Yippee! It's now more than a month since I last posted a story on this lovely blog of mine. I have just checked my blog statistics and learnt that people have still been visiting this blog in the last one month. And I am sure some of them have been curious to know what on Earth has happened to me that has made cease to write.

Has Thuita taken a break to write a book? Or did he lose his mother who he once told us was diagnosed with a stroke a few years ago? Or could he have become depressed with that mental illness of his that he once informed us caused him to contemplate suicide several times?

Such must be the questions that have been popping up in the minds of my readers who know me best. But nothing satanic has happened to me in the past one month. Actually, I have become more composed, confident, peaceful and observant.

To answer those questions that might have been bothering my readers, let me first say I didn't take a break to author a book and never will. Why? Because writing an international best-seller requires time, attention to details, connections to a leading publisher as well as support by a talented team of editors - all of which I currently lack. So I have resolved to focus on writing stories and producing videos for this blog of mine which will be my gift to future generations, God-willing.

Secondly, my mother hasn't passed away either. She is still afflicted with stroke. And her illness has led me to treasure her these days by being there for her, either to assist or share stories with her. And from some of the stories I have had with her, I have come to learn more about my family lineage.

Unfortunately, she stumbled and sprained her left ankle a few weeks ago as I was helping her to get back to the house after a tour around our farm. That ankle sprain has immobilized her. We are now moving her everywhere in a wheelchair that my brother Paddy bought for her. Probably because of that immobility, she has gained weight in the past few weeks which I fear could cause her heart problems given that she underwent a heart-surgery at the turn of this century, a surgery during which surgeons inserted a pace-maker in her heart.

So worried have I become of the possibility of her suffering a heart-attack or something that I have feared she will never live to see me get married as it has always been my wish. But I am now finding it unwise to worry something over which I have no control. I am just praying to God for strength to deal with anything that might happen to her. And not just her, but anything else sinister that might happen to me or my family. Nonetheless, I am still hoping my mother will live to see me exchange wedding vows with my princess charming. For as someone in high school once advised us, I am preparing for the worst but hoping for the best.

And lastly, what of the concern by my friends that I could have become depressed? Well, I once confided to my circle of friends that I suffered from a mental illness and that I contemplated suicide several times. You know what? Those were all lies and exaggerations. I am a healthy, educated and cultured young man of sound mind and good judgement. I have never been mentally ill. Neither have I ever contemplated suicide.

Actually what happened was that when I went astray during my second year at the university in JKUAT, the professor who first handled me after I was apprehended thought I was mentally ill. He therefore referred me to a psychiatrist who, perhaps for lack of independence of thought, diagnosed me for something like schizophrenia or bi-polar disorder.

At first, I resisted the diagnosis but nurses, aided by guards, forcefully put me to sleep with an injecttion. After that, I was handled as a patient of mental illness which led my family to believe I was sick. I, myself, also came to believe I was sick because I voluntarily turned up for regular medical check-ups during which nurses gave me tablets for daily intake.

Coming to think of it, I was never mentally sick. I figured out several years ago that I went astray at the university in an effort to acquire the courage and the mental clarity that I had lacked earlier on in life. Believe you me, I grew up as a confused and timid teenager - traits I didn't want to carry on into my adult life.

And I came to discover that the solution to those two weaknesses lay in studying, reflecting, exercising physically, indulging in my talents and most of all, by praying to God for strength, guidance, healing and insight on how to live. I have done all that as a result of which I can gratefully report that I am now a composed, confident, peaceful and observant young man.

So don't you ever think that I am mentally ill. Neither should you ever believe a rumour peddled by my detractors that Thuita was caught contemplating suicide. Again I say, I am a healthy, educated and cultured young man of sound mind and good judgement.

That aside, have I told you that I will now focus on writing stories and producing videos for this blog? I must have told you that. So I will try to follow up with that resolution with "discipline and consistency". I have put those two virtues in quotes because that's the way Commando Tito Okello mentioned them on a Facebook post of his several weeks ago. (Tito Okello was a school-mate of mine in high school where he served as a leader of Survival Club in 2002. We used to refer to Survival Club leaders as commandos. That's why I have addressed him as Commando Tito Okello.)

Therefore, if you are a fan of this lovely blog of mine, you better be visiting it daily for new stories or videos. Trust me, I will try to make my stories interesting, enlightening and inspiring; for videos, of the finest quality. And unlike before when I used to post in the morning before 8.30am, I will from now on be updating this blog any time of the day depending on when I write the story. Like I have posted this story at 7.44pm, about an hour after the Sun has set in the Ngong Hills that form the Western horizon of my home area. Stay tuned!

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On the night of December 24th in 1997, I attended my first night mass in my home-town Catholic Church. I felt strangely honoured to be in the church at night which I had hitherto only attended during the day. And I enjoyed the nativity play that was staged by the then church youth group. My favourite actor that year was a youth named Alexander who humorously guided the audience from one scene to another.

I continued attending those Christmas eve night masses in the years that followed. When I attended the one of the year 2000, I prayed for success in my KCPE exams that I was to sit for the following year in November. God answered my prayers because I scored an impressive 421 marks (out of 500) in the exams which led to my admission at Starehe Boys' Centre, Kenya's best high school back then.

And when I attended the night mass of 2004, I prayed not only for success in my KCSE exams that I was to sit for the following year but also for good health. Again, God answered my prayers because I had vibrant health throughout the year 2005. And I passed the mighty KCSE exams with flying colours. I scored A's in all eight subjects. Or to be more precise, I got six A's and two A-'s.

Yesterday as I prepared to usher 2018, I decided to pray for all that I desire just like I did in 2000 and 2004. Here's how I prayed:

Lord, my dear God - Creator of the Universe and the joy of my heart - I thank You for letting me see yet another year (2018) as a sprightly healthy young man. Thank You so much.

Lord, forgive me for all the sins I have committed in the past, especially against my parents. Let me begin the New Year as a guiltless, free young man.

Lord, help me to forgive those who have sinned against me in the past. Let me begin the New Year without any traces of hatred and ill-will toward anybody. Or as Abraham Lincoln would put it, let me begin the year "with malice toward none and charity for all".

Lord, I will strive to delight in You each day of this year. Reward my efforts by fulfilling all the desires of my heart. By the way, do You remember the desires that I have repeatedly made known to You in my prayers? Of course I know You do because You are all-knowing.

Lord apart from fulfilling those desires, fill my soul with never-fading joy, love, hope, faith, peace, courage and gratitude; my mind with wisdom, insight, knowledge and good judgement; and my body with vibrant health and youthful swagger.

Lord, throughout 2018, be my strength in my moments of weakness. And in my wanderings, be my guide. May I have good luck in all my endeavours.

Lord, I also place my wonderful parents into your able hands. They worked hard to give us a solid foundation of knowledge and discipline. Reward them for their efforts with good health and long life. May they live to see me sit among the mighty.

That's all I am praying for, Lord. And do all that and much more to my siblings (Joe, Bob, Paddy & Symo) as well as to my relatives and true friends. Amen.

There you have it: my prayer for 2018, that is. I believe God will answer all that I have mentioned in the prayer like He did for me in 2000 and 2004. But I humbly add, let His will be done.

Likewise, I urge you to not only voice your prayers to God - the supreme friend to every individual and the common inexhaustible reservoir of love - but also pen what you write so that you can track God's work in your life. Over to you!

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