© Ayo Omolayo
I sat up on the bed as Mummy walked in.
“Mummy, how did your conversation with the doctor go?” I asked.
“We give God all the glory for his faithfulness. A soul has been won to Jesus through this incident that happened to you.”
“Hallelujah! The girls and I chorused.
“We bless the name of the Lord. So how are you feeling?”
“I’m getting better and better every minute.”
“That’s wonderful!”
I quickly decided to seize the moment. I took her hand and made to get down from the bed.
“Hey! Stop that! You’re in no condition to do that!” She snapped.
“I want to apologize to you for everything that happened. I’m so sorry for all the trouble I caused you. I must confess, I have really been a stubborn fellow. I’m sorry for all those things I said. I didn’t even know what came over me that made me to say all those things. Please can you find a place in your heart to forgive me?”
She smiled and shook her head.
“I won’t be here in the first place if I haven’t forgiven you. I would be at home nursing bitterness towards you. But thank God for his grace that makes it possible for us to do his will without stress. I have forgiven you and please do the same thing to whoever would be needing your forgiveness later.”
“Thank you so much ma! I’m so relieved and grateful to God for everything. You have been a wonderful example of a Christian mother to me.”
“It’s alright Juliet! Please have some rest! You seriously need some right now.”
“That reminds me, Ella told me there’s a scar on your belly. Please can you tell me what happened to you that resulted to that wound?”
“Ella!” Mummy called and gave her a frown.
“I’m sorry ma! It wasn’t intentional. I really made sure not tell her anything about it. Please forgive me,” she pleaded.
The next person I saw was my Dad rushing in.
“Jesus!” He screamed when he saw me.
“Mr Anderson! Please keep it down!” Mummy said as it would end up making the nurses send everyone away from me.
“Is this my daughter?” He said looking angry.
“Calm down! Let’s be grateful to God for sparing her life!”
“Grateful for what? Look at how they beat her mercilessly!”
“They’re just wounds! They would disappear in a few days.”
“Look at how you are talking as if it’s a minor incident. They stabbed my daughter like a criminal. My only child Mrs Abayomi!” He said and seemed to be in tears with the way his voice was sounding.
“Thank you so much for looking after her very well! After she’s fully recovered, I’m taking her away!” He said and took a seat close to me.
Mummy didn’t argue. She just looked serene, calm and full of smiles.
Why was my Dad saying? Why was he acting as though it was mummy’s fault that I was kidnapped? Was this the same dad who told me on the phone that he would not come to pick me up untill I come back a trained soldier? Why was he changing his statement now?
I guess everyone has a limited to what they can bear. He never expected this to happen. So it made him change his decision. I think that is quite understandable.
But they moment he mentioned taking me home, I knew within me that my stay in Broadway academy had just began.
I smiled when I saw mummy looking serene. It meant one thing. That no matter how my father screamed on top of his voice and tried to drag me home, what God wanted, which was for me to stay, will prevail.
“How are you feeling?” Mummy asked and reached to take my hand.
My Dad caught her wrist and shoved it aside.
She smiled and gave a nod. The girls saw the act and gave a look of surprise.
“Can you both excuse us?” Mummy asked.
They left immediately.
“Dave! What’s the problem?” Mummy asked.
“You are my problem! You almost made me lose this child. This child that I had sacrificed so many things in my life just to raise her. I handed her over to you, and here’s exactly what you did to her!” He said pointing at my wounded body.
“If it were to be your Ella, you won’t allow something like this happen to her. But because this one is my own, you treat her the way you like. This is the extent of your love. Thank you so much, but I’ll take it from here! You have done a great job.” He said and stood.
She smiled and shook her head.
“Dave, can I ask you a question?”
“Sure! Go ahead! Cause you’re not going to make me change my mind!” He replied.
“When last did you observe your quiet time?” She asked.
“How does that have to do with the situation on ground?”
“It’s just a question!”
“A worthless question!”
“Oya answer!”
“Why should I answer a meaningless question?”
“Just a yes or no would do.”
“There’s no relevance attached to the question.”
“Yes! But answer it!”
“There’s no need to answer it!”
“Daddy! Answer the question!” I interrupted.
The two adults stared at me and paused for a while.
“Daddy! Mummy is waiting for the answer. When last did you spend quality time with God to renew your spiritual strength. Because it’s obvious that at the time we are supposed to be thanking God. You’re busy casting blames at an innocent soul.
Was Mummy there when I agreed to follow the kidnappers out of my school? Instead of facing me, you’re facing the wrong person.
And do you know she’s a woman of God? You don’t talk to a spiritual leader anyhow and go scot free. You’ll pay dearly for it if you don’t apologize nicely and she forgives you.
And for your information. God didn’t say I should leave this place yet. I came here to be trained into a soldier. That, I must accomplish. Till then, I’m not leaving this place. I guess you’ll have to kidnap me out of here so you can take me home.
If not! You’ll have a stubborn Juliet to deal with!”
He looked at me with tears in his eyes.
“I’m a failure! I’m such a failure! I don’t know what’s wrong with me! My job has been making me so stressed out. So whenever I want to observe it, I’m so tired and I just give up to go back to bed.
I know I have not been observing it. But I keep telling myself tomorrow I will do better. But that tomorrow never becomes better. It keeps getting more difficult. Instead of me rising up and observing it, I listen to my flesh and fulfill it’s desires.
The truth is that I know the truth. Why is it too difficult for me to obey the truth. I thought the bible says that when you know the truth the truth will set you free. Why didn’t the Truth about building my quiet time and spending time with God. Why didn’t it set me free?
Mummy smiled.
“I never planned for a hospital bible study, bit here we go.
Open to Luke 11:27.
My Dad brought out his phone and tapped on it several times. Finally, he read.
“And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked.
Verse 28. But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.”
“Did you see what Jesus emphasized on. It’s just as you’re reading a spiritual novel or listening to Apostle Joshua Selman. And you say, ‘Oh my God! This man is heavily anointed! This book I’m reading carry fire! Chai! God bless the preacher! God bless the author! Your generation is blessed! Your mother is blessed!’
That’s exactly what happened here. As Jesus was preaching, the woman said God will bless that woman that gave birth to you and the woman that breastfeed you.
But did you see the answer Jesus gave? Jesus was not moved by the fire in the message. Jesus wasn’t carried away by the Rhema. Chai! Powerful revelations! Oh my God!
Open to the book of Ezekiel 33:29.”
My dad opened it and read.
“As for you, son of man, you’ve become quite the talk of the town. Your people meet on street corners and in front of their houses and say, ‘Let’s go hear the latest news from God.’
Verse 30. They show up, as people tend to do, and sit in your company. They listen to you speak, but don’t do a thing you say. They flatter you with compliments, but all they care about is making money and getting ahead.
Verse 31. To them you’re merely entertainment – a country singer of sad love songs, playing a guitar. They love to hear you talk, but they will never do what you say.”
“Haaaaaaaaaaaa! Jesus is Lord!” My Dad screamed and went down on his knees.
“Toyin! It’s not as if I don’t want to obey God ooo! But I don’t know why! I can’t explain how I end up disobeying him.”
“You can explain! Stop those excuses! You can obey God! All you need to do is discipline your body and ask him for grace.
Dave! I have fasted til the point that I was so hungry till I fainted. I told myself I will never break the fast till it is the right time to break it. I fainted out of fasting, I woke up and continued the fasting. What excuse do you have?
Dave! You like the easy life! You like the life without stress! No pain! No sacrifice! No discomfort. The bible says he that will save his life will lose it. When your body is begging you to stop! You tell him no!
When sleep is begging you to shut down the prayers and go back to bed you tell him he’s joking!
Esther said what God wants me to do I will do! If I perish? I perish! The only thing that will stop me from obeying God is when I drop down and die. As long as I have breath in my nostrils, I will obey God.
Can I ask you a question? Did Esther die?”
“No!”
“Sheybi your body used to threaten you that you will kill yourself if you don’t sleep and stop your quiet time? And you slept! Are you alive now? Aren’t you more dead now than when you were consistent in your quiet time?
We pamper our flesh too much! We feed him everyday. We make sure he’s always comfortable. That’s why he’s killing our spiritual lives. You only pray when your flesh is comfortable with the prayers. Sorry for you! You don’t know who your body is?
Your flesh is not a body! Your body is living!
Do you want to really know who Mr flesh is?”
Do you think your flesh is your feelings? Or do you think your flesh is just tired and cannot do spiritual things?
Oh my God! Let me teach you about THE MYSTERY OF THE HUMAN BODY!
To be continued……..
How many of you right now are like Mr David Anderson?
You want to obey God, but you don’t want to displease your body at the same time.
Don’t allow Satan to destroy you! Procrastinating your obedience to God is only making things worse.
2 Corinthians 6:2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
When it comes to making spiritual decisions, procrastination is dangerous.
Don’t tell yourself I will do it later let me sleep. That sleep may stop you from having a divine encounter that morning.
Come with your pen and jotter tomorrow! We would be looking at THE MYSTERY OF THE HUMAN BODY!
