A SWORD AND A STONE

Nehemiah was at a loss for words. He stared at the messenger standing before him, with fear written all over his face. It was the second time this week. he could not believe that his rivals would go to that extent. first they tried to intimidate his men and now they were threatening them. What a cheek!
He furiously walked to the foyer leaving the stunned messenger behind. He knew he needed to make a decision and fast.

Just a few months before, Nehemiah had come back to his old town. His intention was to empower the local people and he had particularly felt disappointed by the old wall that lay in ruins years after the various attacks on his village. The attacks had left many of his family friends internally displaced while others had run off to the neighboring cities and villages. Still , others had been taken as slaves by their enemies. He was lucky that his family had been among the few that had escaped the village.
He had largely grown up in the city and had a good job with the government but he couldn't shake off the desire to go back to his people. His work colleagues thought that he was merely canvassing support to get himself a political office. But he knew better. In all the years he had been exiled, the memories of playing by that great wall never left his mind.
Nehemiah smiled as he remembered that one time when he was about ten years old, his friend Ezra had convinced him that over the other side of the wall lay all the cheese cake he would ever want. oh, he loved cheese cake. they spent the next several days throwing stones over the wall to ascertain just how high the wall is and then they decided at the end of the week that Nehemiah would try to climb over the wall and Ezra would keep watch and warn him in case his mother started looking for him. Well, he never got the cheese cake. what he got instead was a broken arm and a thorough beating from his mother. His mother. he missed her. since the war he had rarely seen her and he heard a few years ago from an acquaintance that she had passed on. He quickly wiped the tears welling in his eyes determined that he would rebuild that wall, if not for anything; then for the memory of his mother.

Nehemiah had gone to his boss and requested some leave so he could go back home and take care of business. He was pleasantly surprised when his employer not only approved his leave but also gave him access to all the government services that he would need.

'I will not let those foxes stop me' he said to himself.
'jude, come here quick!' he bellowed to the messenger that had been patiently waiting on the next instruction.
With the instruction given, Nehemiah walked back into the living with a satisfied smirk on his face. Revenge is sweet, he kept thinking to himself.

over the next months, with Nehemiah's strategy in place, the workers were able to build over half of the wall that had collapsed. they worked relentlessly day and night until the completion of the work. In a few weeks, it would be the dedication of the wall by the prophet Ezra and Nehemiah could not begin to imagine how they had come, the threats and intimidation they had endured and despite it all, they had come out victorious.
At the dedication ceremony, Nehemiah had to choke back the tears of appreciation as he recounted how the workers worked day and night with a sword on one hand and the building material on the other just so the wall would be completed and the people would have something to be proud of.

He looked at the wall built with a sword and a stone standing proud and majestic and at that moment he felt that all he had accomplished all he was called to do.

* * * *

the above is a true story as recorded in the annuls of history and retold from my perspective. It captures the essence of living a life with a purpose, a goal.

the truth is as we get down to living out our lives, we will have detractors, haters, naysayers, mockers...you name it. The minute you purpose to work out your gift and become a blessing to the generations after you, expect all hell to break loose.why, because pursuit of purpose is more spiritual than you ever imagine. You will battle with feelings of inadequacy, loneliness, sadness, rejection and a host of many others. You will meet people that will look at you straight in the face and tell you that you cannot make it. Oh, they will produce "evidence" proving that you are the least qualified for the task you are embarking on.
the thing is, you cannot stop to explain yourself, you cannot afford to listen to your detractors for their aim is to derail you. Keep forging ahead with your sword in hand and commit to finishing the good work began in your life.

whenever you feel discouraged, remember this story Nehemiah...an ordinary man that did an extra ordinary thing. Let his story strengthen you to keep fighting to get to where you need to be.
You might not be where you want but thank God you are not where you used to be.
Keep fighting. Keep going. Keep believing. Generations after you will celebrate your life.

m.

UNCOVERED GEMS-PART 2

My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.

Alot can be said about nurturing talents and being all you are meant to be. The business of pursuing purpose cannot be over emphasized. The sole reason our hearts are still beating is because we have an assignment that we are yet to accomplish; until we get there, we have to keeping picking ourselves up. Everyday. We have to keep the candles of hope burning through out believing that though we might have missed it big time today, tomorrow is another day. And that tomorrow will be better than today. We have to believe that we will do better tomorrow.

I, sometimes have the tendency to place very high expectations on myself and beat myself up when i dont live up to my expectations. It gets very frustrating whenever i fall short of my 'list of thing to accomplish' which i set within a specific timeline. I have, however, over the years, learnt to forgive me for not meeting my sometimes unrealistic expectations. Am learning that a full life is not measured by age or status but by simply living out our lives from the inside out; Allowing what we carry to define us as opposed to waiting for external circumstances to define us.

Perhaps you have been there. That place of beating yourself up because you fell short of your expectations or maybe you fell short of another person's expectations.i cannot say enough that our talents don't work because we are perfect human beings but they work despite our imperfections.

The trailblazers in our generation are people that have constantly battled with issues in their lives but they did not allow this issues to define them, rather they purposed to rise despite the odds stacked high against them. they chose to believe in the riches of the treasure, the gem locked within them other than concentrate in the flaws of their character.

Working on our character is important but i think that it is a life long assignment and we will constantly fall short of if we keep comparing ourselves to others. Now, if we wait for our character to be perfected before we step into 'our call', then it will be a long wait. I am not saying that we should not care about our character and its effects on our lives. no, what i am saying is that even as we work on being better people; we should not let the whispers of our inadequacies muffle the shouts of our greatness.
It is your ordinariness that makes you unique, it is your commonness that makes you outstanding.

Your talent, not your physical imperfection, is what will be remembered years from today. Judging yourself based on physical attributes, intellectual capacity and socio- economic factors is greatly undermining the value of the talent that's locked within you. the point here is; you are not perfect, we get that. let me add this; no one is perfect. We are a sea of humanity plagued by weakness but strengthened by the grace of God.
Celebrate who you are as you journey to being the best that you can ever be. Work out your talents without apologies or shame.

be your best cheer leader and remember as you go up, you give others the opportunity to climb up as well.

m.

UNCOVERED GEMS

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.


I have for the past month listened consistently to a profound teaching that has challenged me to stop wading through the coastline and beachfront of my destiny and venture into the deep seas which though challenging and lonesome, has innumerable rewards and fulfillment. I listened to this word with awe and humility. I repeated to myself that this is it; it felt like it was the word that i had been waiting for; the turning point. I learnt that the thing that validates my dreams is my talent.

The thing is, many people are still waiting for other people to open doors for them. Like the man lying by a healing pool for thirty eight years, yes THIRTY EIGHT! Imagine everyday for 38 years waiting for a person out there somewhere to come and change your story. Let me back up a bit, this man was brought to the healing pool by dear friends who believed genuinely in their hearts that their buddy would get into the pool and get his healing and thereafter go about his business of life. It was the perfect plan. they might have positioned him strategically so he could be advantaged when the waters were stirred or maybe they left him at the back of the line.The point is they brought him to a place where he could get his miracle, his elevation, his turning point. Many times, i ask myself if this man wanted to walk bad enough. you see, in my opinion, his desperation would have created an atmosphere for his miracle. we are told he was lying by the pool. i ask myself many times, couldn't he have tried to roll over a few time till he falls in; there's no fear he could break his spine since he would be falling into a healing pool. the thing am driving at here is that this man waited for someone to usher him to his greatness while all along  he was right there, all he had to do was work his little strength and get his miracle.

Have you met people that are bitter and angry because someone did not usher them to their greatness? someone who still thinks its his parent's fault that he is not doing as well as he ought to or blaming their mentors for not making them who they think they should be. others blame their employers for not creating an atmosphere for them to thrive in the workplace yet others blame the system. We have a vast number of people walking in disillusionment and anger because they pegged their success on another person forgetting that they too have what it takes to be successful at whatever field they have been talented in.
on the same breath, i have met and read about people that have worked their talents so well that their treasure/talent became synonymous with their name.It is completely astounding to meet giants who are perfecting their talents everyday. this people realize that the success of yesterday is today's mediocrity and they go out of their way to work continuously on their talent. when i think about this kind of people, a few individuals come to mind; when i think about living in purpose, the late Dr. Miles Munroe comes to mind. When i think about leadership, John C Maxwell comes to mind. When i think about Excellence, Faith, Prayer and living life at the most optimal capacity while having a good time, i think of Bishop Allan Kiuna. When i think of womens ministry and especially raising the standard among women, i think of Rev Kathy Kiuna. When i think about emotional healing, forgiveness and hope, i think of Bishop T.D Jakes. When i think of physical healing, i think of Pastor Benny Hinn. when it comes to comedy and entertainment, Daniel Ndambuki comes to mind. Nelson Mandela comes to mind when i think of selfless political leadership. talking of industrialists, then Manu Chandaria comes to mind. Time fails me to talk about Oprah Winfrey, Chris Kirubi, Sir Richard Branson, Bill Gates, Terry Mungai, Lupita Nyong'o and many other individuals who have risen to the zenith just because they worked their talent. Its just that simple. your talent becomes one with your name.

Unfortunately, more people are busy admiring other peoples talents instead of working their own forgetting that their talent however small or insignificant it may look has the ability to move you from palaces to state houses, from Africa to Europe, from America to Asia...i mean your worked on talent will take you places you have only just dreamt about.

so now, why don't you just decide to do you. why don't you purpose to do that one thing that comes naturally to you.
remember the fundamental divine principle that money follows purpose. Engage the gear of your life that will bring fulfillment and passion.

m.