My dear friends
15 June 1957 was a very interesting day for me. After
waiting for nine months I thought the time had come for me to greet the sun and start
chatting to the world.
My parents' plan was that I would be born at McCord
Hospital in Durban but I was not too impressed with the idea. After all I was a country
boy, not a city boy.
After whispering to Mum that I was ready for the
launch Dad started the car for the journey to Durban. A few miles further I decided to act
on my convictions. Car or no car I was ready to announce my arrival. As they say, the rest
is history.
Considering the circumstances surrounding my birth I
wash showered with different names. One that nearly made it into my birth certificate was
Nhlanhla (Lucky) but eventually my official names were announced as Amon Sipho (Gift).
However to my grandfather and the old ladies of Chibini I remained Mfanawemoto (the boy
from the car).
You must be wondering where Fano came from. Well,
some wise people in the family quickly picked up that I looked like my grandfather, so to
get an approving smile from me as they rocked me about they would say, "Ufana
noBabamkhulu." Today I wonder as to why they did not wait for 49 years because I
suspect that now I really look like my grandfather.
My wife tells me that I have gotten very grey lately.
To be honest with you, I am purposely staying away from the mirror in order to retain
younger memories.
This is indeed a curious age. To some I am a brother,
to others 'Dad' and yet to some 'Mkhulu' (Granddad). Still, I just love it when Mum says,
"Mfana wami" (My boy) and when Grandma calls me 'mntanomntanami' (my child's
child).
These days I have thought much about aging. Two Zulu
sayings became very real in the process.
There was a time when it was very fashionable to say,
"Kuguga othandayo" (Only those who want to get old). It was quite interesting to
watch people who took this positive attitude towards life and strove to remain young. Some
of their efforts reminded me of the hilarious stories told by the famous Afrikaans author
and politician C J Langenhoven about Afrikaners who tried to act English. Entertaining
stuff!
Then there are those who admit, sometimes with bowed
heads, that "Akukho sibonda saguga namaxolo aso" (By the time a pole decays its
bark will be long gone). In other words as we grow older we lose the youthful features and
abilities). Defeatist attitude or realism?
Well friends, illness and aging are not a desirable
combination, and that is the challenge that I am facing daily. I must be realistic about
the situation but I believe that if I focus on Motor Neuron Disease I miss the point. My
life is in God's hands, and that is where it belongs.
You see, looking to God is not escapism. Focussing on
Him offers us a healthy perspective to every aspect of life - including aging and illness.
Of all the good things that happened to me in the
last 49 years the one that towers above all is the day I came to Christ in 1970 at
Chibini.
Earlier this year the Sibisi family allocated me a
plot of land at Chibini. Of course, in my present condition I cannot get to see it but
what warms my heart is that it is only a few metres from the spot where I began my walk
with the Lord - yet another reminder of God's abundant grace in my life!
"Praise the LORD, O my soul, and
forget not all his benefits-" (Psalms 103:2)
Have a blessed week further.
Pressing on!
In His love
Fano Sibisi
