It’s has been three months since I last wrote to You. I didn’t finish writing my 21 letters of gratitude to You. Today my heart is full. So full of love and gratitude towards You. A lot has happened between January and April. I want tp just say thank you. Thank you for everything. For all the obstacles and the victories. ALL I want to say is thank you Lord.

I want to appreciate You Lord for this season of construction. You have been so gracious to me and You have opened doors for me that I never thought would be open by now. A few days ago, I was so stressed and found myself in tears quite a couple of times until a certain man You sent to minister the word(Apostle Rio Mapanzure) said to me “Many desire and pray to have at least half of what God has helped you to achieve. You have much to say of the goodness of God in your life.”

This message changed my way of thinking. It came as a wake up call. I stopped complaining and started naming my blessings one by one. Oh Jehovah-Jireh, You have been the provider over my life. You have shown me how great and faithful You are. Your plans over our life are amazing and great.

I found myself particularly thanking You for the life of Tinashe Makozho. Oh God, what a blessing he is in my life. You gave me a brother and a friend in one. Today I thank You for the heavenly riches You have bestowed upon His life. I look forward to the day he becomes a “mbinga.” I am so full of thanks for this soul. Bless him oh Lord and enlarge his territory. I continue to pray for him and for Your covering on his life.

The future excites me Lord. The dreams and prayers You are answering fascinate me. The divine health and healings hmmmmm God I am amazed,. The favor is immeasurable. I remain thankful to You. Your works are marvelous in my sight. Your protection Lord over my life amazes me. You reveal the hidden mysteries. I appreciate You highly for wisdom! That’s an attribute I will always pray for and may You add more of it in my life.

I don’t have much to write but my heart is extremely full. For today, let me stop here. God’s daughter is grateful. She is unapologetically Christian. I love You Lord

Your daughter in the Kingdom

Emma Rutendo Makozho

Dear God

This is letter 7 of 21 and today I want to appreciate you for a distinct couple in my life who left a mark that no man will ever be able to erase. I want to thank You for the great headmaster Mr Ndhlebe and his wife.

My journey at St Paul’s Mkoba Primary was an amazing one. I had a great man in my life to call headmaster. Mr Ndhlebe is a man with great strength and amazing leadership principles. He was an indirect mentor to me and boosted my confidence by 200%.

His dear wife Mrs Ndhlebe was definitely one of my favourite teachers in the whole school. She loved me and favoured me without any reservations. She believed in me and was a source of motivation and encouragement. I just realized she has a daughter by the name Emma😊 which may also have been a contribution to the immense favour I received from her. It was so great that my peers were even jealous of me. Though she is now late, she will always have a special place in my heart and may her dear soul rest in eternal peace.

Mr Ndhlebe called me his Head girl, his all rounder and the best student in the grade 7 class of 2008. He made St Paul’s a home for me. He loved me so much and I believe he still does. Even though I am older, I always think back about the steps I have taken and I am certain that he made great impact in my life and those of many.

Besides his work duties, this great man cared so much about the welfare of his subordinates. He sacrificed his time off working hours to support my family during tough times. He wanted the best for everyone and I pray to You oh God that You may grant him his heart desires. I always dreamt of a graduation party with him as the guest speaker but unfortunately my first degree graduation went without a party and I solemnly hope to make this dream a reality in years to come after attaining a second accolade.

Mr and Mrs Ndhlebe moulded my character and my principles. They assured me that there is nothing I could not do if I set my eyes on it. They trusted me with leadership positions through out my primary school. I remember being the Senior prefect of the school, the girl guides leader, the best public speaker in the school, the quiz team captain, a recipient of the headmaster’s award and above everything else a highly favoured student.

I give this man his bouquet of flowers whilst he is still alive. I want him to know that he is of great importance in my life and I will always cherish his impact.

Dear God may You always bless him. May he never lack anything good in his life and may he always have peace that surpasses any form of understanding. Bless my readers as well and teach them to appreciate the people around them. May they always be blessed too.

Your firm believer

Emma Rutendo Makozho

Dear God

I would like to start off my apologizing for not being able to write to you over the past three days. I have since returned to work and I have had an extremely busy schedule settling in. I haven’t been too busy for You but my brain has been extremely saturated.

On Day 5 of 21 I want to thank you for the gift called my dad. He is mostly known as baba Nyasha or Bhudhi Mufaro. He has also had the privilege of being called Sekuru vaAnashe. To me he has been a dad and a friend. He is probably one man who has tolerated all my nonsense and tantrums from the time I was young.

God Your word in Ephesians 6 teaches children to honour their father and mother so that their days may be long. Today I want to thank You because I know whereever I go I have my dad’s blessings. He may be a man of few words and one who can be misinterpreted by many but I want to thank You God because I have managed to see his vision and have partaken of the wisdom You gave to him.

Daddy has sat me down a couple of times. Some of the conversations were rather uncomfortable 🤣🤣🤣🤣 because he would be correcting me on my silliness.

My dad is so full of peace. He is a man of stature and many cultural principles. He is a man who has given me a sense of identity and has loved me from day one. Some people found it very weird because I always used to cry saying “daddy” which is against the popular norm of “mama”. My dad Hopeful Mufaro Makozho is not a gift I will ever take for granted in my life. He has been there for me through the happy and sad times. Thank you God because he has never ever raised his hand to discipline but he has always discussed his thoughts.

I want to apologize to my dad for once believing that he could never be broke. I never used to understand when he said he didn’t have money 🤣 but God this man has had a lot of responsibilities. I don’t have many but I now solemnly believe that Mari inopera.

Last but not least, Dear God. I want to thank you for giving my dad wisdom in choosing a wife called my mum😊. He chose well and he had lived well . May You help me choose the best son in law for him as well

I love you God and I have every reason to be grateful.

Your firm believer

Emma Rutendo Makozho

Dear God

Today is day 4 of 21 and I am in a jovial mood and very high spirit. I want to appreciate You for a peculiar creation and rare human being You placed in my life. I know the world is reading this and they will laugh along with You. I want to confess today that this special blessing is the reason for my 2021 blog titled, “My ideal husband.” I want to confess the reason why I have always had a “thing” for guys who are into computer science, IT, Telecommunications, Data Science, Computer engineering and any other related field that involves working behind a computer . And Dear God I remind you to please answer this prayer!

This not so normal crush started in the year 2009. Having grown up a Ghetto girl in the dusty streets of Mkoba 11, I completed my primary school at St Paul’s Mkoba Primary. The next point of call was St Patricks High school which is a rural mission school in the Midlands Province of Zimbabwe. But You God had another plan and brought in a special blessing in my life who took me from the dusty streets of Mkoba straight into Johannesburg South Africa. I had always admired my aunt and the way she carried herself when she came home so you can imagine the excitement I had. This was a life changing door that brought exposure, growth and enlightenment into my life.

God today I want to appreciate you for my tete, my aunt Rose. She is the reason why I need a husband who is into IT. She is hands on when it comes to her work and her industry and she has managed to make a name for herself. I will not be mentioning her full name in this public letter because I know your sons and daughters will start googling her and bothering her in her inbox hahahaha. Any of them who want to see her have chat with her really need to come through me. She has the character of an eagle(always seeing what is ahead), she has a spirit of discernment and she has a heart of gold.

She has taught me to be a highly organized young lady. She has taught me the value of education and has highly contributed towards my well being, she has taught me financial wisdom principles and she has contributed highly to my character. She has done all this by leading by example. She is a holder of many masters degrees and a recipient of many accolades. I want to thank You Lord for a selfless woman who has uplifted the lives of many in our family.

Many are times that she disciplined me and sometimes I never got to understand. I never understood why she protected me so much from the world, I didn’t understand why she used to shout and discipline us the way she did. But dear God I am grateful for the way everything turned out and how my character developed as a result of all this.

My aunt Rose is an alpha woman and a goal getter. She is a pillar of strength and places high regard on humanity. She has wisdom behind human comprehension and she works extra hard. I have learned to give flowers to all the people I value while they still live. So dear God, on his day I highly appreciate my aunt.

So dear God, please speak to my future husband. Tell him that I am looking forward to him meeting my tete, I am sure my tete is looking forward to seeing him too. He better be in the IT industry because I know my tete can guide him well, ahahahahaha!

I promised tete a tanzanite jewelry set when I was still in High School. Help me look to make this promise a reality and give back to the hands that raised me. I always laugh and say I can never pay her back for everything that she has done for me and I pray Lord that you may continue to increase her in years, in wisdom, spiritually, financially and emotionally. Today I salute this woman who became an aunt, a mom and a dad at the same time. Dear God, may her prayers over my life come to pass.

PS: My aunt is the reason I speak such good and fluent English!!!!!! Allow me to show it off even if people call me names!

I decree blessings over each and every person that has read this letter. Bless them my God. Increase them in all facets of their lives and may they learn the importance of gratifying You and their loved ones.

Your firm believer

Emma Rutendo Makozho

Dear God

It’s the 3rd of January 2022 and it is day 3 of my letters of appreciation to You. Today I write with a lot of emotions as You have allowed my mother Charity Makozho to celebrate her 58th birthday. I don’t know how much I can thank you for such a beautiful and powerful gift in my life. Today I appreciate the woman who taught me the importance of gratitude. The woman that gratified You by naming me “Rutendo.”

My mum Charity has been my biggest source of inspiration and motivation. She has been the pillar that supports me through all the obstacles I have faced in life. I wonder what would have become of me had You taken this blooming flower of mine those winter days of 2009. She is a fighter and a source of light for many. She is one of the best teachers I have ever known- my personal teacher and perfect disciplinarian. She has a gift of bringing out the best potential of the kids in her classroom and from her sphere of influence. Mhamha as I call her is extremely patient and so full of love. Her presence can easily be felt in a room full of many people because of her colgate smile.

Oh God, thank you for this amazing grandmother I have in a mother. Today we may be celebrating her 58th birthday but I am personally celebrating 13years of Your grace, mercy and love. On this day Lord I ask that You grant my mother her biggest wish. She wrote a very emotionfull(I know there isn’t such a word) message to me this morning stating that she is so grateful to You for allowing her to see her children grow. This has been her number one prayer since You spared her.

Many are times that I talk about Your goodness upon mhamha’s life and I find myself in tears. She is deserving of everything good that comes to her. This gem of a mother is a unifier that keeps the family together like glue and is so full of peace. She is an amazing host that loves having people around her. She always tries by all means possible to make everyone around her happy.

I am especially grateful for her prayers that are hanging over my life. She declared a special blessing over my life in 2020 in a conversation I had with her. She may not have took notice of it but Oh God I have learnt to discern blessings when they are coming my way. It’s unfortrunate that I can’t publish it here on an open letter but I will scribble it elsewhere for you to see.

I wrote a letter to mhamha in May of 2021 noting that I could smell Canaan, a land full of milk and honey. But unlike Moses, I don’t only want you to see the land, but like Joshua and the Israelites, we are going to enter the land together hand-in-hand as the bride and the father walk together down the aisle. I write this letter to You God thanking you because I believe that the time is near and the time is now. You clearly spoke to me and told me that in this Year 2022, You will ESTABLISH me. Though I may move with many other declarations from my spiritual parents, I thank You Lord for You have allowed me to hear straight from YOU.

Allow me Lord to always publicly declare my love for my mum. I love you mhamha. I love you with all of my heart. If I rarely say those words, pardon me for being a coward.No matter how much I say them, however, they can never quantify how much I have in my heart for you. Words can truly express my love and gratitude. But with this little, just know, I’ll forever love you.

Thank you Lord for another opportunity to write. I pray Lord that You may bless each and every person that has spared their time to read through this letter. May You help them appreciate You and their loved ones. May You grant them their heart desires and may You meet each and every one of them at their very point of need.

Your firm believer

Emma Rutendo Makozho

Dear God

Today it is day 2 of 21days of gratitude and thanksgiving.

 I just want to thank you for all you have done for me and everything you have taught me since I was a little girl. I believe that every person I crossed paths with was from you Lord and they have all nurtured me in one way or another. You love me beyond human comprehension.  You have made it known to me that I am special and irreplaceable to You. You were there for me in a time when no one else was. Even though I may be suffering through many things in life, I understand that you put them there so I have the opportunity to grow. Whenever I ask for help, you give it to me. You put angels in my path when I need them the most. You open doors that no man can shut; Your light and presence go before me, and there are not any words to describe the gratitude I feel for that.

On this day I want to thank you for allowing me to grow up to be a lady of good character. Though I am not perfect and have many weaknesses,You continue to work on me  and through me to develop me in all facets of life. I want to appreciate you God for everyone that has raised me to day. My mum and dad, my tete, my maiguru, my grandmother, my sister and my spiritual parents. I have no doubt that You brought the best agents into my life to nurture me and to teach me life and its complexities.

 “Character can be defined as a collection of personality traits within our behavior that shows who we are.” This is seen in our integrity, attitudes, moral fibre, disposition, and how we treat those around us. Although this is true, character has to go much deeper than that. Character and integrity go hand and hand. One cannot be a person of character without integrity which can simply be defined as doing the right thing even when nobody is watching. This is a very strong quality that can take a person far in life.

I understand Lord that character is influenced by personal choices. Moreover, You build our character in the circumstances of our lives. You do this as we experience situations in which we are tempted to do the exact opposite of what character looks like. Character development has always involved choices.

After all has been said and done, I want to thank you Lord for guiding me to make the right choices. When I make the right choices my character grows and I become more like Christ.

I ask you Lord to speak to each and every individual that will come across this letter and continue to work through them as we all develop to be people of character.

I believe that the basis of Christian character is found in Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control.” If we are to develop a Christ-like character, we will need these qualities in our lives. Whenever we choose to respond to a situation in God’s way instead of following our natural direction, we develop character. Life brings all kinds of opportunities: conflict, disappointment, challenges, delays, and so on. As we are faced with life’s challenges on a daily, help us Lord todecide how to act as our actions become our habits and our habits become our character.

Thank you for your amazing power and work in our lives, thank you for your goodness and for your blessings over us. Forgive us for when we don’t thank you enough, for who You are, for all that You do, for all that You have given. Help us to set our eyes and our hearts on You afresh. Renew our spirits;  fill us with your peace and joy. I pray Lord that the power of the Holy Spirit may continue its work within us to develop our character. We love you and we need you, this day and every day. We give you praise and thanks, for You alone are worthy!

Ps: I have read the book by John Yates titled “Raising kids with character that lasts.” I pray Lord that you equip me to raise kids of character, both physiscally and spiritually as I work in Your Kingdom.

Your firm believer

Emma Makozho

It is the first of January 2022 and I stand in awe of the goodness of the Lord for allowing me to see this day. The year 2021 was a difficult one for me to the extent that I found it extremely difficult to write. I felt unmotivated to write; my spirit was mostly downtrodden and most nights were spent in fear and tears. It came with a lot of persecution, a lot of false accusations, confusion, loss of friendships and certainly some self doubt. The pandemic, illnesses, deaths and losses were not enough to hide God’s love. Although we, lowly humans felt crushed, God spoke to us and calmed us. I never lost my faith in Him, He remained a source of guidance in my life and thus I have decided to commence the year 2022 with 21 days of letters to God.

Dear God…..

I know You are probably wondering why I am writing a letter to You. As if my daily prayers, my new year’s resolutions, my God-goals and my walking conversations with You are not enough that I have to put another wish down on paper. In my daily prayers, I chant, I sing to You and express my hopes which I know only you can fulfil. But today I am writing this letter to express my gratitude Lord.  This letter and more to come will be evidence to my children and future generations to come so that they will not question my love and thankfulness to You. I may not tell You enough but I am so grateful for everything You have blessed me with.

I have a lot to be grateful for and I will list a few:

Thank you for all the blessings You bestow on me; my family, my pastors, my friends(both old and new), my colleagues and each and every person that is taking time to read this blog article. Thank you for the love they have shown me and the support they have given me over the years (in the upcoming days I will name some). During difficult times, I never demand that they fix my problems. I simply appreciate that they are with me because their presence and their reads can help ease the pain simply by knowing that they are there. Thank You for everyone around me who makes life worth living.

You gave me a peculiar gift of gab. You have always shown me how this ability to speak well can open doors for me in different facets of my life. I am very grateful for it Lord and finally in 2021 you allowed me to use the gift to speak in the house of God. I thank you for the wisdom that embodies my soul.  I am grateful for the spirit of discernment and knowing what to say at the right time.

You have always provided me with peace that surpasses any form of understanding. When everything around me turns negative, I gain strength in thinking about You and speaking to You. I am grateful Lord for keeping me positive and hopeful even in the toughest of times.

Thank you for hearing my prayers, even those that are said in silence. You have heard things that I sometimes just whispered in my mind thinking that nobody has heard me. You have always been there for me when I needed you. I might be quite irregular with my prayers, but every time I look for You, You ensure to make that Your presence is felt.

Thank You for challenging me. When the going gets tough, You never allow me to give up. Thank You Lord for choosing me and never giving up on me, no matter the awful choices I have made. Most of all thank You for loving me every single day, Your love means more than words could ever express, so thank you for everything because I see and get it. I know what You have done and appreciate all Your efforts. I believe, I love, I pray, I respect, I honour and I strive to live a Christ-like life. I love you Lord and your mercy never fails me!

Your daughter and firm believer

Emma Makozho

Dear mhamha

My mind has been battling a lot over the past one month as I have been trying to write this particular letter to you. I honestly thought it would be ready on the first of May and I was considering sharing it just before mother’s day; but I failed to do that. It was not because I didn’t have time to write, neither was it because I didn’t know what to write but it was mainly because I didn’t know where to start because there is just a lot to write about you darling and everything about you makes me very emotional.

I am not one person that will only bring you a bouquet of flowers on the day you die, I am a daughter that decides to bring you bouquets of flowers every single day and tell you how much of an amazing mother you have been to me. No words are ever enough to describe just how important you are to me and what a powerful influence you continue to be. You deserve all the praises you get from me mama because my heart is so full of love and gratitude for all that you have taught me since I was a little girl.

Twelve years ago around this same time(May-June), we almost lost you mhamha. It wasn’t an easy time for me, for my siblings and for the family at large. That was one time I got to believe in the miraculous works of the Almighty. When all odds seemed to point in the negative and death was at the doorstep, Jesus Christ came in and showed forth His resurrection power. God gave you another chance to live, He blessed us in ways I can’t even fathom. Life without you would have been a dark pit. I can’t begin to explain to God how grateful I am to Him for allowing us to have through all these miracle years. God I THANK YOU! THANK YOU for the gift of my mother’s life.

You are not a financially rich mum, I have seen you struggling and toiling. I continue to see that but I am extremely satisfied to call you my mother. You are the best mother I could have ever get because your heart is rich of love, resilience and generosity. You have not only been an amazing mother to us, you have been a mother to many; from your grade one classroom to the circles of life around you. You have shown me what it means to be a strong woman. You were the first person to identify my gift of gab and you taught me public speaking from a very tender age. From you I have learned to be generous, caring, compassionate, strong, sweet and empathetic. You have taught me the importance of helping others, and how to be the person someone can turn to when they need help. You have taught me to smile. Oh my word! You have the biggest “colgate” smile that is so full of warmth, love and genuineness. Even through the deepest of pains you have taught me to face them with a smile on my face. Your unconditional love and undying support has gotten me through my own struggles; seeing how you handle your own struggles has taught me how to be strong through mine.

You fought for me mhamha, you cried for me,you have heart to heart conversations with me,you relentlessly love me and above everything else you believed in me and this you continue to do with a lot of pride in your eyes. I know I will not be around much anymore but I know that even when I am out on my own, you will always be a source of strength and motivation in my life. Thank you for all the blessings and good words you have spoken over my life. As I get older and meet more people who come from different family types, I grow to appreciate you even more. I am fortunate enough to have a mom who I have always been close to. I am fortunate enough to have a mom who made sure to instill values and morals in me, so I would become a genuine woman.

We may not always see eye to eye and have our “little disputes.” I know that some days you may feel unneeded or unwanted, but just know that your hard work and your dedication to the family does not go unnoticed. I think about how different things would be if you weren’t the forgiving, gracious, and hard-working mother that you are . I can safely say that you are the strongest woman I have ever met and you are a role model to me mhamha. You have sacrificed your life and your happiness to make sure the lives of your children were better. You are so full of the most pure form of love towards your children and it is the biggest blessing to be loved by you. 

I have been praying mhamha. I remember vividly what I asked from God, “Mwari, ipai mai vangu mazuva akawanda pano pasi vagoona kubudirira kwangu. Vagonesei kuti vakunamatei nekusingaperi. Minamato yavo iri pamusoro pehupenyu hwedu Mwari ndinokumbira muinzwe tigosimuka nerimwe zuva tichipupura.”

We are almost there shamwari(friend). I can smell Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey. But unlike Moses, I don’t only want you to see the land, but like Joshua and the Israelites, we are going to enter the land together hand-in-hand as the bride and the father walk together down the aisle.

I hope you enjoyed reading this letter my love. I love you more than I can show you. I may have outgrown your lap, but I won’t ever be able to outgrow your heart. There is a whole lot to write about you and I believe one day God will allow us to publish a book on your life and life experiences. I can’t wait to see what memories we will continue to make. I love you!

Always and forever your baby

Rutendo

Dear mums! Its your day!

Imagine a little baby only 9 months old and in the mother’s womb. He gets so worried as he is about to be delivered into mother earth and begins to address his worries unto the Lord….

1. Lord, how am I going to live on earth, being so small and helpless?
2. How am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don’t know the language?
3. What am I going to do when I want to talk to you?
4. Who will protect me? and I will always be sad Lord because I won’t be able to see you…

The Lord replies the child, ” Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you. She will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak. She will talk to you about Me and will teach you the way to come back to Me even though I will always be next to you.

At that moment there was much peace in heaven, but voices from earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, “GOD, if i am to leave now, please tell me my angel’s name?” With so much pride, the Lord replies….. You will simply call her mother..

No language can express, the power, heroism and majesty of a mother’s love. Mothers are simply a “complete package.” On mothers day we celebrate the extra-ordinary importance of mothers in our lives. The bond of love and dedication a mother shares with her children and family is without bound conditions. Whether adoptive mom, grandmother, partner or aunt, the women who raise us show us that no hurdle is too high and no dream is beyond our reach. Personal note( Am especially grateful to my mum, aunt, grandmother and pastors). They are the source of inspiration and motivation upon our lives and the people who contribute to our high moral values we possess today. That is the reason we express our gratitude for the women who care for us and set us on a path to a limitless future.

Mothers are the rocks of our families and a foundation in our communities. In gratitude for their generous love, patient counsel and lifelong support, let us pay respect to the women who carry out the hard work of motherhood with skill and grace and let us remember those mothers who though no longer with us, inspire us still.

As I have been growing up, I have been influenced by a number of mothers. From my very own biological mother, my school teachers, my aunts as well as mothers in the house of the Lord. They may not have influenced me directly , but indirectly. I have adored the way they talk, dress, carry themselves and often, the way they demand respect with their presence. Even though i haven’t appreciated each one of them personally, I send my gratitude to all of them.

Many look at me and whisper “like mother, like daughter” and some say “Gosh, have you seen how much she resembles her aunt”. I receive all these complements with blissfulness knowing fully well am growing up to be an influence to my generation……

I can write a lot about mothers, I can never get tired of that and as a great mum to be, I honestly can’t wait to receive such a writing from my beloved children(biological, family and children in the Lord).I have to appreciate them too because they made me realize my purpose as a writer.

HAPPY MOTHERS’ DAY TO ALL THE MOTHERS OUT THERE, MAY GOD TRULY BLESS YOU ALL!

I love you all lots lots

Rue