By Kingston Ogango
Read: Mark 4:35-41
Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom – Psalm 90:12
My friend Eric was a rare kind of a man. Despite being disabled with Polio at a young age, he grew
to be one of the most outstanding personalities I have ever met. With a broad smile, “brighter than
the sun” he was always bubbling with joy, never with a sad moment. In fact, whenever you asked
him how he was, he would respond. “Oh! Better than I deserve”. Besides the physical disability,
Eric also struggled over the years with Epilepsy, which had challenged him quite a bit. He had
excelled academically rising to be an accomplished lawyer and jury with a rare wit. He was a
stickler for excellence and maintained a great sense of humor and an immense passion for God.
A couple of months ago Eric was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer of the liver. He had to get
immediate surgery from India to expunge a tumor. With a sense of urgency he travelled for this
medical procedure and as usual he joked about it though his family and friends were deeply
concerned. Sadly, Eric succumbed to the complications of the surgery. He slipped into glory after
two weeks of fighting for his life.
News of the demise of this jolly and humorous friend hit me like a thunderbolt and questions began
to race through my mind. Why would a man who loved God so much have to die at a prime age?
Why now, when he was impacting so many lives? He was a children’s rights lawyer who
relentlessly fought for the wellbeing of many street children as a magistrate in the juvenile court. He
should have stayed longer! God should have sorted out the cancer! I argued with myself.
As the reality sank I began to wonder at the mysteries of God. Pondering over the very essence of
God’s fairness and the ambiguity of life. I was then drawn to Deuteronomy 29:29 “The secret things
belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that
we may follow all the words of this law.”
I learnt one thing, that even when the mysteries of life confound us, we need to entrust ourselves to
the all knowing, all-powerful God.
Lord teach me to live with a sense of consciousness and urgency.
May I always entrust my life in the power of your hands.
Even when I don’t seem to understand, I will choose to
Wholeheartedly surrender myself in your everlasting arms.

The end of our understanding is the beginning of God’s wisdom.