If 0-10 was fun, then 11-20 was "fun- the sequel continues". The testimony for this period is that I was graced to have the same community of people in my foundation years. I was graced to remain in the same school from pre-unit to class 7. I hear a lot of stories where people went to so many schools in primary school, so this meant they were not given the chance to maintain friendships. For me I realise the God given privilege to have circumstances that allowed me to continue in the same school. In this school which is my favourite educational institution, Makini School, I also got another group of community.
This is the place I had the best teachers from my class teacher in standard 2, Mrs Mbatia, to my favourite geography and house teacher Mr Kamau and my favourite maths and Science teacher, Ms Aluanga, with whom I reconnected with in the last year and is still the nurturing figure of what a teacher is, wanting me to learn and grow to the next level and the next and so on. She gave me this must-read book, “Half Time” by Bob Buford, just 2 years shy of beginning my journey on the 4th floor. Reading that book further solidified for me how God is in control of your life, and nothing is random in your life. Absolutely nothing.
Reconnecting with my primary school teacher 27 years after, was not a coincidence. Her giving me the book about stepping into the next phase of life, when I was just starting out my career transition was not a coincidence. My testimony is God is so orderly, full of surprises and has perfect timing. Going by his 6- day creation of the universe, we shouldn’t be surprised at all. He knows what he is doing and uses everything in our path for a reason. Everything in our path is there for reason, it is not just a place holder. And if we believe he knows what he is doing, why should we be anxious. Jesus help us please.
11-20 was a very exciting time and my testimony is that God granted me the ability to be very active despite having asthma. I was active in the neighbourhood with my friends and in school as well. I was in the 4x 100 relay team and still have the certificate we got for 2nd place. The testimony of my life is that God’s hand has made it possible that nothing has stopped me from leading the life he wanted me to lead. Death didn’t stop me, Asthma didn’t stop me, and I really need to remember this on the 4th floor because so long as we are living this life, things will happen, things won’t go our way but if God before you, nothing and no one will be against you.
God is an all-round God, meaning he wants us to experience all of humanity and makes it possible for us to experience all the important parts of life, family, friends, and other kinds of friends. In this period of 11-20 is when I got to experience the world of boy crushes, being asked to be somebodies’ girlfriend, being given gifts, the seemingly endless “you hang up, no you hang up” moments. I am grateful for those experiences because they show me God is not just interested in me going to school and all that brings, he is interested in matters of the heart because he is a caring God like that. He cares about every part of me.
You can’t be Love and not want your children to experience Love in some way. Knowing that, I am convinced the difficulty in these dating streets, the limiting beliefs and mindsets I see or hear are nothing to do with God but the father of lies. He is in the business that is prospering in manipulating and deceiving to the fullest deception so that we don’t get to experience what is rightfully ours, Love. Most importantly he wants us to think its God “blocking” so that we ultimately cut off from God like he is some toxic being yet in the relationship of God and us, we are the Judas Iscariot, from the beginning of time till the end.
God wants the best for us but we have such a problem following what he says is the way to get the desires of our heart and the maddest thing about it is when we live through the consequences, we say God has left us. A lie! The Excellent Book says he will never leave or forsake us. Between God and us, we know very well who would lie.
These dating streets are currently in the state of Sodom & Gomorrah and forecasted to have parts 2-20, far more parts than Fast & Furious. Looking back at my 11-20 period, where in my youngest years, God saw it fit to introduce me to the world of dating, I know that he will do a good thing at the right time and according to his will. I will never accept the devils lies, that on 4th floor and beyond, it is too late to get a kind, faithful person in my life, its too late to get married and its too late to have kids. Lies, lies, lies and lies. God has the final say and the final date. Hallelujah!
During this time of 11-20 was when I went to boarding school which was an experience that I really believe played a significant role in who I am as a self- reliant, disciplined, hard working individual. An experience which taught me a lot of things which would never be in any academic syllabus but would be detrimental in my success as an adult. My testimony is that God kept me from all the evils and vices that happen in boarding schools. I had a new community of people looking out for me, who are still present in my life today, including yet another teacher, Mrs Olunja, also cheering me on way past the academic institution. This is why I say nothing is coincidence. God knows who you need later in life and why. He can bring them early in your life or just one episode before you need them. Glory to God because he will always bring you the person you need.
11-20 was also when my residential address changed. Not within the same area or region, but all the way to a different time zone, different phone code and different climate, which even up to now I have never got used to and have decided I won’t get used to. My testimony is that yet again, where in the natural, I should have experienced certain things like bullying, racism, loneliness etc, the Grace of God covered me. I didn’t have my usual community that I had during my foundation years, but I found a new one, which again, is still present in my life today. God is Good, God is Great, God is the Best!
My academic testimony for this period is captured in the previous post “Really After All That” where it looked like I had missed my dream. Read the testimony here https://www.mylittleunderstanding.com/post/really-after-all-that
11-20 was when life started. I finished high school and joined university in this period. Another fun experience and I’m talking about the socialising part not the academic part. It was fun because I had the freedom to make and live by my own rules. Off course, I soon learnt I couldn’t do anything I pleased. Nevertheless, as I made these youthful (wrong) choices, the hand of God was still there with me and was very patient with me. I started the life of consuming ethanolic drinks and clubbing and my testimony is, as one of my favourite pastors, pastor Henry Wright, preached, that God never left me.
Some preachers have erroneously preached how God and his angels abandon you when you enter certain establishments, such as clubs. This is why I am a strong advocate that we should take time and read the Excellent Book for ourselves, and be able to identify false preaching. What Pastor Wright was saying in his message was that, in those times when you are going into a place that in my own words is glorifying the flesh and not the spirit, that is when God is right there with you, with your guardian angel to protect you. How is God and his angels going to protect you if they are not with you?
God is always with us, and he sends his angels to watch over us, whether we are in a place we should be or shouldn’t be. At the same time, he doesn’t scald you like your earthly parent would or like a pharisee would, you know, harsh and judgemental yet in their youth they did the very same thing. This is why I say God was patient with me. He never left me as I became friends with the world. He just loved me and continued to teach me more and more over the years (many and still counting) until I got to the place where I didn’t feel the need to explore the world anymore and I know clear and well that is him working on me not me and my self- discipline etc.
This is why I constantly and will always say God is Good. He never dismisses us even if we feel we haven’t obeyed him. He doesn’t dismiss us when we are not obeying him. He continues to Love because that is who he is. I find this amazing beyond words, because I know my human self, if I gave someone instructions on what to do to show me love and they consistently didn’t do it, I would dismiss them for sure and I have. God is not like that, Praise God! and he knows 2 hours or 2 days or 2 weeks from now, I am going to disobey him again, sometimes worse than the time before. His reaction/response? He loves me anyway. Please let me be if I say God is Good, multiple times, I know why I’m saying it.
My testimony for 11-20 is this resounding theme of God never left me and protected me, REGARDLESS! Stepping onto the 4th floor and my encouragement to you, is that no matter how far we feel our actions are from what we know God would want us to do, as one of my favourite YouTube characters, Laquanda would say “one thing about it, two things for sure “ No deed, No action, No thought, No crime, No belief, No Lifestyle, No drink, No drug, No job, can separate us from the love of God. We may separate ourselves from God or feel our deeds are too far gone, but Nothing on this universe can ever separate us from his Love. He is Just Love.
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Related verses
2 Chronicles 2:15
Isaiah 48:22
1 Corinthians 2:9
Genesis 18:12
Psalm 139:2–3
Psalm 139:4
Galatians 5:20
Ephesians 4:32
Philippians 4:13
Ephesians 3:20
Philippians 4:5-7
Matthew 19:26
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