A thousand golden suns.

Post advert, proud of the end product feat. Pappa's beloved Landy  Being a communication student, I am always ready to jump in to help with any assignment or project that requires creativity or language skills. Over the weekend, whilst visiting with family here in Potchefstroom, my cousin, Christine, took advantage of the opportunity to pick my brain concerning her English assignment - making an advertisement. A few ideas came to mind and after a few minutes, we had a basic blueprint laid out. After procrastinating the whole of Saturday, when Sunday afternoon was upon us we realized that it was now or never. We made quick work of arranging a set from a white table cloth and costumes out of Oom Christiaan's old khaki shirts and caps. Wikus, Christine's brother was roped in as cameraman and sound effect- maker, Jandri, the little sister, was in charge of lighting and Christine and I the actresses. After a few humorous attempts in the house and a rehearsal of lines, we ...

The cliche quote," Good friends are like stars, you don't always see them but they are always there. " pretty much sums up the relationship that I have with one of my best friends, my dearest Claire. Now originally Claire and I were sworn enemies and could barely stand the sight of each other. We fought with each other up to a day when we realised that we needed to fight for each other, and so the beginning of what I know will be a life-long friendship. I can still so clearly remember the day I had to say good-bye to Claire when we moved to South Africa, both of us crying uncontrollably next to the road outside our apartment at the school and both refusing to let go of each other until we had no choice but to release one another... by far one of the toughest good-byes yet. But what I didn't completely grasp that day was the solid foundation that our friendship had and that that would carry us through the challenge of distance that we still face today. One of ...

An epiphany is defined as the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles or the moment of sudden and great revelation and realisation.  The godly meaning of this word is so accurate in describing my experience this afternoon, my epiphany. Now to most it might not seem as extreme or wondrous but to me, in that moment it was like a light bulb being switched on and more than that a relief. Sitting and chatting to my friend over spontaneous coffee and cake we reached the subject of faith. Perhaps a subject that is discussed and pondered by many which makes it ordinary, nothing to write home about and in that I started sharing about my journey over the last two weeks and more so the loss that I have experienced. In that I found my revelation. I asked dearest Alet, how do people who don't believe cope with grief? How are they consoled without believing in the Saviour and more than that that we are saved ? I have reached rock bottom and I had my faith and hope in my heavenly Father t...

Death is something that happens to other people, rarely to those closest to us. Its something we sympathise with but can rarely empathise with due to the fact that it is very difficult to place yourself in the shoes of the person who is experiencing the loss. It is nearly impossible to imagine that type of loss ... until on a Wednesday morning its you who receives the phone call, its you who has experienced the loss. Words fail me to explain the overwhelming flood of emotions that have overcome me in this last week and to a certain extent I don't even feel that I have the right to have felt them because I only knew Jo for three weeks. But in those moments I realise just how large an impact he made on my life in such a short time, a true testament of the type of person that he was. I can't say that I have ever come across someone that has cared as deeply and truly as what Jo did. His heart was a pure one that could only been created with divine intervention, there is no o...

With mothers day just around the corner, I thought it not only appropriate but necessary to pay tribute to the ten women who have had the most influence in my life thus far. They have all moulded me into the woman I am today, and wouldn't have reached half of the success without them. 1 . Mother dear  Of course I have to start with the woman that has played the greatest part in my life, Mamma. She not only raised me, but did so with the greatest love and sacrifice that was humanly possible. She lived apart from my dad for six years for the sake of her children and for that I will never be able to find enough words to convey my gratitude. I know that she is never more than a phone call away and a voice note from her every morning is a great way to wake up. She is appreciated and loved, I don't think she grasps just quite how much. 2. Ouma Valda  My Ouma Valda is by far one of the strongest yet gentle women that I know. Her life is the definition of heavenly love. She...