SERAH HOPE AMANI

So, what’s in a name? Like the name gracing this blog post title today…What’s in it? Well, I could say that there is so much in a name. A whole lot that could fill volumes upon volumes of books.

Serah Hope Amani for instance is the newest member of my family. Born on Father’s day, June 16th 2013 weighing a whooping 4.2 Kg! This is exactly 3 days after we celebrated the second birthday of her brother, Ethan-Norman! We seem to have perfect timing for the month of June…and the father’s day timing was simply a bonus blessing!

You look at Serah and you see nothing but newness. You see nothing but promise. You see pure innocence and total dependency. You also see amazing calm and assurance that all is well. I actually nick-named Ethan her brother, ‘Mr President’ because at that age, anything he said (Cried for) had to be attended to immediately and it mattered less whether the request was granted or not! It just had to be attended to immediately.

Serah Hope represents so much. What this lady can do, time will tell.

• She could very well be Kenya’s first woman President that is if it would not have happened by the time she’s 35
• She could be the UN secretary General
• She could be a great mother and matriarch,
• She could be a great business lady travelling from one continent to another, generating profits,
• She could be a great compassionate worker, spending her life for the voiceless
• She could be a songstress, out-striping her mother,
• She could be a great radio personality following her parents’ footsteps,
• She could be a great wife and mother,
• She could be an awesome youth leader

In other words, there are boundless possibilities for my little bundle of joy. I however do not believe that she could be anything she wants to be. There is nothing of that sort. You cannot be anything you want to be, you can only be all that you potentially can be!

Serah Hope has come already packaged, yet with one blank thing…the mind. In fact there is absolutely nothing I can do as a parent to create a newly packed Serah Hope.

There are however two possibilities: I could either accentuate her package…or I could slow it down to stagnation. Such is the powerful mandate of parenthood. Parents are not owners! Am sure all the parents of teenagers already know that revelation. Parents are stewards! In other words, we are responsible for the best possible outcome of the life of another human being for more than half their life-time. In fact, we are to some measure, directly responsible to laying down the correct foundation for their Life Signatures!

According to Rick Warren, the author of Purpose Driven Life, Serah Hope Amani has come to our lives with the following packages in the acronym of S.H.A.P.E.

1. Spiritual Gifts: First off, Serah Hope is an eternal spirit. Selah! She is a pure spiritual being that has been packaged into the physical body that we can see, feel and touch. That is why it beats logic that an atheist for example would not believe in God. Is it any wonder that they would claim they came from a chimp…amazing how a human being can say he was once a chimp (yet we still see chimps), but that stand easily explains away the spirit part of human nature. As a parent, I cannot give her these spiritual gifts. It is God who has packaged her for whatever reason that he has brought her on earth. She will not acquire these gifts as she grows, no she will just discover them with time. My responsibility as a parent is to help her nurture these to the maximum potential.
2. Heart: This speaks of a special passion that God has already placed inside her heart. That explains why I am passionate about Legacies more than I am about saving buffaloes. It’s a heart issue. I think one of the greatest adventures of parenthood is to allow great room as possible for Serah to fully wrap her heart around something worthwhile in life. Music? Dancing? Human rights? Child care? Environment? Only God knows.
3. Abilities: These are innate talents. Am so grateful that already Serah has some innate talents! I know she’s versatile because on her second day on earth, Serah can already hold the milk bottle by herself! It is another pure adventure to see what abilities God has put inside of Serah. I can’t wait for this blessed adventure.
4. Personality: The all critical one! I have never understood myself. As a teenager, I used to be so outgoing, an extreme sanguine. Later on, I just changed. I am cool, calm and collected, shunning publicity at all costs, yet with the kind of passion I have, I need to be before people! Serah has a personality already, quite different from mine, my wife Beth’s and her brother Ethan-Norman. Being at peace with that personality is a prerogative of her parents.
5. Experiences: Aha! This is where my stewardship will count. True, her life experiences will be totally different from mine and her grand parents! For example, her grand parents had never driven a car. Her dad owns one. Her dad is Kenyan, Her mum is Ugandan, and shortly, she will be living in West Africa with her dad, mum, and little brother. What Serah will experience is two fold. First, it is all within my control.

The environment I allow Serah to interact with is fully under my control. It should nurture her to the maximum
capacity to bring out her life signatures. My Words, the words around the environment we live will shape her life view and her values (That tells you that TV will be shot dead in my house). My actions,  the actions of the people around her will determine what kind of behavior she will pick. I am totally responsible. On the other hand, there are some experiences that will come Serah’s way due to the choices that she will make. Either way, these experiences will help shape the person that God wants Serah to be. Non of those experiences will be wasted.

So, as this new life begins, I know that it is a humbling responsibility to nurture this bundle of joy. I remember reading a book long time ago called, “Growing up is a family affair”, where the author says that the parents grow together with the children.

Our growth with Serah Hope has begun. This will be definitely a Life Signature!