When I was a little girl, I had these hand-me-down shoes that I loved. I wore them everywhere. Anywhere, really. I don't think I cared whether they were appropriate for where I was going. If those were the shoes I wanted to wear, then those were the shoes I was wearing. And when they became too small, I still didn't want to let them go. I would squeeze my feet into them and somehow convince myself that they still fit. I imagine an adult looking at me and thinking, Child, these shoes are clearly too small. Please take them off. But I loved them. And I think about those shoes sometimes when I hear us talk about things like seasons, letting go, releasing, creating room, moving on. Usually, when we talk about letting go, there is something wrong with the thing we're letting go of. It has become toxic. It doesn't serve us anymore. It is holding us back. We have outgrown it. We need to make room for something better. And yes, sometimes that is exactly what letting go looks li...
You wake up and there’s no water. Electricity was rationed again last night. You’re juggling unpaid bills, a stagnant salary (if any), and the quiet hum of anxiety that never quite goes away. But still, you’re expected to say, “At least I’m alive. God is good.” In Kenya , we’re taught from a young age to be thankful for the bare minimum: the ability to breathe, the chance to wake up, a job that barely pays, or the fact that we’re not in a war zone. Gratitude, in its pure form, is beautiful. But over time, it can also be manipulated into something exhausting—something that keeps us compliant instead of empowered. When Gratitude Becomes a Muzzle Gratitude should lift us up. But in many Kenyan households , workplaces, churches , and schools , it's used to shut us down. We’re told not to complain because “others have it worse.” We’re shamed for being frustrated, told we’re ungrateful, or reminded that we should just be happy to be alive. This kind of gratitude becomes a way of num...