Finding Purpose, Through your Pain - Myles Munroe Jr.

  No matter how hard you try, I don’t think anyone could ever really be prepared for what Myles Jr (Chairo) and his sister Charisa had to go through on November 9^th, 2014. As a country, we mourned a great loss of one of our most influential spiritual leaders.  However this was not only a loss for the Bahamas, this was a great loss for the world. Countless souls that were inspired by the teachings of Dr. Myles Munroe fled to social media to offer their condolences and tributes, sharing messages they learned over the years and cherished photos that they once had the chance to take. Through the dedications, memories and craze of it all, Chairo and Charisa didn’t just lose their spiritual leaders that day, they lost their parents…

In a one-on-one interview Myles Munroe Junior opened up about what life was like growing up with his mom and dad, his painful goodbye and his current journey through life as he makes his daily steps to begin again.

The Younger Years

I know all too well that growing up as Preacher’s Kid (PK) can be filled with endless expectations and demands, and this was no different for Chairo. He admits that he honestly didn’t always like being known as Dr. Myles Munroe’s son. In full transparency, he explained how he grew up hating the fact that his actions would constantly be placed under a magnifying glass to be reviewed and ridiculed by those around him. By the time he became a teenager he had, had enough, he expressed; “I can remember saying, you know what, I’m going to do what I want to do, I’m not going to worry about what anybody else has to say and at that time I was only 15 years old” It was that day that he realized that there would always be a noise in the market, so he was simply going to live his life, his way!

Despite the expectations of others around them, Chairo said that he never felt pressure from his parents to be perfect and although their parents traveled a lot, their family’s bond still remained stronger than ever. He credits his mother for teaching him the important lesson of patience and admired his dad for his constant calm nature and level head whenever things seemed to go wrong. His childhood was one filled with wonderful memories, especially the times he spent with his extended family. He smiled as he remembered those two months out of every summer that he spent with his cousins at his maternal grandmother’s house in Carmichael. Those were the years before cell phones and social media when an uninterrupted family time was truly appreciated.

Gone too soon…

“I remember on the morning of November 10^th, how my sister and I woke up and asked each other ‘What now?’”. For Chairo those moments were filled overwhelming pain, he couldn’t believe that in a blink of an eye everything he once knew was gone. Every day that he woke up it became more and more real that this was now his reality. He admits that it honestly took about four to five months for him to feel some kind of normality again, “I don’t remember December at all; people tried to remind me of conversations we had during that time and I honestly couldn’t remember, because December was straight autopilot for me”. He had a vision for his life and just when he thought he was beginning to have it all figured out, the unexpected happened.

The responsibilities came quickly and they came with a lot of requests and expectations from Chairo and his sister, and at times these demands made it really hard for him to grieve. “People want to honor my parents and I understand that. However, I don’t think they realize that in the midst of it all, I lost my parents...” There was no doubt in his mind that he would now have to lead and protect the family business along with his sister, he just knew that there would also be days that he needed to love and take care of himself. “There are still days when I wake up and I don’t feel like talking to anybody, days when I don’t feel like smiling or going to work and those days are real days.”

The Man behind the Suit and Tie

Although in recent months Chairo has been thrust into the limelight he is an introvert at his core, he describes himself as quiet, reserved and laid back most of the time. He loves to travel and tries to make at least 2 to 3 leisure trips with his friends every year. He is a true sports fanatic; however he hasn’t been able to be on the field as much since everything happened last year. Despite his hectic traveling schedule, he continues to work out, which has not only kept him in shape but has also proved to be a very therapeutic process for him.

He says that he is in his true element when he is allowed to be creative or an inspiration to others. He remembers the many days he would head to his Dad’s office to vent off his daily frustrations. It was in those meetings that his dad challenged him to be creative, to think outside the box and to solve his own problems, by no longer seeing them as problems, but seeing them as new creative paths to travel. He credits his success of creative freedom to his parents.

Chairo admired his parents for many reasons, but one of the main reasons was because they always had a real and relatable relationship with God and that’s the kind of relationship he seeks to strive for. When asked about his spiritual life, he shared, “I don’t consider myself to be a super spiritual person, I would describe my relationship with God as a real relationship and when I talk to God I feel like I hear him very clearly”. He says that even on the days when he feels lost God always finds a way to bring him back to Him.

Pursuing Purpose

When Chairo moved back to the Bahamas in 2009 he returned with his MBA with a focus in entrepreneurship. It took him a while to get back into the routine of the “island life”. Despite the adjustments he had to make along the way, he always knew his dad’s request for him to move home to work within the family business, was the right move for him. He eventually began to grow in his role at Myles Munroe International and felt as if he was really beginning to walk into his purpose. He began traveling the world with his father and spent days dreaming of endless business goals to propel his dad into even greater platforms.

           Isaiah 45:15 “Truly, O God of Israel, our Savior, you work in mysterious ways”. God threw a monkey wrench in Chairo’s plans on November 9th and needless to say, he was devastated and confused. In an instant, his purpose had changed and now the tough decisions were all his to make. He knew that God had spent the last 4 years preparing him for this season; he just never felt that this season would come so soon. “People think that my parents passed and we were kind of pushed into what we are doing now, however, the only difference between now and what I have already been doing is that we are now in the forefront of the stage”.

Chairo says that he is his toughest critic and when brainstorming potential business ventures there are times he honestly fears failure. He places a lot of pressure on himself to not make the wrong the decision. He revealed that he is in the process of growing to realize that God has strategically placed trustworthy people in his life to helping navigate him through this process. He is learning to be prayerful and trustful of God’s purpose. He realizes,“God is never going to give you a vision that you feel that you can accomplish, it’s always going to be something that scares you, so the only thing you can do is make that first step and then everything will begin to fall into place from that point on.”

Chairo admits that he doesn’t have his purpose completely figured out and he doesn’t think that there is a timeline that you can place on when it will all come to you. The only thing he does know is that whether it’s through writing, speaking or relating to someone one on one, he just wants to be used by God to inspire others,“I know that I’ll never be the same kind of inspiration my dad was and I honestly don’t want to be, I want to be my own kind of inspiration, I want to walk in my own shoes”.

Several months after the death of their parents Dr. Myles & Ruth Munroe, Charisa and Myles Jr. decided to establish the Myles and Ruth Munroe foundation in their parents’ honor to solidify, build and expand on their legacy.  The foundation’s main focus and strategy are to empower agents of change through mentorship, corporate & faith-based integration, leadership training and other educational curricula. Through this foundation, Chairo and his sister Charisa were able to find a glimpse of their purpose in the midst of all of their pain.

There is no 12 step program that gets you through a loss of a parent or a loved one. There is also no empathy that anyone can extend that will help them to relate to how you are feeling every day. Your only constant is Christ. God’s ways are not our ways and although we may not understand it, He always reveals His plans for us in His time. If you still struggle with a pain of losing a loved one, God wants you to know He hasn’t forgotten about you. He wants to wipe your tears and carry you in His arms on the days that are too hard for you to bear.

Your Presence is Heaven to Me - Israel and New Breed 

God still has angels covering you and His grace is sufficient for you. He has purposed you for this. How can there be a purpose in the midst of so much pain?  It’s because He knew you were strong enough to grow through it. God gives His toughest battles, to His strongest soldiers and He wasn’t wrong about you. There is a purpose behind your pain, trust me when I say; God has already prepared your harvest, He’s just waiting on you to walk into it. 

Isaiah 41:10  “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

When I initially asked Chairo to do this interview, he was a bit hesitant. He wanted me to know that if I was looking to interview someone who had overcome this great obstacle or had his life all figured out, that he would not be the best person for the job. I quickly reassured him that I simply wanted to tell the story of a man who had been wounded, but yet still transparent and strong enough to share how God had held his hand every step of the way. That’s when he willingly agreed!

Thank you Chairo for your willingness to share your story with the world. If this message has touched you in anyway and you would like someone to pray with you, please do not hesitate to email me at kerelpinder@gmail.com. I hope this message has helped to remind you, how much God loves you!