Invisible Tears

Some life struggles can never be said out loud, in a world full of uncertainity where others are losing their lives due to COVID 19 pandemic its hard to complain when the world has made us literally count our blessings. They say growing up sucks it does and when you are faced with grown up challenges its hard to cry for help so you have invisible tears where you cry but put up a show because the story is not over yet, God has given you a new day, a new lease to face life again. Sadly being misunderstood and misheard means that no matter how much your intentions are pure its a hard for a heart that has closed to you to see you as more than a mistake or a failure. Its hard to fit into a model or script that is not part of your vision. Its hard to be part of a team who nomatter your sacrifices you feel like you do not belong. Life has taught me to listen and observe, listen to the unsaid words, to innuedos to things that are not verbally said out loud but you feel them but when the one person that is supposed to be your guide becomes the one who blows out your torch its hard. Having to recite the serenity prayer, merging the heart and mind is hard. It is in these times that I hold on to my faith, yes a faith like no other crazy faith waiting for the day of vindication. It is well with my soul a soul rooted in faith for alone I can never do this... Hear me lord

The Heart knows what it wants

Chapter 1 There you are said Travis as he entered Madeleine's office I have brought the cheese cake slice you were craving for he said handing it to her to the amazement of her co worker Valerie. Madeleine smiled softly as she greeted her best friend since childhood. they had lost contact for the greater part of their adult life but had recently connected when Madeleine had bumped into Travis 's sister Cathy at a beauty saloon. She had inquired about him and had heard that he was now married with twin daughters. Madeleine reminisced about how they had all grown up in the agriculture town of Chiredzi. Both of them had had great childhood and were family friends. hey earth to Maddy Travis interrupted her thoughts, sorry about that I was lost in my own thoughts .is your boss at it again?. Damn right she is she said with a slight frown to her face. Professer Udhoka was a handful but she was grateful to have a job. She then closed her laptop and looked at her friend fondly. Did you sneak away from work again she asked? He smiled sheepishly like a young lad and said remember I am on speed dial and she chuckled huh I should tell Jeremy to pay you. Jeremy was Madeleine 's boyfriend who was an Geological surveyor based in neighbouring Zambia.... *Travis* Travis was a heavy built man about 6.4 in height; dark and chubby man what in shona we can call "mujaindi" he was a very pleasant man who had a warm heart and seems to wear it on his sleeve. He was soft spoken and cared so much for those close to him. He came from a happy but broken home and his parents had decided to call it quits in his early childhood. He had finished his education and gotten a job at one of the popular food joints in the capital *Food Junkies*, married his college sweetheart four years earlier and together there were blessed with twin girls. He loved his wife desperately and was proud of the growth.and recognition she was getting in her field as a.social worker. The girl he had fallen in love with and the lady he married and the woman who was his wife were all different. He had learnt earlier in his marriage that to keep.the peace he had to keep quiet....it was evident that he lived with his wife but was married to his mother-in-law Margaret Thatcher as he and his best friend Maddy called her pachishona tinoti Mai vaitonga ivavo having raised Rachel his wife single handedly she felt that it was their marriage she being the adult in the trinity and didn't tolerate the biblical notion that Travis was musoro wemba and would constantly remind her daughter that wakadzidza mwanangu neziya rangu ita zvinotiitira tese or iye Travis anechii after all you earn more ndiwe soldier redu hameno taidi usipo or her usual blackmail threat of unashamedly opening her top to remind Rachel of the scars she got from thorough beating she had got from Riot police whilst selling her wares in town in an undesignated area in order to pay up Rachel 's fees decades earlier. Madeleine Life as we know it never seems to go in the direction we sail it and sadly that was the case with Madeleine. Maddy as she was affectionately know to family and friends was a young social worker in her early thirties who had used the top bottom approach in life.a top student who had always graduated top of her class since grade school and a recent Mistress of ... the new gender lens term for people with Masters degrees and are female.Mwana anga akadzidza hake uyu. God had been good to her and her family a daughter of a retired mining manager at the famous Nharire mine and a former banker with one of the big banks in the country she literally grew up with a gold not silver spoon in her mouth. An only daughter to the couple born after a set of twins she was the Apple of her family's eye the only issue she was now past her sell by date a Zimbabwean age where a girl should be married. ... Zimbabwe Like most African countries is deeply entrenched in culture and patriarchy is embedded in everything from the work world; home and even in religious circles. So when one ventures out of the norm society is quick to judge justify or jump into conclusion. There were certain taboos such that when Maddy became career oriented there were rumours circulating around the family circles about why she was not yet married....Munhu wesw aiva nezvekutaura veku church vechivanhu being Maddy she took no hid to such perceptions especially when she got a job at an international organization and this came with the pecks. She like Rachel; Travis' wife worked for nonprofits but she remained humble. A worship leader at one of the international churches JESUS TIMES she lead a busy life between work and church conferences she hardly had time on her hands thats why her relationship with Jeremy was ideal. Maddy sat in her office circling another day off as she did her count down to Jeremy's visit. The two had met through a mutual friend they had both since cut ties with and had been dating for almost twelve months which was almost a life time to them. A single father to a six year old Jeremy was outgoing and outspoken. they shared a love for Art and travel but it didn't end there. ..Suddenly her Skype bleeped to show that Jeremy was online and Her thoughts drifted off to .....

Is the market place a boys zone!

The saying that men are the biggest threat to women's empowerment is slowly becoming a cliché as since yester years women have been pulling each other down and setting unattainable standards for each other for men to adopt. If you dress too well you lack substance if you dress bad to their standards you lack class. Lola worked at Twat and Associates a reputable law firm in the drive through town of Marondera. Unlike most of her colleagues she was an introvert who enjoyed the quiet spaces and looked naive or ignorant. She was always dressed in her simple but elegant outfits but lacked the charisma to add the flare to it and a constant riddle by most of the women in her workplace. why don't you wear make up it will suit you, you should go out more often, that jacket is hideous, your legs a bad for heels even when she won the prize for the regional young lawyers award a colleague remarked why didn't you tell us you had been nominated, do you think its a reputable award? What was sad is that they were men at their firm whose comments were pleasant and professional save for the new intern Nicholas Raum who was known to be a Casanova in the small town. Like Lola statistics have shown that 70% of successful and non successful women have reached the top or bottom because of comments or unpleasant remarks that were said to them by a fellow woman from the family set up or work environment. In teenagers self esteem is crushed by other girls because of image issues. Women will despise your appearance or your achievements before they critic your substance. Hence why few women make it to the top in the market place the few that do are alienated and lack the sisterhood support system hence it remains a men's world

Never too young to learn!

1. "Sorry works when mistakes are made and not when trust is broken. So in life make mistakes but never break trust, because forgiving is easy but forgetting and trusting again is sometimes impossible" 2.Bitterness comes when our expectations are not met! *forgive* 3. At times life circumstances kill the innocence in even the most rational and sweetest of people! 4. Do not allow negative and toxic people to rent space in your heart,head and mind. Raise the rent for all illegal tenants in your life,Do not be swerved

Know your place

Don't try to fit in when God created you to stand out!

True Friendship

The older you get the less friends you have, not that they have changed, but your definition of a "True Friend " has changed.

The Wrong side of 25

Why is there so much pressure for the girl child to settle? Whoever put the "best before" tag on every baby girl upon birth must have been crazy. For everything happens in the fullness of time; GOD 's TIME. Whatever happened to the good old days,when guys were sincere and love was forever,when i luv u was decree and cheating was a taboo. Now the world is busy pushing 4 loveless,rushed marriages which are filled with lies,affairs,diseases and abuse. Where did the days wer marriage was sacred,when wife/ husband was all ecompassing. Now the gold rush is to avoid being sturck at the wrong side of 25

Right to information is weapon for women empowerment

March is predominantly a “women’s month” with events ranging from World Day of the Fight against Sexual Exploitation which falls on March 4, to the International Women’s Day on March 8. Sunday View with Chido Sibalo It is important for the world to see if Zimbabwe is not only a signatory to various protocols and declarations, but if it is also adhering to all of them, especially those pertaining to the right to information. Zimbabwe has also been a signatory to a number of instruments that encouraged gender equality in all institutions including the media. For starters; Zimbabwe, like all other African countries reached the end of the time line target for the Sadc Protocol on Gender and Development. This protocol was urging all media and decision making bodies in the region to achieve gender parity by 2015 and in line with the Millennium Development Goal 3 (MDG3), which encouraged the promotion of gender equality and women empowerment. The situation on the ground however shows that there are still wider gender inequalities with a few women accessing the right and relevant information and holding decision making positions in the media. While some might claim that issues of patriarchy, structures and attitudes of society are an old cliché and a tired jingle, it is clear that they still play a pivotal role and have an invisible hand in giving women second class citizenship when it comes to the right to give and receive information, access to resources and power. Generally when it comes to decision-making bodies, first preference is given to men and where women are given an opportunity to lead, it is not in a deliberate effort but just to satisfy an existing statutory instrument or policy. In instances where both sexes cry for freedom of expression, it is puzzling that some men and women in the same struggle actually suppress women and fail to make room for them in their programmes, activities, politics and media. Even though our very own media laws are neutral, they are not gender sensitive to the specific needs of women. Women face many constraints in their quest to access the right to information such as access to resources; this includes the media products too. Over the years it has become evident that it is men who occupy most decision-making posts; the media included. Women have limited access to the public sphere — sports/social clubs and pubs — where critical issues are discussed. It’s definitely still a man’s world and not usually a women-friendly zone. Where women fit they are either labelled deviant by society or termed “one of the boys”. Gender roles also keep women in the home, restricting their latitudinal movement. Is it a coincidence that news bulletin slots of 1pm, 6pm and 8pm happen during socially constricted lunch and supper times when the man is relaxed and ready for his meal and the women are in the kitchen, missing out on the global conversations. Not all is negative as government and other civil bodies have worked hard in making some notable differences in recent years. In the past Zimbabwean laws were discriminatory to the girl child. The Marriage Act for example sanctioned the girl to be ripe for marriage at 16 years and the boy at 18 years. However, under the new Constitution, Section 78; under marriage rights stipulates that every person who has attained 18 years has the right to have a family. Previously such early marriages used to block all access to further education and attainment of any skills in this never-ending cyber technological world where most worlds’ discourse is now available on the internet.

The best in me

You came into my life when all hope in love was lost. I had given up on ever being found by my rib but God had other plans. Like a fairy tale, you became my Prince in shining armour, rocked my world and brought rays of light in my life. Like a right shoe size fit, You filled those exert holes and gaps that were left behind by your predecessors. You changed the story of my life and although the script remained the same the cast had certainly changed for the better. My story was different, my story was better From being Lonely i was now complete From Heartbroken I became loved From a reject I became chosen... I felt like a princess in a little kingdom called your heart, Somehow everything started making sense; From God's promises to the worldly theories of destiny and fate. I was now part of history, a history you and I were creating daily. Each day I woke up with a smile on my face and joy in my heart, an unexplainable glow that noone could decode. I felt satisfied, had something to look forward to but above all I had HOPE, a hope in a future unknown to the world but certain in Our world. Now I turn back and wonder where it all went wrong. How you slipped away without saying goodbye. All I have left are memories and wounds, wounds deeper than before. Questions which your words "I am sorry Valerie" do not quench or answer. Daily I cry in my own heart and im my own haven. Sadness hidden beneath my smile. A faith shattered, a heart broken and a tale abruptly stopped. No one will ever understand or know the pain of losing you. To the world you are one of the billions but to me you were my ONE. The ONE who brought out the BEST IN ME...

Obey God Even When It Doesn't Make Sense

Fear says your situation is permanent. Logic says it's impossible. Facts say it doesn't make sense. Science says follow logic and consider the facts. Maths say it doesn’t add up. Time says it’s too late. Age says you’re too young or too old. Education says you’re not qualified. Experience says you’re a novice. People say it’s never been done before. The past says check your history. Scars say you’re about to get hurt again. Comfort says it is really not worth the trouble? The future says you don’t belong here. The pocket says I can’t afford it. But faith says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13. "We walk by faith, not by sight" 2 Corinthians 5:7. Feed your faith and all the other negative voices will starve to death. *stolen*