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A few days ago, my spiritual mother Rev. Teresia Wairimu and the Faith Evangelistic Ministry unveiled a state of the art church building in Karen.
To say the least, it is a master piece – an architectural marvel. From the carpets, the tiles, gypsum ceilings to the sound, air conditioning and the theatre style seats: everything befits excellence in every aspect of the word.
The ultra-modern sanctuary which costed over one billion shillings is complete with ample worship and prayer spaces, restaurants, VIP lounges, impeccable 5-star washrooms and top of the range offices. Nothing was spared in making one of the most magnificent church sanctuaries I have ever seen.
And it is not the appearance and the grandeur of the project that truly impresses me – it is the fact that before the building was done, for many years, FEM Family church conducted their services in a tent.
The gathered every Sunday, in a humble tent with nothing much, but a shelter from the rigors of weather. But while they worshipped in a make-shift structure, in the heart of their leader, was a bold dream to construct a mega church.
As a matter of fact, worshiping in a tent never stifled that dream, instead, in her heart, the dream continued to be built even if there was no tangible proof of its expression. Simply put, a mega church that President Uhuru Kenyatta called — the best and most magnificent church he has ever seen — existed as a dream in a heart of a leader until she pulled it out for all to behold and to enjoy.
It reminds me of the mega dreams that many people carry. We all have an aspiration, a vision or a goal we would like to achieve. Many people talk of it and it feels good to narrate in color because it rouses excitement in our friends. Tragically however, countless people live their entire lives at the place of mere dreams.
Our dreams remain in dreamland until the day we wake up and pursue them. However much details we possess of them, the planning we have done and the schematic diagrams we have drawn of their execution, they remain theory until acted upon.
Bluntly put, dreaming doesn’t make you special: all of us have dreams. It is when we dare to make our dreams come true that the rubber meets the road to fulfillment. Jesse Owens, the great American athlete once said: “We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.”
Big dreams take inhuman levels of self-restraint and focused actions to achieve. They call for patient pursuit of purpose and endurance of tough times. It demands the avoidance of the temptation and the pressure to compete with other people. Huge dreams are not built overnight. In the words of Eddie Cantor, “It takes 20 years to make an overnight success.”
Dreamers have to be patient. It is also true that there is never a time you will be too young or too old to dream or to carry out your dreams. Despite your qualifications or the lack of them, do not underestimate yourself, you carry immeasurable potential to achieve massive results. Believe that you too can build mega structures.
To begin with, always participate in dreams that are bigger than you and soon, what others can achieve, you too will. Only keep a clean record of integrity because a good name is better than gold. One day you will be presented with an opportunity to be heard, a chance to present what you have and an opportunity to prove your worth.
Prepare for that day by building ample capacity within you and when that time comes, deliver with a resounding victory!
bishop@jcckenya.net
