God, whatever you may perceive Him to be, works in enigmatic ways.

God, whatever you may perceive Him to be, works in enigmatic ways.

I have been experiencing consistent challenges in my personal life during the past two years.

Sometimes, I feel so despondent that I literally find myself on the verge of throwing in the towel.

And at other times, I simply wish to turn my back and let everything go. But divine intervention always gives me the inner strength to bounce back.

The immeasurable rewards I am blessed to receive are not for my own benefit and neither are they a direct answer to my own strife.

But they come in the form of the tangible difference that I am able to make in the lives of other people.

Many years ago, I spoke to God. I have a direct line to His glorious powers and I humbly asked that I be blessed with the power to uplift the lives of those people who are less privileged than I am.

At the time, my focus was more on alleviating the plight of those people who were living with HIV.

God reprimanded me, rather harshly, and He instructed me to treat all His children equally because human life is sacred and so I must be careful not to focus on one, at the expense of the other.

"Are you willing to carry the load of all people, irrespective of their background, colour, social standing or creed?", He asked sternly.

Without hesitation, with my body trembling, I agreed, with an added request.

"Can Thou accord me special powers to be more useful to those who cannot help themselves? Can Thou make me a true and loyal friend to those who are less privileged - the scumbags of the earth - than I am?" I begged Him.

I am sharing this frank and profound conversation that I had with God because the other day, when I was on the brink of breaking down completely, I received an important call from Rosebank College. I was told that the number of beneficiaries through the Lucky Mazibuko Scholarship has been increased to four.

I could not have asked for a better tonic for all my personal challenges. My immune system was immediately boosted and all of a sudden there was a spring in my step.

Out of the grey sky, a silver lining was presented, and a ray of hope filtered through my own hopeless bosom.

I feel truly blessed and I am immensely honoured that through my humble and sinful life, a new and promising beginning can be created for young people in this country.

Over the years, the Lucky Mazibuko Scholarship has opened endless doors for fragile and infection-prone young people of all races, from all over the country.

I feel truly blessed that in spite of my own problems, which will probably last forever, I can still, through an exceptional partnership with other people, inspire, motivate and give meaning to and be able to empower others with the invaluable opportunity to learn.

The incredible weight of my own challenges has been lifted through generously giving to those whose hopes were far from sight.

God is wonderful because He keeps His promise, not once, not occasionally, but all of the time.