Guardian Angels
Say what
you want about Christians being hypocrites and not practicing what they preach,
or that they don’t make a relevant impact on society, but I beg to differ.
I’ve
been blessed enough to see and experience a very different and most
life-changing narrative. I’ve seen churches and Christians feed the poor,
building schools and educating children, changing individuals’ lives, building
healthy families and communities, and making a meaningful impact in the
marketplace.
I was just
talking to a friend about this and ended up recalling two amazing people who
touched my life in an incredibly profound way. Lusanda and Mahlatse Winston
Mashua. As students at UKZN, Westville, we had the privilege of having them as our
campus pastors for a few years. A young couple who “gave up their lives” to
serve students (knowing full well that there’s no financial gain in campus
ministry). Yet they tirelessly devoted their love, energy, wisdom and resources
to sow into the future leaders that God had entrusted them with.
I was a new
Christian, passionate and full of zeal for the Lord and His Kingdom but lacked
wisdom and logic in many areas of life. My frustration with my Bcom studies in
my 2nd and 3rd year led to me dropping out of varsity, a
decision that derailed my life and one that I regretted for a long time after.
Yes, I
received a “talking to” from Winston and Lusi but I never felt condemned or
judged. After working in random, low paying jobs in retail I decided I needed
to find myself by doing something different and meaningful. I got the
opportunity to volunteer a Year of My Life to serving through our church while doing
theology studies from our School of Campus Ministry. What a profound
experience that was! It was during that year that God used Winston and Lusi to
personally impact my life on a deeper level.
Since I had
left school, I no longer had financial aid and my family couldn’t afford to
support me, things were tough at home, and they were very disappointed in me
“throwing my life away” (granted). Going home was not an option, so I stayed in
Durban and stubbornly pushed for this reinvention opportunity, not knowing how
I would make ends meet for the year.
I remember one
Wednesday afternoon, having finished some church admin with Lusi at their flat
in Morningside, we took a break, she made lunch and we had a “chat” (I dreaded
being asked about my life because it was an absolute mess and I had no answers
to offer). To my horror, we got to the topic of my non-existent finances… (hand
on face).
Despite my pride and not wanting to admit I was at my wits end; we
had an honest conversation. Lusi encouraged me to trust God for a solution, we
prayed together, and I went home (to the commune I was staying in, with 2
months’ rent outstanding). I was on the verge of eviction and hadn’t told
anyone about it.
Within a
day or two, I received a call from Lusi and Winston asking me to come to their
flat. I was very confused as my admin day with Lusi (whom I was shadowing) was
only on a Wednesday. I nervously obliged.
Nothing
could’ve prepared me for what they had to say, even in my wildest dreams I
would’ve never guessed. They sat me down and dropped the bomb. “Come live with
us. You need a place to stay, we have a spare bedroom”. I was shook, numb with
disbelief. These people hardly know me, I thought to myself. No one is that
kind! But they were dead serious. I started to understand the practicality of
God’s love.
In that
season of my life, I had a front row seat to an amazing, godly marriage at home
(not just what people portray in church). I learned that marriage can be fun,
healthy, nurturing and even relevant to our generation (I had previously
loathed the idea of getting married). So my perception was definitely redeemed.
Though they
were not that much older than me, they parented me with such love and care that
many of my emotional wounds started healing, especially the father wound. For
the first time in my life I felt affirmed, seen, wanted and taken care of (all
things that are gaping holes in a child born out of an extra marital affair,
growing up without a father and losing a mother at a young age to HIV/AIDS).
Winston and
Lusi were God’s hands and feet to rescue me from the shambles I’d created out of
my life. If they’d been consumed with their own desires and ambitions and
hadn’t surrendered that season of their lives to serving in campus ministry, I
don’t know where I’d be.
The same
goes for our senior pastors Wayne and Trisha (who also welcomed me into their
home when Winston and Lusi went to spend over a year in the UK so Winston could
study at Oxford on a scholarship). Wayne and Trisha were the trailblazers that
began that campus ministry fire at Westville. It is such courageous men and
women that devote their lives to making an actual impact by living the Gospel
practically, in all spheres of life, that we need more of in our churches and
communities.
There are
many more that I could list (perhaps I could fill an entire book even) that
have played small and big roles in my life, being used by God in one way or
another. I am the product of many selfless and kind peoples’ generosity. I
don’t know another person who’s a bigger recipient of God’s grace than me. He
has given me way more than what I’ve lost. He has done exceedingly, abundantly
above all that I could ask, think or imagine. And that was just the beginning.
I owe it to
my family, biological and spiritual, and every person who took a chance on me;
to make something meaningful of my life. I can’t let their sacrifices, efforts and kindness
to have been in vain. And most importantly, I owe it to myself to live a life
of purpose, of passion, of impact and practical love for humanity. We are all
each other’s guardian angels sent from heaven to "heal the world and make it a better place" (quoting The King of Pop)😎
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