THE SWEETNESS OF COURTSHIP By ALLAN MALALA INGUTIA

CHAPTER 3: THE POWER OF LOVE

Today, many people think of love being more important among lovers from rich families that could provide any need upon their journey to marriage, hence end up negotiating love with materialistic things. I therefore tell us, that love is something non comparable to any material or anything else to do with wealth possession. This error has got many victims from the world of love and this brings much discussions in trying to do a pursuit on cases presented before the judicial Centers, concerning divorce due to unplanned marriages. This has brought headache to many of our judges in trying to make a fair verdict upon convictions of love and marriage issues. Therefore, in line with this, love is an intense feeling of deep affections to someone. In this Case, happy marriages are built on the foundation of love. When a man and a woman meet and fall in love, that forms the bedrock for God to use that institution as a school for learning, living and understanding love. Remember, in any relation, it takes knowledge to sustain love. The knowledge is to make us realize and understand what love is and what love is NOT.

Having closed the school and travelled back home for August holiday, I could not manage the forces behind my love to Babra. With therefore, ill basing on the three kinds of powers as per the book, “Marriage Glory”, by Rev. Mark, including; the power to begin; the power to continue and the power to end, I therefore felt it better to begin the induction process by presenting her to my beloved parents on Wednesday 16th August, 2000. She came accompanied with her sister Fennessy. It took me a moment of silent trying to find the best way on how to start the introduction to my parents. The moment of silence was the language in the house when I suddenly gained courage from nowhere to chair the meeting by first introducing myself to them. That time, the whole house was in a suspense mood everyone looking at each other eagerly waiting to hear from which corner will the voice come from. Since the power to begin is granted to everybody because anyone can begin anything, it is simply the intrinsic force that gives you the courage to take the first step to approach your love. Following this principle, I knew that one day I could become a parent of sons and daughters, and therefore I had to talk with courage. After introducing myself, I gave a chance for each one of them to introduce his or herself. “Babra, meet my parents.” I said.“I am Babra and this is my sister Fennessy.” She said.“Fennessy meet my parents too.” I said.“I am Fennessy and this is my sister Babra” Said sister in-law.“Now it is your turn dad to introduce yourself to my visitors.” I said.“I am Faya and Kimenye here is my son.” Said dad.“I am Lefty and Kimenye is my son, his father is my brother.” Said my uncle“I am Dee and Kimenye is my son.” Said mum.After the introduction, I therefore got a chance to state the main theme of the day.“My dear parents, my in-law Fennessy and my beloved Babra, I greet you all, good afternoon? To start with, I would like to extend my gratitude to my parents for leaving their various tasks and responding to my request for us to have such a conversation. Secondly, I would also like to thank my visitors for turning up today to mark the day successful. Surely this is the day that I was eagerly waiting for, mainly to let my beloved to meet you as my parents for the first time. I had planned this without your consent having in my mind that it was necessary for me to do this. We have been in relationship with Babra for seven years since 1993 while I was in standard seven as she was in standard five. That’s when we knew each other and kicked off this journey of love. Since I wanted to make her aware of me in depth love to her, is when I decided to have such meeting together so that I present her to you as my parents and set her free in the family. Therefore, it is my wish that you accept her in our family and let her be inducted and familiarize with our culture as time goes in awaiting for official marriage when the time emerges.” That was my concise speech concerning the meeting, after which my parents advised us to cement our relationship till marriage.

A time reached when I decided to go and visit her where she used to stay with her sister Ivy at Songambele village on Wednesday 20th December, 2000. With me I took my brother Okwash whom we went with. This was a splendid day to me with mixtures of fear and happiness, since I was unable to talk begin a speech neither introducing myself to Sister in-law with my eye contact in an open posture. A few moments are when I realized that she was an outgoing person and this made the fear to blow away. Since the power to begin is granted to everybody because anyone can begin anything, I begun the introduction.

We exchanged some few words as pertaining to knowing each other in intense. After a while, I set off to my homestead with my brother, having marked the day successful, even though both of us could not withstand neither hide our joy due to the happiness and great day it was. "Why do you have to hurry and yet we still need more time to spend with you?” Said Amush. "I'm sorry brother but we just have to do so because we cannot extent hours it’s almost becoming dark." Replied Okwash. "No! No! Anyway, I empathy, but just wait a moment." "Hey! Amush! Are you not nagging your in-laws?" Babra said. “No, I’m just buying more time to have them with me...Ha! Ha! Ha!” said Amush.

He rushed to the house and with him had a phone in his hand. "Look, kindly spell me your number.” While giving, Babra was stand still awaiting to take us a few miles. Thank your in-law, I'm much grateful of your in-law and let Almighty God provide another chance to meet once more." "Thanks much too, I'll appreciate to meet you once more, still healthy and alive.” I replied. Babra took us a few miles and so she decided to return back. “Even though my dear we are departing from each other but am worried of missing you till next holiday. When you go back to school, kindly stay away from the other girls. Let them be aware you are in courtship with somebody”. “No problem my beloved, I assure to keep our love for eternity and I will keep distance from any person of your gender.” I replied. “I know you are going to be out of my sight for so long, but never out of my mind. I will miss you so much my dear.” “I will miss you too”, she replied. Indeed, love is a wonder that has no end or beginning. It is the language spoken by everyone but understood only by the heart.