Love is a beautiful thing
Love is freeing
Love is safety
Love is comfort
Love is death
Love is life
Love is home
Life
Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life.
(Proverbs 4:23)
What does it mean to guard/keep your heart?
Does it mean an external or internal exercise or is a combination of both?
Are we to build a physical or virtual fence around our hearts or are we to inject vaccines into our hearts to build internal immunity or do we build fences and ensure we are up to date on ‘heart’ vaccines as well?
And what exactly are we guarding/keep our hearts against/from?
It takes a village to raise a child my people say.
And I dare say that it takes a village to write and publish a book.
I had a few favorite teachers in graduate school. One of them is Prof. Mark Shaw. He is man of wisdom and calmness, I enjoyed the one class he taught me and the other that his prodigy taught me using his well prepared notes. In this class, Prof. Shaw used his manuscript for his now published book “Work, Pray, Love: A Visual Guide to Calling, Career and the Mission of God”.
In his book ‘the village’ is one of the tenets he looks at when it comes to work, pray and love. He encouraged us to know our village, the different layers of it, from the core to the outer parts and cultivate relationships within the village.
Lucas Owako is one of those people in my village. Together with his beautiful wife Victoria, their son Ariel and daughter Olive, they are part of my village. Lucas is one of the brightest minds I know, as well as someone who is not easily ticked off. I say that tongue in check because in graduate school I once served in student leadership with him and he successfully led us through several days of ‘quiet protest’ (read, absconding chapel in a christian university). He went through the first draft with a toothpick dotting every I and crossing every T.
My godmother Helen Maina is right in the core of my village. She is amazing: amazing sounds like an understatement. Together with her gals and two boys and precious grandchildren. I am glad to call them family.
I have been trying during this entire project to take care of my village and not in any way neglect them as I pursue this new path the LORD has set before me.
Balance.
Having a village and allowing them to participate in your success requires balance and strength.
By God’s grace, I hope and pray I am keeping the balance.
Amani Bawata one of the people in my village had this to say about the devotional:
Growing up, I could sing the National Anthem and the recite the Loyalty Pledge. While I mourn the loss of such seeds of patriotism, I celebrate this effort to both rebuild the foundations of our patriotism but much more, to unearth the deep truths found in our National Anthem. This devotional is ideal for all Kenyans: for the old to be reminded and for the young to be taught: that the founding fathers of Kenya acknowledged the place of God in the growth of Kenya. I recommend this devotional to all Kenyans to read, meditate, study and apply it both as individuals and as groups. – Amani Bawata
Let all with one accord
May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 15:5-6)
O God of all creation, help us to all be in one accord. The ‘Kiondo’ is one work of art that is well known by Kenyans regardless of their tribe or geographical location. Different tribes have their own unique style of the ‘Kiondo’. One the most outstanding elements of the ‘Kiondo’ is how the cords – be they leather, sisal, plastic bag or woolen strings – come together in one accord to form a beautiful piece of art. These cords are strung tight in cords together and their unity produces the ‘Kiondo’ – on their own each of the cords would really not be called a ‘Kiondo’.
When we sing the Kenya National Anthem and shout aloud the clarion call ‘let all with one accord’ we are still in prayer. It is only God who can bring us into one accord, we cannot possibly be able to do it on our own. And this accord is only found in Christ Jesus, Him who died for us to reconcile us to God. In Him we are united, in Him we stand in one accord: especially when we partake in the Lord’s table, as we eat the bread and drink the wine, we are one! Important to never forget, the one accord for the ultimate glory of God the Father.
Prayer:
O God of all creation, thank you for making a way for us to be in one accord – the gift of your Son Jesus Christ. Who through His life, death and resurrection has made a way to you Father and a way to bring us all as your children into one accord. Father, help your children, especially in this nation of Kenya to be in one accord as you desire. In Jesus Name, Amen
4am – I am not feeling so well anymore, actually I am in acute pain so much pain I am groaning.
Around 4:30am – The pain is too much, I can smell death fast approaching. I struggle out of the hospital bed and kneel down dragging my saline bag holder next to me. I repent of all my sins and ask God to forgive me and take me home.
Immediately I am overwhelmed with so much peace and the pain begins to reduce.