People Need the Lord

Before enrolling at JKUAT in May 2007 to pursue a degree in electronic & computer engineering, I looked for a church in Nairobi where I could be playing the piano. Having been brought up a Roman Catholic, I went to two Catholic churches but they didn't click with me.

Then I wandered into All Saints' Cathedral, an Anglican church. And wow! The warm reception I received in the cathedral made me love the church. I especially came to love being part of the cathedral's 9:30 a.m. English service choir, something I mentioned in my applications to four top American colleges I applied for admission in 2007.

For many days, I went to the cathedral for choir practice and church services with high hopes that I would eventually fly to America for my undergraduate studies. Imagining the American colleges to be of the same high standards as All Saints' Cathedral, I would gaze at the majestically vaulted main sanctuary of the cathedral and visualize myself doing the same in America.

However, it was not only my desire to study in America that glued me to the cathedral. I also enjoyed the spiritually enriching hymns we sang in the choir and the buddy-buddy monthly fellowships we had.

Among the spiritually enriching hymns we sang were "Have You Been to Jesus for the Cleansing Power?", "Jesus Stand Among Us", "Lead Us Heavenly Father Lead Us", "Father Hear the Prayers We Offer", "Be Still and Know that I am Lord", and my all-time favourite, "People Need the Lord", whose first verse goes as follows:

Everyday they pass me by,
I can see it in their eyes,
Empty people filled with care,
Headed who knows where?

On they go through private pain,
Living fear to fear,
Laughter hides their silent cries,
Only Jesus hears,
People need the Lord,
...
At the end of broken dreams,
He's the open door,
...
When will we realize,
People need the Lord?

Those lyrics touched me so much that I sang them to my JKUAT roommate. Little did I know that I was the one who needed to believe that people need the Lord at the end of broken dreams after the four top American colleges I applied for admission in 2007 rejected me.

Perhaps stressed by the rejections, I started skipping classes at JKUAT several weeks after reporting to the university in May 2008 for my second year. What's worse, I stopped going to All Saints' Cathedral.

My change in behavior led JKUAT authorities to forcefully admit me to hospital, an experience that deflated me. I missed the days when I had big dreams of flying to America.

Mum coaxed me into continuing to attend church at All Saints' Cathedral and gave me bus fare to Nairobi. But you know what? Instead of entering the cathedral, I would sometimes lie down in a recreational ground called Uhuru Park where I was incarcerated for almost an hour on one Sunday for urinating on a fence.

With time, I regained my mojo as I discovered interesting things to do, especially blogging. The Lord has also played His part. Besides meeting my needs, He has guided me along the right paths. People do really need Him at the end of broken dreams. He's the open door.