He drove me back to his house to get my bag but I
didn’t go inside. I told the maid where my things were and she helped to get
them. Captain drove me to school himself…he didn’t think I shouldn’t drive in
my condition and actually, I didn’t want to drive that car either. I didn’t even
want the car anymore.
When I got to school, Deola also wanted to talk about
it but I told her I had less than 12 hours to study and we would get to it
later. .In the middle of my studying, I dozed off a little and had a dream
I was holding a dead child and sobbing. I was naked,
dirty and out in the open. One would expect at least one of the passersby to
help if they saw someone in that state; but everyone just walked past me…like
they didn’t even see me.
Then an old man in white flowing agbada appeared out of
nowhere. He walked up to me, wiped my tears and took the child from me. He pulled
me up and poured water on me and all the filth disappeared. I could see my skin
glowing, and then he gave me robe. He smiled at me and as he was about to leave said “Job 11:16-18”
I was physically drenched when I woke up…from head to
toe, but there was no water on the floor. I had to dry myself with a towel and
change my clothes.
Deola had also slept off with a book on her laps…I wanted to
tell what just happened to me but something told me not to. I knew what the old
man told me was from the Bible…we all knew the story of Job growing up but
there was no Bible in our room for me to check the referenced passage.
I was almost late to the exam hall; I was really tired
so Deola had to drop me off. As I was about to enter I bumped into “Bro Charles”, that’s what everyone called him. A staunch Christian guy that was not ashamed of his religious beliefs and convictions…everybody knew that about him, even the lecturers. He was already a Pastor at the University’s Christian Fellowship…he had been since our first year.
We were not friends like that, I only just said hi to
him once in a while…I had always avoided him because I didn’t want anyone
preaching to me. He looked at me and smiled then said “You will forget your misery; it will be like water flowing away”
It was such an awkward moment but I said Amen and went
inside to find my seat. I did my best in the exam hall and submitted my script with
almost thirty minutes to spare. I just wanted to go back to our room so I could
rest, my next exam was not till the next three days. Then I remembered the
scripture from my dream so I asked around for a Bible and it wasn’t long before
I got one.
I flipped through and when I found it
“For you would
forget your trouble, As waters that have passed by, you would remember it. Your life would be brighter than noonday; Darkness would be like the morning.
Then you would trust, because there is hope; And you would look around and rest securely...”
My spirit jumped inside of me and I remembered what “Bro
Charles” said earlier…he said it casually and I thought he was just praying and
being weird.
I decided to stay and talk to him. I needed someone to help me
figure this out. I ran after him the moment he stepped out and told him I
needed to talk to him.
It was a long talk, it took over 3 hours…Bro Charles
said the Spirit of God just told him to say those words to me and he didn’t
know why either. I shared my dream with him and he interpreted it as
redemption and restoration. He kept saying "God must really love you"
Then he asked if I or anyone close to me lost a baby
recently…so I shared my story. I also shared the event at the hospital and how
I gave my life to Jesus.
Instead of judging me, Bro Charles actually felt for
me and encouraged me from the word of God. Things I had never heard before….promises
of God’s goodness and faithfulness. I wept for the times I spent hating God for
dealing my family bad cards in life.
That was the beginning of my rebirth journey…I will not
go into details but my new found relationship with God and teachings from Bro
Charles meant I could no longer date Captain…it was hard for him to let go but
I told him I had become a new creature. He didn’t understand what I meant; he
blamed it on trauma, from the loss of the baby.
It was a sad day…he cried, he begged…I cried too but it
had to end. At a point, he promised to marry me if that was the issue. He would
make it official so I wouldn’t see it as a sin. I advised him to forgive his
wife and let God fix his marriage…he was a good man that got pushed into having an
affair.
When he realized he could not convince me, he thanked
me for being such a good girl…he wanted me to keep the car but I couldn’t take
it…I just couldn’t. He offered to continue the financial assistance even if we
were no longer dating but I rejected it. I remember telling him “godliness with
contentment is great gain”.
My faith also drove a wedge between Deola and me. As
much as I wanted us to work things out and stay friends, (so I could show her
the peace that I found in God) she couldn’t handle it. Things were not just the
same anymore…we grew apart fast.
Besides, she graduated at the end of that semester and
went for Youth Service. I moved out of her BQ because I could not afford to
stay there and went back to the hostel. She didn’t reach out after she left;
although I called her a couple of times…she later changed her number and I
could no longer contact her.
My family knew something had happened between my
beloved friend, Deola and me. My mum couldn’t understand how she left just like
that and never looked back. I dared not tell them what really happened.
I introduced my family to Jesus…my mum had been
attending a church but didn’t really have a relationship with God.
If only I had known this Jesus when my dad was alive,
maybe things would have been different. I finally forgave my late dad the day
Bro Charles taught about forgiveness at the fellowship.
