Hello Mr

Hello Mr,

I haven't met you yet

But I'm looking forward to the day!

See although we haven't been formally introduced

You and I go waaay back...

Way back to when I was a child and my imagination roared wild.

Back then before the world had tarnished my innocence

And you and I were as real as can be

When I played with my dolls and did dress up with my friends

You were there too....my knight in shining armour.

You see you and I go waaay back

Although I haven't met you yet I'm looking forward to the day.

Hello Mr,

I haven't met you yet

But I'm looking forward to the day

See although we haven't been formally introduced

You and I go waaay back

Way back when I thought I'd found you

When I saw a glimmer of some of your qualities

When I dated other guys

Back then before the world had bitten into my faith

And you and I became a reality, an internal desire I searched for.

You were there too...

You see you and I go waaay back

Although I STILL haven't met you I'm looking forward to the day.

Hello Mr,

I haven't met you yet

But I'm looking forward to the day

See although we haven't been formally introduced

You and I go waay back

Way back when I started picking out colours

Purple or Pink?

When I looked intently at big dresses...White is definitely my colour!

When I listed to songs and pictured my dad..

Pictured my dad walking me down the aisle..To YOU!

You see you and I go way back

Although I haven't met you I'm looking forward to the day. 

Hello Mr

I haven't met you yet

But I'm looking forward to the day

See although we haven't been formally introduced

You and I go waay back

Way back when Adam said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh...”

When the two became one.

You see you've always been a part of me

My best friend, my anchor, my partner, my protector, my soul mate, my prince charming, my second half,

My husband...

You see you and I go way back

Although I haven't met you I'm looking forward to the day. 

Hello Mr

I haven't met you yet

But I'm looking forward to the day

See although we haven't been formally introduced

You and I go waay back

Way back when I purposed in my heart to be your good thing.

To:

Love you, serve you, hold you, grow you...

When I purposed in my heart to be worth more to you than rubies

To bring you good, not harm, all the days of my life.

You see you and I go way back

Although I haven't met you I'm looking forward to the day. 

xoxo

Chido Dziva Chikwari

 

Sooo this post is assuming that I haven't met him yet. Hmmm.. This may or may not be true (and is actually kinda funny) but yeah the sentiments above are ones that make my heart skip a beat and smile from ear to ear whenever the thought comes to mind.

I still believe in love and deep down I am actually a hopeless romantic. I have been writing letters to my future husband for years and although I haven't met him I still believe. Although broken relationships have made me tougher when it comes to succumbing to butterflies, trusting and depending on someone else I still believe in my "happy ending" and that's what the post above is about.

Hope.

My mom and dad have been pivotal in displaying to me what marriage is all about; what having someone you can lean on and go through all of life's ups and downs with is all about. They have mirrored the love that comes with being committed to each other, the conflicts and the conflict resolution, what it is to really know someone...when they are happy, sad, dejected or excited. I've been so fortunate to grow up in a home where I can see it all for myself and if my marriage is anything like theirs I will truly be blessed. It's something worth holding onto and waiting for. It's something worth guarding jealously and well.... I'm looking forward to the day! 

Never let the dream die.

Keep believing :)

My Kenya Impressions - Invest in Self

I am my greatest asset. 

All things external may fade away and be gone with time but one thing that will always remain with me is me. The message I want to put across is that although buying houses and buying cars is great, although working hard to earn more and fattening up your bank account can give you great comfort and satisfaction investment in self is just as critical.

I recently traveled to Kenya to visit a friend from University as well as take a break from the stresses of work and the routines of life itself. I've never been to Kenya and upon arrival I was enthused by so many things that seemed so different from all the other places I've been. I've been to England and visited so many beaches there but none are anything like the ones in Mombasa. I've been to South Africa and listened to men and women speak in their mother tongues but none of them are quite like kiswahili, kamba or gikuyu. Before I came to Kenya I thought I knew what a traffic jam was-Simon Mazorodze and Willowvale at 7.30am on my way to work but boy was I wrong. I've marveled at olden day infrastructure in the UK and some of our  magnificent buildings in Harare but my mind was set alight by the buildings standing tall and erect in Nairobi. It was different.

Now believe you me it wasn't just a matter of waking up one day and hopping into the next flight to Nairobi. It was a decision I made months before and something I worked very hard to achieve. I graduated recently and I'm working at my first job. My salary isn't much and I'm often embarrassed to say it out loud to anybody but I proposed in my mind that I was going to work hard, save as much as I can and fly myself to Kenya. Gone are the days of spending daddy's money...this was on my account and it wasn't easy. I had to let go of so many luxuries but one thing I'm certain of is that it was worth it. You can't put a price on international exposure. You begin to see your world in a global context and what began as a mere holiday can very easily be extrapolated to the expansion of my horizons. I know a little bit more about Africa and the world itself now and to me this was a great investment in self above and beyond being so much fun. No one can ever take away this experience from me. It is mine as long as my memory can keep it and thus far it marks the beginning of many more travels. It wasn't easy to get to and I had to deal with logical dilemmas of say save for another year and a half and buy a small car or a stand but this was my choice.

Someone might be reading this and thinking, "I can't afford to fly all the way to Kenya." "I have other commitments like rent and family" and maybe while you can't make that big a sacrifice you can definitely make other smaller ones. See Zimbabwe. Don't stay couped up in  Budiriro where you were born and raised. Save a bit for six months and go to Bulawayo, Victoria Falls, Nyanga or even closer to home take yourself and your partner out for lunch somewhere 'expensive'; Meikles, Sam Levys Village, Crown Plaza. Take your kids to see the airport...it's free! You won't imagine the wonders it will do for them to watch a plane take off and land. Just make that sacrifice. Expand your world.

So although  believe travel is one form of investing in self I appreciate that it may not be for everyone. Another critical investment in self I was reminded of is education. And in a country where people with multiple degrees are unemployed you find a great majority of our youth asking what is the point when I can kiya kiya and get a few dollars. What is education when I can cross the border and go to South Africa and make a few dollars. This saddens me for so many reasons. Education is a tool to empower beyond cash today. It's s security whereby although things aren't working out for the educated now Zimbabwe isn't always going to be like this. Tomorrow things could be different and where will you be still making a quick buck? And above all else money can be lost or stolen, health and strength may fail, but what you have committed to your mind is yours forever. Do that short course, learn that skill, get your o levels uve ne5 ako akakwana. Just make that sacrifice. Grow you. Invest in yourself. 

The two things I mentioned above (Travel and Education) may not apply to yourself but I'm sure you might have something else in mind that might..do that! The time for clothes, shoes, houses and cars will come. Or maybe it has even come and gone and while these are all just as important nothing is as important as you! Make a significant or small investment in yourself and I can assure you it will pay you for the rest of your life.

xoxo

Chido Dziva Chikwari

P.S Traveling to Kenya was part of my "Single, Young and Earning" vibe. If you follow my blog look out for more posts about that! 

Keep Shining!

FOR ME

Dear Jesus


You hung on the cross and you died FOR ME!
Thank you.

You came down from heaven
You lived like a man
You didn’t have to do it
But you did it all FOR ME!

I mean you hung on the cross and you died FOR ME!
Thank you.

Thank you for what you did,
That was a pretty big sacrifice
You were beaten up and scorned FOR ME!
Although you were INNOCENT
And you did NO WRONG
You endured it all FOR ME!

I mean you hung on the cross and you died FOR ME!
Thank you.

Thank you for praying the price
You paid it all in full
No debt remains
And Now ALL MY SINS are washed away.
Because of YOU
and all FOR ME!

I mean you hung on the cross and you died FOR ME!
Thank you.

Jesus,
 you CONQUERED THE GRAVE
YOU ROSE AGAIN!
And now seated and the right hand side of GOD
As if it wasn’t enough that you hung on the cross and you died FOR ME…
You are still Interceding....
 FOR ME!

Thank you.

XOXO
Chido Dziva Chikwari

When I think about what Jesus endured on the cross it often makes me cry. It makes me cry because I consider that he went through so much pain and suffering even though he deserved none of it. In all his majesty and sovereignty he was brought down to that. A sinners death. And why? What for? 

FOR ME! 

Who am I, a mere man among many, that the King of Kings and Lord of Lords would send his one and only son to die a sinners death for me? At no cost to me but for me sezvandiri - just the way I am. He left heaven for me. He was beaten up and scorned for me, he died for me. Then he rose again and is now seated at the right hand side of God interceding for me.

I don't mean to go about honking my horn but to me this clearly spells out that there must be something about me. If the Son of God, the creator of heaven and earth, would go to such extremes when he really didn't have to i'd be curious..what for? And the truth of the matter is that he loves us that much and I believe that where this comes in handy is not only in humbling ourselves and saying Thank you to God for being mindful of us but also in realizing that there must be something about you and I that makes us that important.

So above and beyond gratitude which really is important, you are too. Never downplay your worth. You were bought at a price by a really important person and because of that you matter. Irregardless of what some else may tell you or how they may make you feel. Irregardless of what you feel you haven't accomplished in life, where you are, what you have or don't have, what you did or didn't do, where you went wrong and failed you matter to him who created you and everything else that was ever created for that matter. He did it FOR YOU!!! 

It realizing this you ought to walk with a spring in your step. Your worth is far above rubies and who are you to down play your value. Never sell yourself short. You are a daughter/son of the Most High God who owns just about everything. You are an heir and he did it all FOR YOU! 

Keep shining!  

Biblical references

• John 10:10 
• John 3:16
• Romans 8:34