Esther Arunga

AN OPEN LETTER TO ESTHER ARUNGA.

While facing the harsh realities of life i have come across you story or your predicament. In fact i do not know how to describe your situation. But at least i know you muster what i am trying to put across. And its sad that part of your intentions are aimed at suing your parents. Rarely do i pause to write about matters that involve individual conscience but will do so for the matter at hand requires all people of good will to air their ideas. As i write, i am not a perfect person. I have my own shortcomings. Perhaps if put on a measure my own misdeeds, they would weigh more than what people perceive about you. But nowhere would one read that i have sued a parent or even a relative.

I know you are a member of the finger of God for some reason. Or at least i think. Just as the prophets of the 8th century B.C left their villages and carried their 'Thus saith the lord' beyond the boundaries of their home towns, and just as apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Grecu-Roman world, so do i believe are your intentions in leaving behind your parents and friends. But like Paul I also have a duty to respond to the Macedonian call of aid for i realize more than ever, that you are on the road to self destruction. I would not go that road, which is leading pundits to say that insanity could have taken the better of you. I am no doctor and neither am i a lawyer. But i have read a little and learnt that the legal distinction between sanity and insanity lies in the concept of free will. You are a lawyer Esther and thus appreciates the fact that insanity is a legal concept and has never been a medical or psychiatric term.

I do not know what interests you at the Finger of God church. After all though, it is a church. You know there was a time when the church was very powerful. In that time, early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed . I refuse to hold the opinion that you are suffering as a result of jealously guarding the doctrines of God. More over, you are subverting the fifth commandment which talks about honoring one's mother and father. The early church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and and principles of popular opinion, it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. I do not know your role in the church and what you intend to transfer to the thousands of young and the not so young who look up to you as a role model and who despite the role you are playing in the 'Finger of God act', are willing to forgive you. But now you are confusing them. You are suing your own parents.

You are saying people are crucifying you for being your own person. I support you on this and say yes you can be an extremist in life. Jesus too was an extremist of love. 'Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you'. Martin Luther too was an extremist. 'Here i stand, i cannot do otherwise so help me God'. The question therefore Esther, what kind of an extremist are you?

Before you consider putting your parents before the jury, perhaps you need to look at so many children who suffer, who do not have any of the parents or who have one parent and their life is marked with struggles, trying to make ends meet and despite their struggles, they love their parents with undying love. Look at the young Wekesa Edwin Magema, the young man from Wei Wei high school who now has the attention of the country for his good performance in the 2009 Kcse. His parents did not live to see his exploits and i know deep in him, he would have wished that they witness the fete. But here you are; Educated in Australia and now you want to show your mother and father that you know a lot, at least more than they do. Look at Barrack Obama. Read his stories. Listen to his speeches and you will get to know the pain of having to live without a parent. 

Whether you succeed in your plot or not is not for me to predict. I am no judge neither am i a jury. Moreover, i am not your conscience. But your parents will always be glad that they gave you an education at least which nobody can take away from you. We all know that the world has so many lessons for us Esther. Some come dressed up as detours or roadblocks. And sometimes as full-blown crises. Those who survive from such are the the people who are open to the lessons

Even when i write this, i realize that after all you are a human being and nobody's journey is seamless or smooth. We all stumble. We all have setbacks. You see, i have come to the crossroads in my life. I always knew what the right path was. Without exception, i knew but i never took it. You know why, it was too damn hard. And i can see you are now at the same stage, a moment where you face your crossroad. But you are so lucky you have so many people who can guide you to the right path. You have a whole country concerned about your welfare. Every person is hopeful that you will listen to voice of life, for it is saying that time to change course has come.

Difficulties will follow you if you do not pay attention to life's whisper, because life always whispers to you first. And if you ignore the whisper, sooner or later you'll get a scream. Whatever you resist persists. Whatever has happened to you in your past has no power over this present moment, because life is now.

I hope this letter finds you strong in your faith. I hope the dark clouds in your life will soon pass away and the deep fog that is pushing you make stupid decisions will be lifted and in some not so distant tomorrow, your radiant smile will shine over us all, but above all, to your mom and dad.