As we journey to success

pilgrims

 "I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which you have shown your servant;For I crossed over this Jordan with my staff,and now I have become two companies." (Genesis 32:10)

such are the words of a certain man named Jacob,it is written in the bible that before this man would be born,God spoke to his mother and said

"Two nations are in your womb,Two people shall be separated from your body;One people shall be stronger than the other,And the older shall serve the younger"
it came to pass that when time for labor pains arrived,two babies were born,quoting the bible,it is written (genesis 25:25-28) "And the first came out red.He was like a hairy garment all over,so they called his name Esau (which means Hairy)afterwards his brother came out,and his hand took hold of Esau's heel;so his name was called Jacob (which means supplanter ).

I like the way some cultures name people,normally if your name was not inherited like mine of which I don't know its meaning,just that it is common in neighboring country Kenya and normally given to women,then it has a meaning that describes your character.It reminds me of Film actor Jack Chan's 'movie Who Am I' ,Chan wakes up in a tribal village somewhere in the African veldt, still recovering from injuries sustained in an accident he cannot remember; as a result, when asked for his name by the natives, he responds by asking himself, "Who Am I?", and is referred to as that by the natives. So Wanting to know what these biblical names mean,I visited my knowledgeable friend Google and he had to reffer me to vocabulary.com  and this is what I found.
A supplanter takes over or takes the place of someone else, usually on purpose. If usurping thrones is your thing, then maybe you have a future as a supplanter.
A supplanter takes the place of someone or something that was there first. For example, a new big-name donut shop may become a supplanter if it hurts or ruins the business of the local Mom and Pop donut shop. Supplanter often refers to governments and rulers of countries, and it comes from the verb supplant, which evolved from the Latin supplantare, meaning "to trip up or to overthrow."
DEFINITIONS OF:
supplanter
1
one who wrongfully or illegally seizes and holds the place of another
Synonyms:
usurper
Types:
claim jumper
one who illegally occupies property to which another has a legal claim
Type of:
offender, wrongdoer
a person who transgresses moral or civil law"
The bible also describes these twins in (Genesis 25: 27) saying

"So the boys grew.And Esau was a skillful hunter,a man of the field;but Jacob was a Mild man,dwelling in tents.And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game,but Rebekah loved Jacob".

Esau was skilled,busy hard working man,he was a practical man of the field,he had the egoistic pride instilled in all men of not wanting to receive free things,but instead to give free things to other people supporting them.we could describe Esau as a grown up responsible man who supports his aging parents and a lazy sibling Jacob.And his father Isaac loved him more for this.Jacob on the other hand was described as being 'Mild' and dwelling in tents.This guy was a stay at home mummy's kid,he didn't have any skill,he is like most of our young generation today,people who a being educated up to college and on graduation day the commencement speakers advice them not to be Job seekers but Entrepreneurs Choosing the hard way to success ,yet they have been exposed to very little practical skills and more passive theory.So what happens is that after college they move back with their parents at home and make European football betting as their day to day occupation.Jacob was mild,Visiting Vocabulary.com again,"A mild person is humble and meek — the opposite of bold. Mild things are also moderate in some way, like pleasantly mild weather or food that’s not spicy. Mild is the opposite of extreme. There’s nothing wild about mild.
Mild comes from the Old English word milde for "gentle." Indeed, mild people are gentle. They don't brag or do cartwheels in supermarkets. They're mellow and submissive."And such was the man Jacob and his mother loved him more.
But you see everyone wants to be successful,owning something independently,That is why a certain man publicly asked Jesus to help him tell his brother to share their father's inheritance with him.(Luke 12:13),We are familiar with the parable of the prodigal son,how he demanded for his own share from his father and went off to a distant far country I believe in search for a new independent Life.so Jacob wanting to be independent yet without any skill,conspiring with his mother they supplanted Esau's birth right which came along with a bigger share of a blessing and the inheritance.Unfortunately this was a painful experience to Esau and the bible says he felt so bitter and wanted to comfort himself by killing his young brother Jacob,So Jacob had to flee for dear life.
Now you can imagine,a mild unskilled sit at home mummy's boy leaving for the unknown foreign land far away from home.thinking about this and putting myself in his shoes,I can tell it wasn't an easy moment for him.(Genesis 28:10 -22) Explains that experience in depth,there was no taxis or trains by then,unlike the rich who had horses and camels  for transport,most people used to walk.Verse 11 says

 "So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night,because the sun had set.and he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head (pillow),and he lay down in that place to sleep".In the next verses the bible says he had a dream and saw angels ascending and descending from heaven,He had God talk to him and promised him in verse 15 "Behold I am with you and will bring you back to this land;for I WILL NOT LEAVE YOU UNTIL I have done what I have spoken to you"
verse 20 "then Jacob made a vow,saying.'if God will be with me,and give me in this way that I am going,and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on,so that I come back to my father's house in peace,then the Lord shall be my God.And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God's house,and of all that you give me I will surely give a tenth to you".

When I consider the struggles people go through in the pursuit of happiness,I find that in one way or the other there is a way we can relate to this story of Jacob,some of us were not born in wealthy communities to take on ready made possessions,some are actually from wealthy families but because of some reasons they chose to leave and begin a new Life from scratch,it is not always easy and it will never be easy.Comedian Stephen colbert in his commencement speech to the class of 2013 at Virginia he said

"but while we may be leaving you with an economy with fewer job opportunities for new graduates to slip into and while traditional path may seem hard to find,that also means that you will learn sooner than most generations the hard lesson that you must always make a path for yourself,there is no secret society that will tap you on the shoulder one night and show you the way.because the true secret is,your life will not be defined by the society that we have left you"

Here we see Jacob moving from a place he has known all his life,a place in which he had hoped to build his dreams in,to an unknown place he has never been to,it can really be scary.right now he is in the survival stage in need of of "bread to eat and clothing to put on" and he is asking these from God.When we were young there is a life we always dreamed having,I don't know about others but personally it is not a life I am living now, like the Americans say ' living the dream ',there is a life I want to have in the future but have no idea whether it will ever come to pass.we don't know what the future holds but we know if we trust in God all will be well with our souls.Jacob is rejuvenated and made strong to carry on with his journey after he has received an affirmation from God how he 'will keep him wherever he goes'.It is God who will always be by our side in whatever situation we go through be it hard or just fine.

"yea,though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for you are with me;your rod and staff,they comfort me." psalm :23

Later we find that Jacob reached to his final destination,worked hard for someone else though he was promised by God how nations will serve him,he married,had kids,accumulated wealth and servants.Because he had made vows of returning to his homeland,he had to leave the foreign country and go back home,for east or west home is best.But he knew he hard some unresolved issues with family members back home,so he needed to talk to God first.(Genesis 32:9-12)

 "then Jacob said.'O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac,the Lord who said to me, 'Return to your country and to your family,and I will deal well with you':
verse 10 "I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which you have shown your servant;for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff,and now I have become two companies."

It is this very moment that God changed Jacob's name to Israel (Genesis 32:28).
After struggling all these years Jacob realized that it wasn't about him,but about God's will and providence,his name was changed from Jacob (thief) to Israel (prince with God).
Along the way to where we are today,we have had different experiences,great and terrible all together.Been called by different names,cheater,poor,lazy,selfish,irresponsible etc,some of these names we don't like and we would want them to be changed.If we are persistent and hold on to our faith in God we will become better people some day.God in one's life is the greatest indicator of success.For God and my Country.

IMPROVISATION

Today,wondering through my past memories,I remembered a friend I was once with,he is a good person and I am glad to have known him.

My friend hassan Wabutwa having American corn bread

You know a lot of things happen to us in this life and they go never to happen again,they say "two things can not happen the same way twice" your teenage sweet heart might still be a good friend today but your relationship may never be as great as those olden days when you felt as though you were on the top of the world thinking that everyone was wrong about your relationship.I and my Kuchi kuchi used to have a slogan of 'two against the world',for indeed the first cut is the deepest,do you ever wonder why our first loves linger in our mind for almost forever? no wonder the bible talks about rejoicing with the woman of your youth.(Proverbs:5:18
Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth).I think it is so because it is these people who first show us that we are lovable,at a time when we are shy,very innocent about the opposite sex and qualify to be called Kenny Rogers' 'The coward of the county'.I believe in times of teenage relationships,almost everyone has that moment in the past that you consider a lost opportunity,a time you remember and say I wish I... .When you can't live the past again,all you remain with to do is to treasure and keep your memories well.

Ok back to my friend, we used to participate together in the different church activities.As a new convert to the Born again movement,he played a very big role in establishing me as an active believer.Once in a while he could ask me to say the opening or closing prayer during fellowships with the other believers,sharing the word of God and so on,but there was something about this friend,he was so devoted and funny sometimes,for example sometimes the choir could rehearse the songs to be ministered on sunday service when he is not around,but when the time for presenting the songs comes,he joins in trying to match the others even in the dancing.the truth is sometimes he could not follow uniformly but remaining serious,he used not to mind about what he had missed in the lyrics of the song or the steps in the dance.watching him you wouldn't help but release a godly smile if not a laugh.
what my friend used to do is not something only unique to him,it happens to us everyday and it is called improvisation.According to Vocabulary.com ,to improvise means to make something on the spot,or figure it out as you go.It comes from the Latin word improvisus meaning 'unforeseen,unexpected "It is a creative instant way of doing something you didn't have in mind before.it is not the backup plan(alternative) or the secondary plan in military language,it's a new decision you come up with after an unexpected event has happened.Let us say you are a pianist in a church and someone you have never met comes on stage to perform a song,if you are going to play the piano for them,then you will do that by what they call "playing by the ear".
You could be a public relations personnel for an organization and you are somewhere and you are not sure of the questions your audience will ask you,in such a situation they say "taking it as it comes",or perhaps you are a stand up comedian in a foreign community where people are expecting you to make them laugh but you just don't know what is funny to them,then you just "make it up as you go".I am a great fan of the famous comedian Stephen Colbert,in his commencement speech to the graduating class of 2011 at Northwestern University Evanston Illinois, he said "

AFTER  I GRADUATED FROM HERE, I MOVED DOWN TO CHICAGO AND DID IMPROVISATION . NOW THERE ARE VERY FEW RULES TO IMPROVISATION, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS I WAS TAUGHT EARLY ON IS THAT YOU ARE NOT THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IN THE SCENE. EVERYBODY ELSE IS. AND IF THEY ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE IN THE SCENE, YOU WILL NATURALLY PAY ATTENTION TO THEM AND SERVE THEM. BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS YOU'RE IN THE SCENE TOO. SO HOPEFULLY TO THEM YOU'RE THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON, AND THEY WILL SERVE YOU. NO ONE IS LEADING, YOU'RE ALL FOLLOWING THE FOLLOWER, SERVING THE SERVANT. YOU CANNOT WIN IMPROV.
AND LIFE IS AN IMPROVISATION. YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT AND YOU ARE MOSTLY JUST MAKING THINGS UP AS YOU GO ALONG.
AND LIKE IMPROV, YOU CANNOT WIN YOUR LIFE.

EVEN WHEN IT MIGHT LOOK LIKE YOU'RE WINNING."
The unknown is usually very scary,you should have a little concern sometimes but you should never confront it with fear,fear terrorizes a creative mind and disarms it of all her weapons leaving you insecure and vulnerable to further damages.Sometimes when I think of my future,of the things I 'want' to be,I get a little bit worried and feel like I just can't make it.but there is some where I always draw my strength to keep focusing.There is this common saying that "we don't know what the future holds for us but we know who holds the future".One of my pastors pastor Joseph Sserwada said "when God gives a vision he also gives a provision"

when you kneel before God no man can stand before you

In (Mathew 10:1-19)
Jesus said "when you come before councils don't be afraid of what you will say....".In (Luke 12:22-32) talking about human needs he said "don't be worried of tomorrow".King David of the bible in one of his psalms (psalm 18:29)said "with you I can go after a troop and with you I can leap over a wall".Paul of tarsus in (Acts 20:22) said "I go to Jerusalem bound in the spirit not knowing what will happen to me there...".With all these examples of these great leaders who lived before us,we should not be intimidated by the unknown.

To the unknown

(Psalm 121) I look unto the hills from whence shall my help come from?