Beautiful Stranger

I was all frazzled up the other day when I got to work. I walked into the elevator and bam! I saw this note stuck on one of the walls. It made my day. Thank you beautiful stranger whoever you are. I am sure I am not the only person you made smile.

A Blessed Weekend

Dr. Allan Bagg is one of my favorite preachers. Almost every morning when I am dressing up for work I watch his Wisdom for Life Programme. It was one of my desires to see him preaching live. I got the opportunity this past week and it was a real honor. I am grateful for opportunities like these.

One Person Can Make a Difference

Have you ever met someone only once and that person had a huge impact on you? I have. Last year when I went to our Washington DC office I met one of my colleagues. It was my first time to meet her. We had previously communicated work wise here and there on email but not much. Her kindness and care towards me as someone who she hardly knew touched me beyond measure. I happened to mention in a conversation where she was present that I wanted to step out and grab something for a memento before I left. Just a recap – my visit to Washington was a hectic one, I had to leave my last meeting to rush to the airport so I didn’t get a chance to do and see much.

Anyways, when she heard me saying this she gave me her phone (a very nice one at that) and gave me a number (of one of our colleagues) l could call if I got lost and so that she could come and get me. I was floored, I couldn’t believe it. I mean very few people would go to such lengths for a person they hardly know. She later on offered to take me to see the White House echoing that I should at least see one attraction in Washington before leaving. True to her word she did and she went on to take me countless pictures there with her phone cause the one I had took bad pictures. I will always remember her with a smile on my face. By the way she wasn’t only kind to me, but I later heard another colleague expressing how kind and lovely this lady is and how he was even moved to send her a gift to just say thank you at some point. So of course, I was so sad when in December last year I heard she was moving on to another job with another organization.

As I am writing this post I am just wondering if I ever did something for someone which meant a lot to them and touched them deeply such that they will never forget me the way I will not forget this lady. Either way I feel challenged and inspired to practice love and care to those around me even those people that I do not know much. I love the following verses from Philippians:

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may be innocent and pure as God's perfect children, who live in a world of corrupt and sinful people. You must shine among them like stars lighting up the sky, as you offer them the message of life. If you do so, I shall have reason to be proud of you on the Day of Christ, because it will show that all my effort and work have not been wasted – Philippians 2:14-16 (The Good News Translation).

We are supposed to live shinning like stars lighting up the sky in our environments. I saw this in the said lady; she is a breath of fresh air I tell you. I can bet where ever she is now she is still shinning with her kindness and good heart. With this inspiration alight in me I am striving to shine showing love and kindness to those around me. . 

A Picture of Love

I love this picture. It is one of my nephew (in the blue) and Junior the baby of one of my good friends (who is now a family friend). My sister had gone to visit our friend and the two babies were playing and then this happened, I am so glad she was just in time to capture the moment.

No one expresses love like children. Their love is so genuine and so pure - just like God's love. As we celebrate Christmas I cannot help but appreciate God's love for me and the whole human race. He loves us unconditionally and was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice by giving up His Son to die for our liberation. Fully knowing that we were sinners and we would sin in the future He still went ahead so that we might fall under his grace and righteousness. I love this God of mine. He is the best. Thank you Lord for loving me with all my faults and shortcomings, there is no greater love than yours.

Washington DC

My trip to Washington was a whirlwind. I arrived on Monday evening and left Thursday afternoon. Tuesday, Wednesday and part of Thursday I had meetings. Actually I had to leave the last meeting in order to go to the airport. Talk about a tight schedule! I wish I had been given more time to see this amazing city - I felt as if I was robbed of that chance. To make matters worse the camera I had did not take very good pictures so I was not able to capture much. Despite all the up and downs I made the best of my time there and I am still glad I took the trip. Anyways here are some of the better pictures from the ones I managed to take. 

Stayed at the Hotel Monaco which is right next to the Spy Museum, which I hope to visit next time. 

The weather forecast and a treat from the hotel. 

Yes, I managed to rush to the White House, there was no way I was leaving without going. 

I think this is the Treasury Building which is right next to the White House.

Waiting to board the plane. Flying is a necessity which unfortunately  I cannot avoid. Hoping I will warm up to it. My return trip was a direct flight and it was a long 20 hours or so.

He is Always Listening

Exactly one year ago I stood with two friends at OR Tambo Airport on our way to Durban. We happened to stop by the international flights board and I declared after scrolling through the board that I was going to go to Washington DC in 2015. My two friends laughed, I am sure they thought I was crazy, who could blame them, I thought I was crazy I probably was but...God was listening.
Today exactly 1 year from the day I made my crazy declaration I am going to Washington DC. Talk about timing, God decided to make it  a perfect year.

I am encouraged, I feel challenged, I feel brave, brave enough to ask from God with confidence and with expectancy. This year my theme was I Should be Brave. I Want to be Brave. I am going to be Brave.I am going to keep going with this motto for the rest of the year because...being brave pays especially for those who depend on God with  reckless abandon. So I am learning.

Unexpected

Although I am not very good at keeping my blog up to date L I read and follow a lot of blogs. I enjoy reading anything and everything – things happening in people’s lives, travel, food, beauty and hair tips. So it was a pleasant surprise the sometime ago when I saw the author of one of the blogs I follow (Aisha from My Fro and I) on the bus on my way to work. I have never thought that I would actually meet one of the authors of the blogs I read and follow thinking, honestly I have never thought of our worlds colliding in real life. The first time I saw her I was too shy to approach and talk to her, but fortunately for me I saw her again weeks later and this time I was courageous enough to approach her and talk to her. It was really nice talking to her and she was so friendly and as beautiful (and more) as in the pictures on her blog. Reading her blog has revolutionized the way I treat my natural hair. 

In the past I would never be caught rocking my natural hair, I always had it plaited. I simply had no idea how to tame it and style it. Now thanks to her and a host of other natural hair bloggers I have become brave and I actually enjoy and embrace my natural hair.  I now enjoy experimenting with my hair and trying different styles. I am sure glad that winter is over and summer is here. I can continue my love affair with my hair.  Thank you all natural hair bloggers out there you make me brave in managing my hair. Uuuuummm I wonder who I am going to meet next?

A Lunch Time Encounter

A while back I was sitting down in Nandos with a workmate waiting for our orders. It was lunch hour and it was packed.  Three women came and stood next to us. Without even communicating both of us stood up offering our seats to them (from my estimate they were all in their mid or late fifties). One of them  suddenly exclaimed,

“Oh no, don’t stand on my account, I am young and can manage to stand”.

On seeing the expressions on our faces she began to laugh.  She then went on to explain how she chooses to live her life to the fullest without letting her age be a hindrance. She said she saw no point in crying about getting older and succumbing to it with resignation instead she had made a decision to be young at heart despite getting older each year and to embrace life with a passion as if her life was just beginning. I was impressed by this woman’s attitude towards life and so was my workmate. As we walked back to the office my workmate and I could not help but reminisce about the lady we had just met. We were both excited and inspired. What had been a boring day suddenly turned into a beautiful day.

I love and always look forward to such encounters were I meet someone who says or does something that wows me and makes me re- evaluate my way of thinking or life in general.  My hope and prayer is that, even without my knowing it I have done or said things that have touched people (strangers or not) and changed them in some way – and that I continue to do so. Such is what I would call one of life’s’ priceless pleasures.

A generation with a difference

Some time ago I wrote about my journey of finding a church where I felt at home, I am glad to say that my search is over. I have found a church where I do not only feel at home but where I have been amazed by the level of love and care that people have for each other.

Our pastor always encourages the congregation to mingle and get to know each other and last week was one such week. He made us go into groups and we did various activities one of which included sharing a little bit about ourselves with other group members. I was greatly impacted by the story of one 14 year old girl in our group. I always see her around helping especially in the technical department and I always thought that her family were also members of our church. She told the story of how when she was 10 years old she decided to visit our church (I think more out of curiosity) and she never left because she fell in love in God and how the 4 years since then have been the happiest in her life. As she shared her life's story I was touched beyond measure. Here was a young girl who from the age of 10 decided on her own she wanted God to be a part of her life despite the fact that her parents do not even go to church.

What also impressed me is the impact she is having on other teenagers and her community. She told us of how she visits one girl who has a very rare disease and so she cant go to school or play with others. She brings her school work, encourages her to eat and not to give up on herself. At the moment she is trying to organize a fund raising project to raise some funds for some disabled people at some center in her community. As she talked I could not help but wonder if her parents were proud of her or appreciated how blessed they are to have a teenage daughter with such a big heart and who instead of being a nuisance like other teenagers was doing things to be proud of. I know I would be proud if it were my child.

Imagine having more young people with such big hearts, who know God and who want to make a difference in the lives of others. The more I read the papers, watch the news and look around the more I see how important it is for us to pray for our children- those already born and those yet to be born so that they make a generation with a difference, a generation that will stand up and stand out for their love for God and make the world a better place to live.