The Storm is Over
One week in 2001?, I had attended a conference in Jerusalem. It was organised by the international federation of accountants(IFAC) and as I was a fellow of my local institute ICPAK, I was nominated to attend it.
I forget what the conference was about but I remember us being addressed remotely by an eminent economist called James Wolfensohn who had become the President of the World Bank.
The conference was held in Jerusalem and me, being a curious student of the Bible, I had seen a golden opportunity to check out the Holy Land. I even pre- booked a tour that was to take us through Jericho to Galilee and Nazareth all of them interesting places for me. This would happen at the end of the tour which suited me fine.
After landing at Tel Aviv after a turbulent flight over Athens, we travelled by bus to Jerusalem and checked in at the Hilton, built on a magnificent site overlooking the ancient City. Before we landed, we had a vicious situation in which our plane had a free fall of what appeared like 10,000 feet and was so totally unexpected that several waiters dropped their serving trays as they sought something to hold on to. I even remember the lady sitting next to me screaming and saying that we were all going to die and me "comforting" her with words to the effect that we should not worry as we were headed for the Holy Land and, even if we died, we would go to heaven... Miraculously, the plane stabilised and we flew the rest of the way in peace.
In Jerusalem, I spent the afternoons after the end of the sessions visiting various points of biblical interest in the city - like the wailing wall, the synagogues, the churches and the mosques. I travelled freely without any inhibitions visiting wherever my feet took me hardly noticing the occasional change in dress code and the length of men's beards. The Jews and the Palestinians to me were completely indistinguishable and still are to this day.
The Journey to Galilee
At the end of the conference, we boarded a tour bus with a lady tour leader who knew the country and its history well. First, east towards River Jordan which turned out to be a disappointment because the famous river was more like our Thika River on whose banks I used to graze my father's cattle as a small boy only, in the case of Jordan, there were no banks to graze anything on.
After this, we headed to Jericho the city whose walls came down to allow the Jews into the promised land. In case you have never been there, Jericho is still a desolate place to this day and the ruins makes you wonder about the folly of the other famous man in the New Testament who was "walking from Jerusalem to Jericho." Not a habitable place by any stretch of imagination.
Our next stop was at Ein Gev a small town on the north-eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee or Kinneret as the locals call it. It is a shallow lake that is part of River Jordan that collects water from the neighbouring hills in Lebanon of the famous cedars before dispatching it to the Dead Sea where it gets buried in mud and salt.
This is where my drama started after lunch. We were to board a shaky looking boat that was to take us to Capernaum the site of the first miracle that Jesus did. Interestingly, that miracle was converting water into wine but that is a story for another day. Unable to trust that boat because I have a natural respect for bodies of water, I asked the tour guide if there was an alternative. She conspiratorially suggested that I talk to the bus driver. Which I gladly did.
For those not familiar with some of the biblical stories, this is the same lake where Jesus’ disciples nearly drowned after a furious squall hit their little fishing vessel. In desperation, they went downstairs to wake him up from where he was having a nap after a hectic morning. On being told what the fuss was about, he chided them for "having little faith" and promptly stilled the storm.
As for me, being a man of relatively little faith, I dared not take a chance on that boat to Capernaum and that is why I took the trusty old bus. As it were, I ended up getting to Capernaum well before them and they found me sampling the local wine for which the place is famous. They thought they had lost me in the lake but I told them that there was a miracle - they could not get the joke from this strange African in their midst.
From there, we headed into hills above Tiberias where the famous sermon on the mount was given. It is still an emotive site with a church built on top to emphasize the point. Then on to Nazareth after a night in a kibbutz where I saw the true meaning of modern Israeli farming - a five acre farm which had more than 100 Friesian cows in a completely mechanized farm.
Back to the Storm
That story about the storm has had a huge impact on me as I have gone through various storms in my own life. They have been particularly vicious in the last fifteen years or so and continue with intensity as I grow older and more weary. Some of them are self-inflicted while several are created by people I interact with socially, professionally or politically.
In every case, I have found myself asking a simple question: "Why me?". And the answer, on reflection, has always been the same: "If not you, who else?". I even get reminded of another prophet in the bible called Jeremiah who literally challenged God about why He must keep on testing him in spite of the fact that he revered God so much. The answer he got still rings loudly in my ears: "Jeremiah, my son, if you cannot race and win against horses in the hills of Lebanon, how can you expect to win over evil men?".
So, onto the ultimate answer: When the storms of life rage and the destructive winds howl and you get afraid, remember the words in the book of Psalms: "Be still and know that I am God”. In short, I will come to your aid in my own good time but, in the meantime, be patient and keep believing in me your creator.
I hope my faith in my creator is strong enough to be able to wait and not to slumber.
As I grow older, it becomes harder and yet that is when I should in fact be stronger.
But, I know I will overcome. The storms cannot last forever.
JH Kimura,
Nairobi
22nd June 2017.
On reflection, this trip was a game changer for me. For many years, especially since high school, I had been toiling to understand why I could not easily convert to Christianity like so many of my friends especially females. I also was the first-born of my religious parents and was made to attend church religiously, learn bible songs and learn how to pray.
Travelling through Israel, I realised that not all the bible stories must be taken as the literal truth. Right from the first book of Genesis. True, a lot of it is good religious dogma to keep their people in line but a lot of it is also written in
code so that the wise will understand the true meaning or the message they were supposed to get. After many years of trying to understand science, I now know more about the futility of religion, all religion.
As for the storms of life, they will continue with varying intensity all the days of your life because, in reality, that is what this life is all about. No one promised you eternal happiness no matter how rich and powerful you are. The end, when it eventually comes, is the only guarantee you have about the futility of eternity.
Meanwhile, take care of yourself, your children and your parents. To your best ability. And do not forget to help the occasional stranger who may stumble into your life.