colleagues were. Of course in this dark season, things are so blurred that no matter how old a person is, or how long they have been ill, the reality of it happening, hits us in such a hard way that it is nothing short of a miracle if in the moment we determine to keep positive.

There is a song that has a lyric that here on earth we are a flower quickly fading and as I think about that truth it re-emphasizes to me that life hinges on the Lord, whether we acknowledge it or not, He is the potter and we are the clay and its best to sing with Him if for nothing else so we can live on eternally after our business here on earth is done.

When I started off writing this i thought I would feel the pages, but the mystery of life and why we are here and where we are going has left me short of words, and I guess I will just end with a prayer that even at our lowest may we long with our every being to know God better, to understand His way and find His will for our lives.

 

 

Of Love and Happy Endings

Love, love and more love came to mind a lot in the last month, more so because February for a long time in my life has stood out as the month of love. And naturally as I reflected on love and especially the kind most celebrated in February I couldn’t help but wonder where my “Happy ending” is?

This is not because I am not happy, but because where I come from we are raised to live in the fairy tale end of; and they lived happily ever after. There is something in the air where in an ideal world when the story takes off, you go to school, with a university education a must in this script, where along the way your better half not only comes in the picture but goes the extra mile with not only a traditional fairy tale ceremony to celebrate your union but a formal church wedding and reception to crown it all. The world seems to clock out after that and tick you off in the books of those who have made “it” with just a few still peeping in and meddling to see if there any kids  or further studies after. Let’s say you are safe if you make it as far as the wedding and at least would have made “it”.

I haven’t made the “it” according to the world I was raised in hence the wondering, where is my happy ending? Naturally because I was raised in that kind of environment, much as I may try to disguise the lack of “it” with other achievements it keeps resurfacing. When you are surrounded by family and friends, you will have the one who is bold every once in a while to ask what is holding you back in your delivery. However this year I am well far from pressing, well-meaning friends and relatives and yet the lack of “it” seems to still come up as I go about my business asking, where is my happy ending.

Since there is no one prodding me and yet the lack of the “It” keeps bugging me. I think it is time to take the bull by the horns and get on the search for this “It”, after all much as it is not in the Bible, everyone will tell you, “God helps those who help themselves”. Watch out “it”, I am on the hunt for that happy ending, so help me God.