Being the
first born child to Clifford Machiri and Janet Zimba, Grace Machiri now
Makuchete, always had a grand vision for her future. She attended St John’s
High School for O-Levels then moved to Dominican Convent Girls High School in
Harare for her A-Levels. Grace attained a Bachelor of Science Degree in
Statistics and Biological Sciences from the University of Zimbabwe in 1995 and
as the divine connection would have it, her degree was not the only thing of
value she obtained from the UZ.
She met her husband while she was a student and they got married on the 2nd of December 1995 and went on to become a High School teacher in Mathematics and Biology at Prince Edward Boys High School in Harare. She moved on to Old Mutual where I began studying Actuarial Sciences while working in the Actuarial Department. Being ever hungry for further development, she went on to pursue a marketing career while working under the Pensions Department at Old Mutual and embarked on a Marketing Degree with the Institute of Marketing Management.
While at Old mutual she developed
a deep love for home décor which eventually gave birth to Exclusive Images and
Exclusive Home Designs. So we decided to steal the Evangelist mother of 3 away
from her busy schedule to have a chat to us about her life, business and
faith.
How did the idea and name for your business come about?
The inspiration for the name Exclusive Home Designs, came from my relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. I experienced the truth that God and the Holy Spirit indwelt in me, the truth that put that something extra in the otherwise ordinary person that I was to make me truly Extraordinary. So I decided that the kind of services and products I would offer my clients would be of an excellent and exclusive nature, just as excellent as my God is. And so the name Exclusive Home Designs came into existence.
What does your business do?
Exclusive Home Designs is an interior design and décor business that deals with interior décor and soft furnishings. I developed a passion for home décor during my tenure at Old Mutual and I started making my own curtains, cushions, sheets, bed covers and a variety of home décor items. Friends and relatives would ask me where I got the stuff from and they were shocked to learn I was making it myself. They began to ask me to make interior décor items for them. It is then I decided to enrol in an Interior design Course with Sheffield School of Interior Design in New York (Now called New York Institute of Art and Design NYIAD) and did the course by correspondence. By God’s amazing grace Exclusive Home Designs was registered and in July 2003 we began operations. Imagine the transition from Actuarial Science to marketing to Interior Design. But it was all by God’s guidance and amazing grace.
What is the key driving force behind the business?
The key driving force behind the business is Passion. Passion for Interior Design, passion to fulfil my clients’ desires through beautiful interiors all of which are driven by my passion for God. God is the Creator of all things and His creation is awesome, colourful and musical. Everything is in its perfect place and in complete harmony with everything else like a symphony. I always keep this in mind when designing.
You mentioned you are an Evangelist, at what moment did you realise you were called to ministry?
I was born again during the time I was transitioning from the employed to the employer. Soon after the experience I began to face a lot of challenges in almost every area of my life. More than anything I began to seek God for solutions. I treated God as an ATM, where I would go to Him with request after request. The more I sought God, the more He sought me. In my pain, discouragement and disappointment, I was searching for solutions, which is what I wanted, but what I discovered was what I needed; the amazing heart of God. In my pursuit of solutions, I fell deeply in love with the Lord Jesus Christ and I began pursuing a relationship with Him. I met a woman from my church who taught me the Quiet Time Concept, which is all about spending quality time with Jesus Christ.
As I pursued a deeper more intimate relationship with the Lord in Quiet Time, I began to grow in the knowledge of God and developed a deep hunger to know Him. As soon as I shifted my focus from my challenges to the Everlasting Solution, who is Jesus Christ, lo and behold the solutions I once sought came in hard and fast. With this, I developed another hunger, to tell others about the beauty of the Lord and His amazing grace to those who receive Him. In short that is how I became a teacher of the word and an Evangelist.
Can you tell us a bit about your life in ministry and your personal devotional time?
Well, I do not have my own ministry but am a member of the United Methodist Church, where I’m given plenty of opportunities to preach the Word of God. I have also had opportunities to minister in other churches and ministries. In my walk with God, I have learnt that I cannot minister to others unless the Lord first ministers to me. So I spend quiet time alone with God on a daily basis. I consciously set aside time with the Lord, because in the middle of juggling being a wife, mother, business woman and servant of God, your day ends up getting away from you. “Enter His gates with Thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His Name” - Psalm 100 vs 4. This is my attitude whenever I go to be alone with my Lord, my Saviour, my Redeemer and my King.
In your spiritual walk, how has God used adversity to mature you?
In my spiritual walk, God has used adversity to mature me a great deal. Going through tough times I would seek God in order to get solutions to my problems. But time and time again, before the solution came I would discover attributes of God that just blew me away and I would seek God more to know Him and knowing him became more valuable to me than solutions to the challenges I was facing. When I overcame the challenges my faith grew and I just know that with God on my side I am an overcomer, a victor more than a conqueror. “Praise the Lord, O my soul: all my inmost being, praise His Holy Name” - Psalm 103 vs 1. So no matter what I’m going through I have learnt to enter His presence with praise. I spend a lot of time in the word, going deeper and relying on the Holy Spirit to give me wisdom and revelation. My personal devotional time is a time of being renewed and rejuvenated. I allow the Lord to minister to me, lead me, guide me and rebuke me for any unconfessed sin. Afterwards, I am encouraged and strengthened. There are times when I’m in deep distress and all I can do is sing to the Lord as the tears flow freely.
How do you balance the needs of your family, yourself with those of a congregation?
To answer that, I have to quote a verse that motivates me, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” - Proverbs 3 vs 5-6. Life can be so hectic, juggling home life, business and ministry that it’s easy to experience burn out and not be effective at all. But the Holy spirit leads and guides. I’ll be honest and say there are times when I’ve made mistakes, but He still guides me to go on the right path even when I get lost. Just as I am intentional about my personal quiet or alone time with God, I’m also very intentional about spending quality time with my family.
It’s also very important to pamper myself every now and again, manicure, pedicure and exercise. I love spending time, at least one Saturday a month, with the ladies maybe have a lunch date where we sit, eat, talk and laugh a lot. It’s very therapeutic. Though this has not been possible lately with the pandemic and the lockdowns. This is how I’ve managed to maintain balance in my life.
Do you have a mentor? Is there anyone you are mentoring
I do have a mentor, someone more spiritually mature than me, and mature in other areas as well. I rely on her to tell me the truth, especially when it comes to things that other people would hesitate to tell me because they fear hurting my feelings. Whenever I need advice on a particular matter, she is usually so open minded and her basis is the unadulterated word of God. It brings accountability to my life. I’m very grateful to God for this relationship as I have seen myself grow through it. By God’s grace I have 2 young ladies I am mentoring. As with my own mentor, the foundation of all our interaction is the truth based of God’s eternal Word.
Explain a time when you have felt pushed beyond your capabilities as a leader, and how you overcame this difficulty.
There was a time a year ago when I was the vice Chairperson of one of the most active and demanding committees in Church. We lost both our secretary and vice around the same time as they moved to another church. Their positions were not filled and so we found ourselves, my chairperson and I, handling all the roles and it came to a point where the pressure was unbearable. Even at home I would be busy with church reports. But by prayer and petition we presented our requests to God, and humbly submitted ourselves to the overall leadership of our pastors. The solution didn’t come, but the Lord gave us the wisdom, strength, courage and energy to finish the term without complaint.
What is your favourite bible verse?
For me, I have a favourite Chapter, Psalm 91. It ministered to me so much when I went through a season of trials so I memorized the whole chapter, and it became my favourite. If I could narrow it down, I would say my favourite verse is Psalm 91 vs 1: He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty (whose power no foe can withstand).
What are your words of wisdom or a story that you tell in order to encourage others?
I always encourage the young ladies that I mentor in marriage by telling them that when you make Jesus Christ the only third party in your marriage, no man, woman or demon can tear your marriage apart!
