What would you tell your 19-year-old self?
In June 2026, two conversations at DICE Ministry reminded me that while audiences change, the questions rarely do.
- How do we prepare for adulthood?
- How do we survive lean seasons?
- How do we remain standing?
My answer keeps coming back to three relationships: Faith. Finances. Family.
Sometimes the most meaningful invitations come in pairs.
The first invitation came from my friend Maurice, Founder of DICE Ministry.
He asked me to speak to 12 young people graduating from the ministry’s six-month Ignite discipleship and mentorship programme.
A week later, he invited me back to engage DICE’s staff, instructors and board members.
Different audiences. One message. Still Standing.
The First Conversation: Speaking to My 19-Year-Old Self
The graduation audience consisted of young adults, aged 18–20. #GenZs.
Standing at one of life’s biggest intersections.
College. Career. Relationships. Purpose.
Instead of giving them career advice, I decided to travel back in time.
Quite literally.
On the screen behind me was a collage of two photographs:
One of a skinny nineteen-year-old Joseph, waiting to join university.
The other… The man standing in front of them.
I spoke to my younger self.
I told him about disappointment after missing medical school, by one painful point.
Reluctantly joining Egerton University, in 2002. I thought I was taking a detour. In hindsight, it was the road that prepared me for everything that followed.
Armed with my father’s simple advice: “Take what’s in your hand. It may become the bridge to what you’re praying for.” He was right.
I told my 19-year-old self about naïvely navigating relationships.
About the books that would stretch my thinking. About the losses that would stretch my faith.
There would be tears too. Saying goodbye to my mum in 2007. Grieving our first pregnancy in 2010.
And discovering that sometimes life asks you to start over (thanks to job losses). Not once, but three different times (so far)!
About the God who would remain faithful through them all.
Three relationships emerged as life’s greatest investments:
📖 Books. 👥 People. ✝️ God.
Not because they eliminate storms… But because they help you remain standing when they arrive.
The Second Conversation: Lean Seasons Don’t Send Calendar Invites
A week later, the room looked different.
This time it was ministry leaders at DICE.
Young professionals. Staff. Board members.
People navigating careers, ministry and family.
The question had changed. How do you survive when life changes unexpectedly?
The conversation centred around three systems that need to be built before they are needed:
📖 Faith, 💰 Finances, 🏡 Family.
Not one. All three.
The Question That Changed the Room
I asked everyone a simple question.
“If I gave you KSh 1,000 today, what would you do with it?”
The answers came quickly.
Buy food. Pay bills. Meet immediate needs.
Then I changed one sentence.
“What if that KSh 1,000 is seed, not bread?”
Silence.
Then discussion. Then new ideas.
Save it. Invest it. Plant it.
The conversation shifted from survival…
…to stewardship.
That single illustration became the most memorable takeaway from the day.
When Faith Had the Biggest Crowd
One activity surprised me.
I asked participants to vote with their feet.
Three corners of the room represented:
📖 Faith, 💰 Finances, 🏡 Family.
The question was simple.
“Which one supported you most during your hardest season?”
Almost everyone walked toward Faith.
It wasn’t planned.
It simply revealed where people had found their greatest strength.
Yet the conversation reminded us that stability requires all three.
A three-legged stool doesn’t stand on one leg.
Neither do we.
The Stories Between the Slides
Some of my favourite moments weren’t on the slides.
They happened between them.
When Corsta, one of my mentees, shared how he had built an emergency fund and started investing.
When we laughed about laundry becoming part of my “new job description” during unemployment.
When participants looked twice at a photo of me watering vegetables, contrasted with sitting behind an office desk.
When we talked openly about counselling, mental health and asking for help.
The slides carried information. The stories carried permission.
Permission to struggle. Permission to adapt. Permission to begin again.
What I’m Learning
I’ve now shared versions of Still Standing through webinars, churches, graduation ceremonies and ministry teams.
Each conversation sharpens the next one. Each audience teaches me something new.
This time I learnt that people don’t just need encouragement. They need practical tools. A framework.
Language for what they’re experiencing.
And someone willing to say, “I’ve been there too.”
Why These Conversations Matter
Growth Communities exists…
To help individuals, churches, NGOs, schools and organizations navigate life’s transitions with greater clarity, resilience and purpose.
We do this through:
- Mentoring
- Workshops
- Storytelling
- Keynote speaking
- Leadership conversations
- Learning and reflection facilitation
Because growth rarely happens by accident. It happens intentionally.
One conversation at a time.
Continue the Conversation
If this reflection resonated with you, here are three other conversations that explore similar themes from different seasons and audiences.
🧭 Between What We Wanted to Be and What We’re Becoming: A reflection for young adults navigating the space between disappointment and discovering purpose.
🥚 The Egg, the Calculator and the Crisis Cushion: A practical conversation on emergency funds, financial stewardship and preparing before the storm arrives.
🌱 Finding Wisdom in Waiting: Lessons gathered from meaningful conversations with individuals navigating seasons of transition and growth.
This collection of reflections captures insights gathered while walking alongside individuals and groups navigating transitions, uncertainty and growth.
Every conversation builds on another.
I’d love to hear from you…
Which lesson resonated with you most?
- 📖 Build your faith before you need it.
- 💰 Treat your income as seed, before bread.
- 👨🏽👩🏽👧🏽 Never walk through life alone.
Or perhaps you’d tell your 19-year-old self something completely different.
Share your thoughts in the comments. I read every one.
#StillStanding #GrowthCommunities #Faith #Leadership #FinancialStewardship #Resilience #Mentorship #PersonalGrowth #Storytelling #CareerDevelopment #DICEMinistry
Joseph Ngaara is inspired by people’s stories, especially those shaped by faith, resilience, and grace. If you’ve walked through triumph, tragedy, or something beautifully in between and feel ready to share, my inbox is open. 📩 j.mungai@hotmail.co.uk
Curious to go deeper? Visit the Home Page explore Growth Communities, or join the conversation on YouTube.
Powerful truth, I really enjoy reading your articles whenever they are published. It’s transforming lives.