I couldn’t go back to my office. The fear of God made me temporarily numb…I went straight to the mini flat which I had been given by the university…. I thought Of hiding under the bed, which I did. I went under the bed as I wanted to hide from God… “ So how long are you going to do this?” I heard a voice saying to me in my room… I instantly knew that was God “ I messed up… I really messed up and because of my sins , Rejoice died… God, I am the greatest sinner, I don’t deserve to be forgiven… Just let me die and rot in hell…” I said in tears “ The love I have for you won’t let me let that happen to you… “ I heard God say to me and I felt God stretching Forth His hand to me… I wanted to stretch back my hands back in acceptance , but I thought of the implications… I would have to return to the Lighthouse and tell the teenagers all that happened… I would have to tell them I failed! Shame would not let me stretch my hands… I also felt I was no longer important in the lives of the teenagers… I had been replaced and the teenagers had become youths on their own…. I recoiled and I told God I was sorry but I couldn’t go back to the Lighthouse… I told Him I was sorry for my wrong and I promised to keep myself for Him. I even promised to do great works at the University campus I had found myself…. “ You may be doing the right thing but unfortunately at the wrong place, and Son…that kind of right deed will not count…” I heard His Disappearing voice …. “ God… I will give it my best and it will count…” I said crying to God… I believed I would turn the University around for God and that would change God’s mind… I moved on with life. I picked up my car the next morning. Gradually, I started winning the students over. They loved my preaching method. I told them a bit of my past and that blew them away… I gave it my best and in no short time, I had over 200 students in attendance at my weekly prayer meeting… Gbenle, the blind artist was one of those who attended my meeting. One could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit, hence students who had been blessed told other friends about the meeting… After one of our evening meetings, he walked up to me placing a bag of paintings in my hands… “ I felt led to give you this paintings of mine” He dropped over 15 paintings in my hands and walked away… I knew what the painting could be … so as to hide my secret, I dropped them in my car… On getting home, I laid all the paintings on the floor and I was so right… I saw my life displayed right in front of me, I saw the point where I was…. I saw the painting of a man going on a wrong route and ahead of him, unknown to him there was a pit…. I covered the other paintings … I didn’t want to see what was ahead of me… But… I couldn’t just go back to the Lighthouse…. Then Risi came into my life unannounced…. Risi was one of my good students… She had beautiful and innocent eyes. She was a great artist. She was a freshman… I particularly loved her love for God and how she tried to add a touch of spirituality to her drawings. I was only interested in mentoring her like one of the teenagers at the Lighthouse, but things got complicated along the way… I became a work of art for her… To be continued
