My compassion and gratitude corner

Today is my birthday… and I will ritually reward myself with another long reflective post. Last year's birthday theme was taking stock and I did take stock. I was grateful and that is the one consistent trait I continue to wear because gratitude has kept me sane!! Looking back on this past year, I feel that one thing is evident - PROVIDENCE. It has been a year full of God's meticulous orchestration of my life's events. There are moments when I thought that there was no card left to deal yet still God had a fresh deck of cards for me. Oh God, how grateful I am for YOU. In no particular order, I will just state events that stood out for me across the different spheres of my life.  Spiritual:   If there's a facet of my life that has blossomed in the past year and especially during the quarantine period, it would be my spiritual life. I have meditated, prayed, fellowshipped, had really fun time alone with God and experienced HIM in ways I can't find the right words for....

If there's a story I tell and tears choke me midway through it (to date), it would be this one. It's a gratitude story of one wonderful gentleman called Michael Wainaina (Mike). On 6th December 2019, my sister marked her last day of school runs at the Kenya School of Law (KSL) and the Mediation Training Institute (MTI). On that day, I was overjoyed and of course super relieved. I remember sending out the below text to Mike because that journey would have been painful, expensive and close to impossible without him. The simple deed of re-reading this message brings tears to my eyes. Dear Mike Diary, I would like to extend a huge thank you for the pillar of support you've been to Brenda. I'm truly and deeply glad that I met you in 2015 when I did. You were kind right from the start, you even took me to visit Brenda at the hospital sometimes and my heart will never forget it. I know it has not been easy for you but you still remained consistent. You went over and above yo...

She is my younger sister… People say second-born syndrome is real and I have definitely have experienced some semblance of it, but one of the many things I am grateful for, is her thoughtfulness (again to make this very targeted). It’s a shame that I got to really internalize this when I was talking about her over a walk with a friend sometime back. In exact words, I remember saying… "I really love how Brenda just goes the extra mile - she is a deeply kind soul behind all that pain and hurt." I really love her. She very much complements my love language because in most instances, she is just the extra I always need to make a full gifting package. Usually, I am the quality time person, say you need me and I will be there as soon as is humanly possible. I will be there to listen, cry with you, hug you and love you right back to a smile. I am all about emotions - just the touchy feely. What Brenda does is make sure we don't show empty handed haha… There are so many times wh...

It has been a long time coming... I love her smile and the dimples on her cheeks when she smiles. I love her laugh, her joy, her hardworking spirit, her tenacity. I am truly loved by God to have been awarded the privilege of being her elder sister. She is so low maintenance too... she does not ask for much even though I know so well that she deserves all the word can offer. She had to give up so much in our family transition to the new normal but never have I heard a complaint from her. She grieves, though silently and I wish she knew how my heart thinks of her every single day. In the still moments when I stare into the air, I think of her. In moments my pain comes to me, I think of her pain and sacrifice too. Yo, with family, I could write on and on so I will pick little topics to keep me grounded lol… So, to make the topic super relevant, I will cut to the chase… I call her the lady with a handkerchief because the 'thausands mirrions' times I have broken down in her presence...