A Grandma's Gift

A True Story

by Thuita J. Maina

on Feb 26, 2019

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When I was growing up in the '90s, my paternal grandma visited us occasionally. And when she did, she regaled Dad with stories late into the night. Once when she saw me with a book, she told Mum that I loved reading books just like Dad.

One day in 1997 when she was leaving home, she gave my brothers and me KSh 1000. And KSh 1000 was not an amount to be sniffed at in those days, given that a loaf of bread went for KSh 20.

In 2003 when she was ailing, Dad and I went to check on her. I was on a school holiday then, and to keep my brain in tip-top form, I carried Chinua Achebe's The Trouble With Nigeria.

Probably because Grandma was in hospital, I can't remember seeing her during our visit. All I remember was me reading "The Trouble With Nigeria", but don't ask me what I gleaned from that book because I didn't understand it at all.

Several weeks later, she passed away. My eldest brother, Joe, came to fetch me at Starehe Boys' Centre. And her funeral turned out to be the only interruption to my high school career.

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Also check out "Lessons From Grandma".

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Finding Freedom in the Word

A True Story

by Thuita J. Maina

on Feb 24, 2019

Growing up in the '90s, I attended mass every Sunday at my hometown Catholic Church. I kept attending church during my high school years but can't remember giving much thought to the Bible and its teachings.

In my late teens, I began doubting whether the Bible is true even though I still attended church at my hometown Catholic parish where I engaged my fellow youths in lively discussions about the truthfulness of the Bible.

Despite my heretical beliefs, the youths were accepting of me. They even chose me as their choirmaster in December 2006. But I left them in April 2007 and joined the 9:30 a.m. English service choir of All Saints' Cathedral Nairobi.

And lo! The choir members were not the kind of people I could engage in a discussion about whether the Bible is true. And their commitment to the Word of God influenced me to start reading it.

I now study the Bible often and give thought to what it says. To avoid the poverty it warns us against for instance, I've been trying to mold myself into an early riser.

The thing about the Bible, I've realized, is the freedom it gives us when we obey it - freedom from the fear of criticism, rejection and poverty. Unlike flowers that fade, may it stand forever.

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Also check out "Mending the Word".
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