The Chronicles of Load-Shedding . Harold Mawela

 Title: The Fenced-In Freedom: Why the Son Alone Sets You Free Indeed The evening traffic on the N4 is a snarling beast. I sat in it yesterday, crawling past the Bon Accord Dam turn-off, watching the sun sink behind the hazy silhouette of the Magaliesberg. In the car next to me, a young executive in a designer suit gripped his steering wheel, his jaw tight with frustration. In the lane on my other side, a kombi taxi, packed to the brim, weaved impatiently, its driver chasing one more fare before the load-shedding schedule plunged the city into darkness. We were all rushing home. We were all, in some way, desperate to be free from the gridlock. But as I sat there, in my own metal cage, a deeper question rattled in my soul. Are we any freer once we get there? My name is Harold Mawela. From my study here in Akasia, a suburb that sits quietly between the Pretoria CBD and the sprawling, vibrant expanse of Soshanguve, I watch a nation obsessed with freedom. We fought for political freedo...

Title: The Sovereignty in Your Scars Author: Harold Mawela Location: Akasia, Pretoria "He was wounded because of our rebellious deeds, crushed because of our sins; he endured punishment that made us well; because of his wounds we have been healed." (Isaiah 53:5, NET Bible) I was sitting on my porch in Akasia last Thursday, watching the City of Tshwane trucks trying to unblock a drain that had been clogged for weeks. The smell was terrible. My neighbour, Mr. Dlamini, shouted over the fence, "Pastor, this country is falling apart. Potholes, power cuts, police stations without resources—and now we can't even drain the water." I laughed. But his frustration stayed with me. Later that evening, the news broke about another tragedy. The Umtata floods from June were still fresh in our memory—over ninety souls swept away when the Mthatha Dam overflowed . Families burying empty coffins. Children asking questions about God that no parent should have to answer alone. And th...

Title: The War Against Wooden Gods: Why Your Capitec Queue Is a Temple By: Harold Mawela (Akasia, Pretoria) Scripture: “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” (1 John 5:21) I was stuck in traffic on the Mabopane Highway last Tuesday. You know that stretch near the Akasia Circle where the taxi drivers conduct their own lane theory, defying both the law of gravity and the law of Moses? I was sitting there, watching a massive billboard towering over the shacks in an adjacent informal settlement. It was an advertisement for "financial freedom." A smiling black family, dressed in designer wear, stood next a German vehicle that cost more than most houses in that vicinity. And the Holy Spirit whispered to me: Harold, they are selling salvation. I looked to my left. A man was selling roasted mealies to taxis, his children helping him count R2 coins. He looked at the billboard, then back at his coal bucket. I wondered—did he know that the car on that board had become a graven i...

Title: The Stamina of the Sent: Why Waiting is Warfare in a World That Refuses to Rest By Harold Mawela | Akasia, Pretoria I. A Confession from the Dark Last Thursday, Stage 6 load-shedding hit our grid like a knockout punch. I sat on my veranda in Akasia—laptop battery at 7%, deadline looming, and the neighbourhood silent except for the hum of generators fighting their losing battle. My spirit mirrored the grid: depleted. I had been running—running to meet demands, running to answer calls, running to fix problems I never created. And like Eskom’s crumbling infrastructure, I was moments from total collapse. Then, cutting through the darkness like a torch in a Soweto alley, the Spirit whispered Isaiah 40:31: “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” I laughed. Wait? In this economy? With this load-shedding schedule? With these petrol prices? Lord, waiting ...

 Title: When Your Adversary Becomes Your Address By Harold Mawela  Scripture: "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies." (Psalm 23:5) Let us define our terms clearly before we proceed. A "setup" is often perceived as a trap, a snare laid by the enemy to catch you off guard. But in the Kingdom lexicon, we understand a profound paradox: your setup is not your downfall; it is your platform. The very thing designed to bury you is the excavation site for your destiny. I was sitting in my study here in Akasia, looking out over the suburbs where the Jacarandas are preparing to bloom, and I received a WhatsApp message that shook me. It was from a young man in Tembisa who had been overlooked for a promotion—again. His boss, he said, had twisted his words, misrepresented his projects, and turned the entire office against him. "Harold," he asked, "why is the attack so personal, so persistent?" I chuckled. Not because his pain was amusing...

THE LAW OF THE NEW GATE Scripture: "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." (Isaiah 43:18-19) I. The Braai of Yesterday's Ashes The jacaranda trees outside my Akasia window are shedding their purple confetti again, a flamboyant farewell to another season. From my veranda in Pretoria North, I watch the city hum—buses rattling down Paul Kruger Street, hawkers calling at Wonderpark Mall, students spilling from TUT's gates with backpacks full of tomorrow's dreams. And I think about gates. Specifically, about the one I've been standing in front of for far too long. We South Africans, we're masters of the braai, aren't we? We know the satisfaction of perfectly grilled boerewors, the aroma of the coals whispering promises, the camaraderie around the fire. But sometimes, the braai gets neglected. The ashes pile ...