Luci Simiyu

While we tend to seek healing for our physical bodies, most of us are in need of healing for our spirits. Years of pain, anger, disappointment, betrayal, loss, anguish, sorrow, fear, anxiety, abandonment, rejection, etc. have left deep wounds in our spirits. Try as we may to cover up with great makeup to have the perfect look, great careers, ‘happy’ family lives, controlled lives, aggressive and ‘bullyish’ attitudes, alcohol, drugs, sex, food, a rigorous ex ercise regime, many or no friends, numerous academic qualifications, etc. the wounds don’t go away. We lie to ourselves daily that we are okay, that we are just fine; yet deep in our hearts and in our spirits, we are hurting deeply. We are afraid to look at the wounds. We are afraid to confront what gnaws at us from within. We are afraid to know the truth about that gnawing and as a result, while we look, seem and behave okay, we really are breaking and crushing on the inside. The healing of our spirits propels us on t...

When our hearts are scarred Tears run freely down our cheeks We weep in the dead of the night Hoping no one will hear the silent sobbing. When our hearts are scarred All we see is an endless dark tunnel Smiles fade in the darkness of our pain All we hear is the dark sound of endless pain. When our hearts are scarred Our thoughts are as a whirlwind As we ask ourselves, why, oh why? Why does it seem like the pain we feel is ravaging the very core of who we are? When our hearts are scarred We know not what to do We know not what to say All we know is that the pain and the tears are there. When our hearts are scarred We curl up in our inner selves Hiding our hearts from further hurt As we seek to mend our broken hearts. When our hearts are scarred Is it possible to cry out, "Abba Father, help me!" Is it possible to hear the still small voice? Is it possible to cast our eyes onto Him? When our hearts are scarred When we weep our eyes dr...

Seated in a salon and there’s a little girl (looks 7) whose hair is being straightened. The woman handling the blow-drier has no “child-centered hair straightening skills”. She is rough and is unconcerned as the little girl’s neck is bent over, sideways, following the direction of her aggressive combing. The little girl is either brave or got a warning from the nanny who accompanied her about crying. As I wrote this I noticed the salon owner is blow-drying the little girl’s o lder sis (about 8 or 9) and there’s such a great difference. I think she should blow-dry all the little girls’ hair in her salon. She’s quite gentle. Sometimes I think it’s best to blow-dry one’s own child’s hair (that’s a mouthful) - she might kick and scream but there’s nothing as calming as mummy’s gentle hands on a child’s head. Plus mummy won’t pull and tug at the little one’s hair as if every strand of hair must be straightened. Who cares? They are children. Last time I was here I advised t...

God is love. Love God. Love your neighbor. Faith. Hope. Love. The greatest is love.

On this Father’s Day I celebrate and honor the men who have laid down their lives for others not biologically their own, raising them as their own sons and daughters. It takes courage to do so in a world that is inward looking, a world that emphasizes “me and my own.” May God’s grace abound towards you - there’s a greater reward for you in the Father in Whom there’s no shadow of turning. "For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel." 1 Corinthians 4:15

My focus this morning was drawn to the words, “the ministry of reconciliation” in 2 Corinthians 5:18 during my Bible study.   Those words jumped at me and my mind went far back to my time in Nyeri when I had just graduated from university.  I had a little office (room) in a clinic run by a lovely God-fearing woman called Dorcas who was excited to have me work alongside her. However, this was more than pursuing a career path; it was ministry and God was keen on me partnering with Him to reach out to the youth in Nyeri. One day, a 17-year old girl who had just completed high school was brought to the clinic by her mother and Dorcas referred her to me. We had a hearty conversation before I told her, “By the way, I’m thinking of starting a youth group. Would you like to be part of it?” Truth be said, I had not thought about a youth group until we were midway in our conversation. I just sort of splattered those words. Immediately, her eyes lit up and she sat up straight in he...

Public schools have been grounded to a halt. The public health system is in shambles to say the least.  Every week unearths massive corruption scandals. News items are characterized by con-men and con-women taking advantage of the weak, the vulnerable in society.  The Church has not been left behind; we have scandals that shame the very principles that Christianity stands for. The gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen at an alarming rate. Tribalism continues to escalate, untamed, to say the least.  In the midst of all these happenings, the Church is silent. The silence so deafening that it perturbs me.  Perhaps I am missing something but as one who subscribes to the Christian faith I do expect the voice of the Church to be heard over the din of chaos that currently characterizes the state of the nation. Our beloved nation is reeling from one end of chaos to another and we as the Church continue to sit pretty. I have been waiting for the me...

1 John 4:18  " There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love." In recent days I have learned that  unbeknownst  to me, I have lived a life filled with fear: fear of the unknown, the fear to love, the fear to be the person God has called me to be, the fear to fall in love with myself and allow myself to exhale as a child of God; the fear to live in the freedom given to me in the Lord Jesus Christ. My heart has been riddled with fears within that have in turn influenced my decisions and life choices.  A wounded heart is a fearful heart.  For so long I have borne pain and anguish that catalyzed into fear. A fear so imprisoning that it killed the person that I truly am. Layers of protective cover and high walls shielded me, and especially my heart, from any impending danger, both real and perceived. What I thought were coping mechanisms for a broken and woun...

It's been quite a while since I blogged - perhaps 2 years. I am not too sure.  Today I felt the need to write something brief on Father's Day before the clock struck midnight.  I really missed my old man (fondly referred to as papa) today. When one has a good father, and then death snatches him away, there is always a gnawing emptiness in one's heart. There are so many things that have happened over the past three years since the passing on of my dad and sometimes I wish he was here to witness. However, I do realize that there are times and seasons for everything and that papa played his part while he lived here on earth.  On this Father's day, I want to celebrate papa's life, and to thank God for having given me the gift of a father. A father who loved us and made sacrifices so that we could have the best of everything. I want to thank God tonight for having given me a father who loved me so much that discipline was an expression of this love. I want t...

"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14) "Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity." (Joel 2:13) ----------------------------------------- In the past few days I have been having a sense of urgency to ask all Christians in this nation to rise up and pray! Things are not okay. Something is not right. This morning the words of Joel 2:13 came to mind and as the morning wore on I quickly forgot that I had promised myself to blog on what was in my heart. However, an email from one young man jolted me to the reality that perhaps I am not the only one walking around with a deep sense of anguish in my spirit.  I feel like standing on...

It was a simple prayer meeting. I opened my mouth to talk to God. What came out of my mouth shocked me. I was praying for the captors at the Westgate Mall. I asked God for mercy upon their lives. I asked God to forgive them. Before I knew it I was forgiving them. The more I said, "I forgive them," The more my heavy heart softened. I began to pray with urgency About the situation. That it had to come to an end. I was angry at the captors. I was angry that they cared less about life. I was pained at the fear on the children's faces. I was pained knowing there was rape going on. I was bitter at how they had casually ended lives. My heart was in conflict: Feelings within: fear, anger, rage, bitterness. Faith within: forgive, forgive, forgive. I could not even cry; I was torn between me and the words in my heart. Yet I knew I needed to do it. The more I let go of the unknown captors, The more my heart felt lighter, To pray without any hindrance. ...

" If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me." (John 15:19-21) " We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body." (2 Corinthians 4:8-11) "That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in ha...