Happy 21st of April everyone!
There is no particular holiday or special day today; its just that I like the number 21 (13 and 17 too); and today marks exactly two months to my birthday! 😉
I published Marching On on 19th March 2024 where I spoke about how hard-hitting the month of February and early March was for me, and on 20th March 2024, at 14:00 hrs. EAT, my Dad informed me of the passing of my (paternal) grandma. That was barely 24-hours after publishing Marching On. It’s like God took the cue from the article and said, “Let’s pull out the next hard battle we had for Amanda this quarter.”
The news hit me hard. I was sad; really sad.
Furthermore, the day I received the news of my grandma’s passing, was the same day I received a rebuttal from the corporate giant with whom God and I are on an arduous back and forth with; but I fret not because God has already won it for me.
Many hardships and perplexing circumstances confront the righteous, But the LORD rescues him from them all. He keeps all his bones; Not one of them is broken. Evil will cause the death of the wicked, And those who hate the righteous will be held guilty and will be condemned. The LORD redeems the soul of His servants, And none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.
Psalms 34:19-22 (AMP)
My paternal grandma and I have always been close. I had a preference for her from as far back as my memory could take me. She used to plait my hair, give me baths and give me my afternoon tea and snacks. When she could no longer plait my hair because of arthritis pain in her fingers; I told my mum to cut my hair because I did not want anyone else to plait me. I stayed for about a year (maybe two?) before I accepted someone else to plait me; and of course, it was my grandma who coaxed me into it.
My friend OG, is a pilot based in Tanzania, and in January this year, I was consulting him on the best flight options to Dar es Salaam because I wanted to treat my grandma for her first flight ever. Granny’s hometown is Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
There is a verse that speaks about the plans we make and God ordering our steps.
Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.
Proverbs 19:21 (NIV)
With deep pain, I surrendered to the fact that I did not get the privilege of seeing the expression on my grandma’s face if she had gotten onto the plane, and perhaps how excited she would have been during the flight. However, I am reassured with the fact that she knew how much I loved her; and in my last interaction with her on 29th December 2023; she told me how she cherishes the letters I used to write to her when I was a child. She was ill at the time but somehow, she mustered the strength to make ‘mahamri‘ for me before I left for the States. Mama Edwin, as we would call her, was unequivocally amongst my favorite people; as I was hers. Whenever I went home to Mombasa, my grandparents’ place would be the next stop I would make right after seeing my parents. Thankfully, their place is a stone throw away from where we live, and I would walk there.
Mama Edwin (my late grandma) was an avid storyteller, and a very animated one at that. I loved listening to her! Her face would always light up whenever she saw me walk in through the door – which she never used to lock by the way. She was wise, bold and outspoken. She never minced her words and she always spoke with conviction. Grandma had the most beautiful smile – all her teeth were intact and pearly white even in her late eighties – and her laughter was loud and rumbustious. How about her hair? Grandma had thick, full hair in spite of her age. It reminds me of this description of God in the Book of Revelations:
The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.
Revelation 1:14-15 (NIV)
Take a look at this beauty:
There is a Swahili saying that goes, “panya huuma na kupuliza” the literal translation is that the rat bites then blows to soothe. The saying is used contextually when something good happens after something bad. Shortly after receiving the news of my grandma’s passing, I had a planned trip out of the country that I wanted to cancel given how down cast I was feeling, but Nonchalant encouraged me to go forth with the trip as initially planned. I had numerous spurts of emotional outbursts while there – I even wanted to cut short the trip and go home to Mombasa; but Nonchalant remained reassuring, understanding and patient with me. I was emotionally all-over-the-place. The trip was a brief moment of reprieve for me; then I went home for my granny’s burial and my heart broke all over again. She was one of my besties.
Before her demise, my grandma gave my Dad a special gift for me, that she wanted him to give me on her behalf. This was in February. I usually go home during Easter; which often falls around March/April and we (my granny and I) usually give each other gifts in person. I would always wait to see my grandma before giving her my gifts and she too, would always wait for me to go to her place before she gives me her gifts; so when she gave the gift to my Dad to pass it on to me, something did not sit right with me. Easter was only a few weeks away and I had already made plans to go home. In retrospect, seems like she knew she was going to her eternal home because she passed on eight days before Good Friday.
[moment of silence]
I came across a certain tweet just before we buried my grandma; and when I read the first part, I was like “Awww. He lost his grandma? I can relate.” then look at what the tweet was really about:
A teensy bit of comical relief there; but internet trolls aside, it was such an emotional period for me. Inasmuch as I know that we will all die at some point, the death of a loved one can never be anticipated; regardless of whether it was on the horizon like in the case of my grandma.
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die….Ecclesiastes 3: 1-2 NIV
On the flip side, Grandma’s funeral brought together several family members that I hadn’t met in a long time. It was also the first time in three years that my siblings and I were all together at home with my parents. Whenever I go home, there is always one sibling missing, or both. This time round, we were all together at the same time. It was soulful.
We spent a lot of quality time together as a nuclear family. We went on several dates to different restaurants, went to the market together, to the mall, to visit relatives – we were joined at the hip. If you saw one of us, just know the rest were in tow. I cherished that time.
When it was time for me to return to Nairobi, my whole family took me to the airport in exception of my sister – and that is because she left for Nairobi before I did. If she was around; I am sure she would have been with us.
Another silver lining with my grandma’s passing is that her death brought a renewed appreciation for life. I am thankful that there is nothing that I left unsaid to my grandma. I always made time to bond with her when she was alive, and I would tell her how much I love her. Her love language was giving of gifts – and so is mine – thus, we exchanged several gifts. Most of my household items are from her actually; and she would make me handmade beddings. She told me that she would make me some special beddings for my wedding night. Writing this just makes me so emotional.
I perched as many kisses as I could to my parents before I left home. I thank God for them. I thank God for blessing me with a loving grandma who was present and active in my life. God comforted my greatly through my friends who stood with me during this time. I am thankful for the calls, messages, prayers, monetary contributions, visits to my home and overall outpouring of love and support from my friends and dear ones. Special thank you to Nonchalant who bore the heaviest brunt as I grieved.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV)
Most importantly, grandma is with God in heaven. She is now at ease after ailing for some time.
Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”
“Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”
Revelation 14:13 (NIV)
If you are reading this and you are not born again; remember you never know the day nor the hour that God will call you home. I am not writing this to ‘scare’ you into getting saved; but to implore you that it is better to die in the Lord and live eternally with Him in heaven. Giving your life to Christ is simply believing in your heart and professing with your mouth that Jesus is Lord.
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:9 (NIV)
If you are convicted about how you live your life and would like to become a follower of Christ, please repeat the prayer below out loud:
Dear Lord,
Thank You for dying on the cross for me. I believe in my heart that you died and rose again and I confess with my mouth that You are Lord and Saviour in my heart and in my life. I denounce my former ways and choose to be Your child. Thank You for setting me free. I am now born again.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen
I do not know the decisions people make in their lives, but I can confidently say that anyone who chooses to give their life to Christ has made the utmost amazing decision ever.
In closing, I would like to leave you with a quote:
God loves you more than you can ever fathom!
XO,
That Lady.
#SpreadTheGospel 
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