When I was a second-year engineering student at JKUAT in 2008, I cajoled my Dad to buy me a CD-player for listening to my favorite music in my free time. I seemed not to have realized back then that a laptop was the best gadget for me to acquire. Not only could I use it to listen to music but also to hone my writing, web-design and computer-programming skills.

But back in 2008, I don't think I was mature enough to own a laptop given how careless I was with my property. I would give out my books and electronic gadgets to my friends even when it inconvenienced me. And I would place my possessions in places where thieves could access them.

One Sunday in 2008 for instance, I went back to JKUAT only to find it still closed following a chaotic students' strike. After I was denied entry into the university's premises, I hid my bag under a tunnel near a JKUAT gate and strolled to a nearby food cafe to have a meal. And alas! When I came back to pick my bag, it was gone!

Had the bag contained a laptop, I would have lost it on that unforgettable Sunday when someone stole the bag from under the tunnel. That was how careless I was with my property. Which is why I have said I wasn't mature enough to own a laptop.

In 2016 when God blessed me with my first laptop, I had grown up to treasure my possessions. I can't help realizing that I got the laptop just at the right time. And the laptop has been of immense value to me. It has helped me listen to my favorite music as well as hone my talents in writing, web-design and computer-programming.

The fact that God provided me with a laptop at the proper time has given me hope that He will also bless me with my dream car when the time is right. You see, I have come to desire owning a sleek and hard-wearing vehicle; something like a Honda CX5, a Mazda X5, a Nissan Xtrail, a Toyota Vanguard, a Subaru Forester or a Volkswagen Touareg.

To be honest, there have been times I have felt left behind for not owning a car. I have envied some of my peers and neighbours that I have seen driving vehicles. Even my four siblings spin their own vehicles, including my younger brother Symo.

One thing I admire in my four siblings is the way they learnt to drive without relying on our modest parents. Even Symo didn't ask for assistance from my elder siblings. He worked hard to earn the money he needed to enrol in a driving school and purchase his own automobile.

And that has reminded me of an African proverb that says, "A man who drives his father's car is not entitled to speak in a council of men who own bicycles." That proverb inspires me to work hard at buying my own car, just like my siblings have done.

Although I have at times felt left behind for not owning a car, I don't think I have been qualified to possess one. I used to exercise too little and sleep too much. Even as late as last December, I would doze after breakfast while my fellow citizens were busy at work.

Over the last six months, I have moulded myself into a diligent young man. I have been rising at 5.30am every morning, staying active during the day and going for a one-hour exercise at 5.00pm in the evening. There is nothing I detest these days so much as idling.

When God will finally bless me with my dream car (and I am believing He will), my one-hour evening exercise will remain sacrosanct. I will still be jogging and walking during that hour just to keep my body in good trim. And, tell me, is there any blessing greater than good health?

Another blessing that I am believing God will give me at the proper time is the woman of my dreams. A lady who is smart, funny and vivacious. Given how lazy and cowardly I have been - hardly the kind of qualities any right-thinking woman would want in a man - it's good I have been single all these years.

My beloved reader, let me tell you that I have come to believe in God and in His timing. And that has helped to reduce my worrying and fretting. I urge you to also trust in God. He's never late in fulfilling the desires of our hearts if we walk in His ways. That's all I am saying.

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RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed the above story on trusting in God's timing, you might also enjoy another one on "O ye of Little Faith!" which I wrote some time back. Just click on that link in blue to dive straight into the story.

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I am an avid blogger. And my blogging role model has been Maria Popova, author of "The Marginalian", a cerebral blog that has been catalogued in the Library of Congress as a material of historical importance. Even though I find most of Popova's articles a bit difficult to digest, I must say that I admire her writing consistency.

Now, Maria Popova is always a step ahead of me in blogging. In 2021 when I heard about SSL (a method of making websites secure so that they have the "https" prefix), I found out Maria Popova's blog was secure while mine wasn't.

Before learning how to add an SSL to my blog, I was a bit apprehensive that the process might be difficult and that my web-hosting company might charge me additional money for it. I therefore asked God to guide me in the process of applying for an SSL.

And wow! Adding an SSL to my blog turned out to be a simple task provided for free by my web-hosting company. I am now happy that my blog address has the "https" prefix, which must be the reason my blog ranking on Google, Bing and Yahoo has improved when one searches "reflections of a young man". (If you didn't know, Google, Bing and Yahoo are the internet's leading search engines.)

Then about two months ago, I found out Maria Popova's blog is recognized by Facebook while mine wasn't. Never one to be left behind, I resolved to link my blog to my Facebook page so that the blog is recognized by Facebook.

Linking a blog to a Facebook page is supposed to be child's play. However, due to the avalanche of information on the internet concerning it, I had a difficult time locating where on Facebook I had to click to link my blog to my Facebook page.

After two or three days of fruitless efforts, I finally landed on a Facebook page that allowed me to verify my blog. And according to Facebook, I had to wait for 72 hours for the verification process to be completed.

During those 72 hours of waiting, I kept praying that verifying my blog on Facebook would link my blog to my Facebook page. God answered my prayers because upon completion of the verification process, Facebook recognized my blog and linked it to my Facebook page. I was really elated by that verification result.

And then about four weeks ago, I found out Maria Popova's blog pages generate a thumbnail on Twitter while mine didn't. Again never one to be left behind, I googled for a solution on how to have a thumbnail of my blog pages shown on Twitter.

From my Google search results, I learnt that generating a thumbnail of a blog on Twitter required some extra code. So, in addition to praying, I googled for a code that would work while wondering why Twitter made it so hard to generate a thumbnail on its networking site.

Because none of the code I got from Google search results worked, I tried getting help from Codingforum.net, an internet forum where I have often turned for assistance since I started developing websites in 2012. But alas! The replies I received from the forum didn't help me either.

I therefore took matters into my own hands and tried creating the required code myself using the computer-programming skills I acquired at Starehe Institute 17 years ago. And hooray! My code eventually worked, something that exhilarated me.

Several days after solving the Twitter hitch, I was fiddling with my blog's social media sharing icons when I discovered the LinkedIn icon was not successfully sharing my blog's stories and videos pages on LinkedIn when clicked. Maria Popova's LinkedIn sharing icon was working well, which made me wonder what the heck was wrong with mine. And that began another stressing experience.

As I always do when confronted with problems, I prayed about my predicament while trying to locate where the problem with my LinkedIn sharing code could be. Try as I might, I still couldn't solve the glitch. So I sought help from Codingforum.net. This time, the replies I got from the forum are what helped me solve the glitch. And I believe my prayers also aided me.

Those challenging experiences I have had with my blog have confirmed to me that God is attentive to our prayers if we walk in His ways. They have also reminded me that God is always with us, even in our trials when He seems afar. Let us therefore entrust our lives and our future to Him for He cares for us. Ciao!

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RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed reading the above story on how God is present in our trials, you might also enjoy another one on "When Bad Things Happen" which I wrote a few years ago. Just click on that link in blue to dive straight into the story.

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