WHERE WERE YOU WHEN I TURNED 65 IN 2021?

In 1968 in the USA a new film was released called ‘Where were you when the lights went out?’ It was based on a true incident of total blackout in New York on November 9th, 1965. In a sense, the clock stopped that night in New York and it was kind of interesting to ponder where everybody was and what they were doing that very moment.

My 65th birthday was on Saturday 17th April 2021 and in a sense, it caused the clock to stop for me and for all who are close to me. It was the same date the funeral of Prince Philip of Great Britain took place. And so I am also asking – Where were you when I turned 65 in 2021?

Two words – EXCITED and HUMBLED summarise how I feel about turning 65 in 2021. I want to briefly explain how and why I am excited and humbled hoping to persuade you to spare some moments to give God thanks for me and to pray for me.

WHY I AM EXCITED:

I was born to my parents on 17th April 1956, and I got born again as a Christian on 24th May 1974 at the age of 18. My excitement of turning 65 has to do with numbers. I am not a numerologist but I have just been fascinated with certain numbers this year as I turn 65. I began to get excited about my age in 2020 when I turned 64 and was 46 years old in salvation. As you can see the two numbers here are 4 and 6. Swap them around and they show both my physical and spiritual age in 2020. In 2021 I turned 65 and 47. The two numbers 5 and 6 when swapped show both my age of 65 and my physical birth year of 56 (1956), while the two numbers 4 and 7 both show my spiritual age in 2021 of 47 years and my year of spiritual birth – 74 (1974).

In addition, the total sum of the numbers in my birth years is 21. That is 1+9+5+6=1+9+7+4=21. Finally, my birthday which is 17/04 when added together: 17+4=21. Yes, my birthday this year was on 17/04/21 in the 21st Century. There may be no special significance to these numbers but I am still excited about them. In 2020 as I turned 46 and 64, I began to wonder if God was leading me into what I want to call a season of turn-around.

I also discovered recently that age 65 is referred to at least twice in the Bible. 

_{^{“And Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years and begat Jared. And he lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters”.}}

Genesis 5:15-16

That scripture might suggest Mahalaleel lived his most fruitful life after or from the age of 65. That encourages and excites me.

_{^{“And Enoch lived 65 years and begat Methuselah: And Enoch walked with God AFTER HE BEGAT Methuselah”.}}

Genesis 5:21-22

It seems clear that Enoch got inspired to draw closer to God at or from the age of 65.

REASONS WHY I AM HUMBLED:

I need to write a book to give you all the juicy details of why I am humbled turning 65 in 2021. I have to be brief in this article not to bore the reader.

_{^{A brief look at MY CHILDHOOD challenges will help the reader appreciate why I am humbled to turn 65 in 2021.}}

From probably age 3 up to nearly age 25 I witnessed domestic violence in our home. The main victim was my mother – the wedded wife to my father who had become a polygamist. He beat her regularly and I remember when I was around 15, she had a mental breakdown which never left her completely for the rest of her 87-year life. On my part, I developed anger and bitterness towards my father and his second wife who I considered to be the catalyst for my Mum’s suffering. Thank God my mother warned and counseled the four of us her children not to lay hands on our Dad or cause harm to anybody else. We listened to her. The only way or reason the prospect of avenging my Mum’s suffering was averted was when God through His mercy saved my wretched soul on 24th May 1974 at the age of 18. This humbles me greatly because I would have ended up in prison if I did not listen to my Mum’s wise counsel and if God did not save me at that time.

Even though both my parents did not drink alcohol or smoke due to peer pressure in secondary school I was introduced to alcohol and cigarettes. I was in danger of becoming a full-blown alcoholic and probably a drug addict. I remember the day when I fell by the wayside on my way home after drinking from a pub. A neighbour woke me up and walked me home. Drinking also conditioned me to be more violent. During the Christmas of 1973, I got very drank and beat up a certain man who was trying to harass my Auntie – my Mum’s sister. He was hospitalised and nearly lost one eye as a result. A few days later his brother confronted me trying to beat me. I hit him badly and He went away bleeding from his mouth. A few months later in May 1974, I got born again and God’s power transformed me. I am humbled.

I am also humbled because several boys I shared life with met premature deaths in their 20s and early 30s. Most of them died of HIV/ Aids. There is absolutely no chance I would not have been a victim myself if Christ had not saved me at age 18.

Over the years God has used hundreds of people to help, support, and encourage me in my life’s journey. These include strangers as well as blood relatives. I can mention only two people in this article – one a stranger and the other a blood relative.

Pastor Nicholas Wafula was a total stranger to me when I first met him on 24th May 1974 – the day I got born again. Over the years he has been a true father to me and has carried me under his wings like I was his own biological son. I am what I am now because of him. I am forever grateful to God for this stranger turned father in my life.

Emmanuel Owori is more than my big biological Brother. He is a true God-ordained angel with a great mission to bless me on my life’s journey. I have seen the hand of God preserving him on several occasions when he reached near death points – just to be alive to bless me and many other people. Humanly speaking Emmanuel should have long been dead but in 2021 he is still alive and blessing many people including me. I will just mention a few instances when he nearly died so you can appreciate God for him and me and indeed for the many people he has touched over the years.

In 1979 Emmanuel and I and two other fellow young men were living in a place called Lubia Hill near Kasubi Tombs in Kampala, Uganda. Our house was halfway up the hill. This was the time when there was war between Uganda and Tanzania with the aim of toppling the dictator Iddi Amin. One day – when I had gone for a prayer meeting in one of the underground Churches – some people from the State Research Bureau raided our house. They arrested Emmanuel and my cousin called John and drove away with the intention of killing them. Emmanuel was put in the boot of the saloon car. Out of 6 possible routes, the driver could have followed – the one they chose ended up at a roadblock where all cars had to stop for security check. That roadblock was manned by soldiers who had camped on the same hill where we were staying and had come to know us. My cousin got the courage to shout to them telling them Emmanuel was in the boot of the car. At gunpoint, they ordered those intelligence officials to open the boot and release Emmanuel. They then ordered the men to drive off or risk being shot by them. This story humbled me. Some bad neighbours had told Amin’s intelligence that we were keeping enemy soldiers from Tanzania. I believe most if not all those soldiers who saved Emmanuel’s life that day all died later as the war intensified. Extremely humbling.

Later when the war intensified, I decided to leave Kampala and go back to my hometown of Tororo. The other two gentlemen also left the house and Emmanuel remained in the house alone. That time bombs were being dropped in the city from long-range big guns. One night a bomb hit the house while Emmanuel was sleeping. Woken by the blast he jumped up only to see the roof from one of the bedrooms was ripped off.  In fact, he stepped on a piece of the molten bomb which burnt his foot. So, he survived even the bomb.

A few days later the same bad neighbours reported this time to the Tanzanian soldiers who had camped close by saying – we were Amin’s agents. Some soldiers then began to climb the hill to go and shoot Emmanuel.  A good young man run up the hill before they arrived and told Emmanuel to run for his life.

Later in the 80s, Emmanuel developed high blood pressure and diabetes. On several occasions, he has reached near-death points. In 1995 for instance Emmanuel, our Dad, and our grandfather were all in hospital – at the same time – and each or all of them could have died that time. Only our grandfather died that time aged 92. Those stories of Emmanuel’s survival have touched and humbled me. I have no clue what would have become of me without Emmanuel’s input over the years. I am truly humbled and wish to thank God for him.

Another reason for being humbled is the fact that I have also personally survived from high blood pressure and diabetes. In 1999 I fell sick with a disease called bell’s palsy. It was then that my doctor confirmed that I had diabetes and high blood pressure. I have since been receiving free first-class treatment in the UK. The story would have been different if I was living elsewhere and had struggled to get proper medication. I am even most humbled that Dr. Christine Gardiner who helped me at the time is no longer with us having succumbed to cancer a few years ago.

For over 20 years I have been self-employed in the Private Hire business. This kind of work involves a lot of driving sometimes even more than 700 miles in one week. I am grateful to the Lord for His Divine protection on the roads. I am very humbled.

KEY LESSONS LEARNT TURNING 65:

• All birthdays and anniversaries are good moments for genuine reflections and stocktaking to make necessary improvements.
• Beware of battle weariness which can make us give up pursuing our goals including serving God.
• Avoid compromises and double standards. Aging can make us think God will not help us so we look for option B to help Him as in the case of Sarah, Abraham, and Ishmael.
• Beware of complacency.
• We need to rekindle our flames as in the case of Caleb and Joshua. Joshua had to get back up again after being too crushed by Moses’s death.
• We need to value relationships and to master people skills knowing we shall always need people to work with, or for us.
• Being 65 tells me I am closer to death now than before and I should overcome procrastination, prioritize and avoid time-wasting. I need to master time management.
• I need to get closer to God than ever before.

FINALLY in 1999 after I became sick I had a very strange dream in which I was supposed to die. Many people gathered to wish me farewell. Many were singing songs of praise. In the dream, I walked among the people thanking them and saying bye to them. I then went to see my grave diggers and began to chat with them. Suddenly there was a bright shining light like lighting from the top of a high mountain from the horizon all the way to where I was standing near the grave. I heard a thunderous voice coming from the mountain at the same time the bright light was shining. I believe it was God’s voice. It said: YOU WILL NOT DIE UNTIL YOU HAVE FULFILLED MY PURPOSES. I woke up making the same confession saying: I WILL NOT DIE UNTIL I HAVE FULFILLED GOD’S PURPOSES. I am truly humbled that 22 years on I am indeed still alive. Therefore, the challenge I face as I get older is to make sure I know God’s will and purposes for my life and to concentrate my efforts on fulfilling them – Him being my Helper.

I hope I have persuaded you enough to give God thanks for my life and to pray for me to remain focused till the end. I also hope you’ve learnt a few nuggets to help you as you grow older by the day.

May God richly bless you for His glory.