To Peter and Julia,
I write to you not as two but one because you have made vows before the Lord to hold and to love and therefore you are one. Let me break down the letter to the two who are now one . Genesis 2:24 is instructive, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” NIV version says, That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.
Dear Peter,
Zabbu literally means gold and the English meaning does not carry so much significance, the local meaning is more authentic and has more meaning. Julia and I were classmates at law school. Due to the alphabetical placing, she was at the end of the list, and I came second last and I think we quietly chose to disregard that fact and work on being in the top spots as far as the GPA mattered. In late 2016, I got ill and Julia was one of the people who came to check on me as she rightly said, “If I haven’t told you about my mom, probably I may not like you”. She talked about her mom about health insurance, I think the mom had either a tooth/ eye issue at the time. The turning point came when Julia gave me an assignment on human Trafficking because, in her opinion, I had a “big brain”, which was humbling. Trusting someone with a brain attack to do an assignment is one of the kindest things one could do. It is partly one of the reasons I resumed blogging because I knew that I had my biggest support in the friends I have. While at Georgetown, I would call her sometimes not that it was a normal call but this was with a paralyzed soul with unintelligible words. The last time we talked, she was in New York at Julianna’s. When she came back, in one of the conversations with her, she told me about you albeit in passing. “Roland you should meet him but the problem is that he works up country and is only in town during the weekend. It has been Julia’s wish that I attended the wedding and since the Bible is instructive that we rejoice with those who rejoice, who was I not to attend? It was an honor for me to attend your wedding. Julia is Zabbu literally and you have found a good thing and found favor with Lord
Julia,
I am super excited as I write this, you have crossed yet another milestone. You know I still want that PhD and you got the brains and I trust that Peter will support you. I liked the outdoor theme because you know I am literally in the company of walls unless I am wheeled outside. I know that you are a meticulous person and you want things done in a certain way and I was not disappointed. As I have repeatedly told you, your joy is my joy and I wish you the best in the life journey with your best friend and life partner.
The One,
There is a prayer that was said yesterday in the speeches and let me reproduce it. “May joy and peace surround you both, contentment latch your door, and happiness be with you now, and God bless you evermore. May you live your life with trust, and nurture lifelong affection, May your lifelong dreams come true for you, move ever that direction”
Mwene 