One of my blogs last year, entitled “Life is Hard”, featured a very dear son of mine, Gamu. At that time his grandmother (Gogo) who raised him had just passed away. I wanted to use the hardships he faced being born with AIDs, having both his parents die in his early years of AIDs, constant educational, emotional and physical challenges to inspire us to rise up and continue on our journey, even against seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
Never did it cross my mind that one year later I would be posting a blog in memory of Gamucharai. This precious young man passed away on April 29th at the age of 22. Throughout the 10 years I knew Gamu, I had attempted to provide him with spiritual and practical help when living in Harare, Zimbabwe and also after moving to Cape Town. But what Gamu provided me far outweighs what I did for him.
Here’s a glimpse into my heart back in 2011 when I was visiting Harare. “The Sunday before I left, I attended the service at my old church. As I sat in my seat waiting for the service to begin, I spotted Gamu standing in the aisle ushering people to their seats. This brought tears to my eyes. They were the tears of a woman that, for six years of not knowing what she was meant to do or be in this special young man’s life, had been transformed into a mother. I was now witnessing one of my sons raised from the ash heap, having overcome through his courage, persistence and choices, sitting as a prince on God’s throne of honour. He was making this mother and his heavenly Father very proud. Indeed, the Father had opened my eyes to yet another one of His hidden treasures. I realized my own willingness and desire to dig deeper had led me to discover this precious treasure, in the form of a little boy, now transformed into a young man that was digging for his own treasures.”
Gamu was not a son of my womb, but a son of my heart. Because I didn’t have the advantage of raising him, I had to find a love that went beyond a biological mother’s natural instinct. It would be a matter of digging deep into my own heart to discover the love that had been shed abroad in my heart and spontaneously give it away. Romans 5:5 says, “And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.” Interesting how that verse follows Paul referring to glorying in our sufferings, because our sufferings produce in us perseverance, character, and hope. Hope that comes through suffering will not disappoint.
My hopes for Gamu were that he would be healed of AIDs; he would be loved unconditionally in a family environment, and he would live out the dreams God had for him. Any mother wants her children to live their lives to the fullest and outlive them. It seems what I hoped for him on earth would only be fully realized in heaven. He is healed of AIDs; he is loved unconditionally by the biggest family and by the best Father; and he lived out the dreams God had for him. The dreams God had were that whoever came in contact with this simple young man, and truly had their eyes opened to the Father’s heart for Gamu, would discover a love in them that only comes from the spontaneous nature of God’s love in us. God’s love for us suffers long; our love for others is to suffer long.
With God-incidence, I am posting this blog on Mother’s Day. It’s a day set-apart to remember and thank our Mother’s for the long-suffering love they have had for their children. In as much as I do that, I also want to thank the children for teaching us blood or heart mothers what it means to love. You have given us opportunities to discover more of the heart of God, than ever we would have without you.
I dedicate this blog to my son Gamucharai, who showed me that love suffers long…
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