I am thrice blessed. I have a loving God and father in Heaven, who blessed with a loving father and mother on earth. Today is about my Dad. I am very much my father’s daughter. Not only do I resemble him, I also inherited his strong opinions, stubborn outspokenness, a love for reading and music and a four octave musical range.  Today I reflect on the lessons my father taught me both the spoken and unspoken. 

 My father is a retired magistrate, passionate about the law and Justice. I am equally so. So passionate was I, that I was crushed when I fell short of getting into the Bachelor of Laws programme at the University of Zimbabwe. Someone leaked one of two of our A-Level History exam papers and the students in the entire province had 25% deducted off our final marks, even though most of us never even saw that paper. So I ended up with a D in History, my favourite subject and lost the critical two points I needed to get into that competitive programme. In retrospect, that was the work of my Heavenly Father. With my inherited passion for justice and inability to be silent in the face of any form of unfairness, had I studied law, I would have been in the midst of the political turmoil of the late 1990s and 2000s and would most likely have either disappeared, in prison or dead in prison, which is the fate of most activists in the country where I was born.  Both have landed me on the wrong side of the establishment  in my professional life in the private sector corporate entities, where I have worked. But in the words of Proverbs, wisdom is always proved right by her actions. It is not always pleasant or comfortable to be right, but a key lesson that I leant from both my parents, was the importance of integrity, to stand up for what is right and to not back down even in the face of overwhelming opposition. 

Whenever things are difficult, I reflect on those times, on how my parents got through the difficult times and I remember the Bible verse that says , in all things God works for the good of those who love him who are called according to his purpose (Romans 8.28). My father eventually left the legal profession and civil service to join the private sector. He continued to stand up for those who were unjustly punished or dismissed by under company  policy. Eventually he left the private sector for good and he now preaches the Word of God, and compiles and translates hymns and texts for the Methodist Church. 

My father follows in his father’s footsteps. It took a long time for us to piece the history together, because of family history and politics. My paternal grandfather was an evangelist from the Seventh Day Adventist Church. He died when my father was very young. We were raised in the Wesleyan Methodist Church, which my grandmother and her family  attended and we still attend today. My parents and I are lay preachers in the church.  I see the goodness and the grace of God in our lives, despite the hard times, because of the faith of my grandparents on both sides. The Word says He shows love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. Exodus 20:6 To preach the word takes courage. It is not always easy or comfortable, because one must speak as directed by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. 

Why do I tell this story? It took my father close to half a century to realise his purpose, based on his gifting to spread God’s Word through preaching, writing and singing. It has taken me only a decade less than him to accept mine, which is to teach, to heal and to bring hope. It took a lot of work with a personal coach to understand that we all have unique gifts for the benefit of others and our lives are richer and more fulfilling when we use those gifts and live according to our purpose. We do not serve the world by placing small. False modesty is a disservice to our fellow man and the equivalent of burying the talent of gold waiting for the master to return. 

So when I prepare a sermon, stand at the pulpit to preach, when I write and when I sing, I acknowledge the gifts of my ancestors and I acknowledge the power and inspiration that comes from my Creator. Above all I am grateful to the man that made it possible, my Dad.