Flight

In her opinion, beauty wasn’t
really an asset to the ladies
in their family. They were all
exceptionally beautiful but they 
found themselves caught in the harsh
realities of tradition, culture, 
and religion. 
Her grandfather was a
chieftain in a particular religion.
 
They were from the north
and that meant their destiny
as women were totally under the
control of the men in the family.
Beauty became a bargaining chip for relevance, 
power brokerage, political affiliation, 
strengthening old relationships, or 
forging new ones. Her sisters
were given to older men as second,
third and fourth wives respectively.
 
They were educated but not expected
to do anything with it other
than mind the home.
She wanted more but there
was no clear-cut path to it.
She studied in America but it
was all for show, to increase
her value in terms of who
marries who!
 
She met a man one afternoon,
he was a preacher of sorts.
The man turned to her while
She was paying for groceries
and said “You are a light,
you have been chosen for a
higher purpose in Christ”
Even though she was angry about
her situation at the time and
thinking of a way to extricate
herself from it. The last thing
on her mind was turning to
Christianity. She was raised to
see the worshippers of Jesus
as misguided. There is only one
God and her association with him
was through the one and only
prophet of her religion. She glared
at the man and walked away.
 
A few days later, there was
a knock on her door.
She opened and saw a copy
of the Holy Bible on the
floor right by her entrance.
She didn’t see the person
that dropped it. She had never
touched one before. She picked it
up and decided she would read it.
The decision changed her life.
 
It was not just a book,
It came with a strange power
that turned her tummy and caused
her to vomit for hours.
After her tummy calmed down
she realized her monthly period which
was associated with so much pain
became painless. And she was
still reading the book of Genesis!
To her, that was a sign.
 
She continued to read the book
with an open mind until she
somehow got to the New Testament
and got filled with the Holy Ghost.
She found herself praying in tongues
just like that. Everything was changing
on her inside but on the
outside she was still the same girl…
Or so she thought.
She completed her studies and
returned home.
 
Her husband had been arranged and
her father had for once listened
to her mother to get an unmarried
young Prince (of sorts) for her.
She went through the ceremony
as an obligation.
She still prayed with the family
but maintained her fellowship with
the Holy Spirit in her heart.
 
When she got pregnant with her
first child, the baby was breech
and she was told she might die
if she delivered naturally.
Her husband told her not to
worry, she would deliver peacefully
She expected him to arrange for
her to deliver abroad but he
had another solution in mind.
His solution was to gather clerics
to pray for her daily.
It didn’t make any sense to her.
She cried for many days asking
that he send her abroad for
an operation. Her husband said "No"
and to prevent her from making
any rash decision he seized her
passport.
 
A month before her delivery she
called her older sister. They looked
very much alike and she was
an American citizen. Her sister saw
reason with her and came to visit.
When her sister was leaving, she
dropped her American passport for her.
 
Two days later she sneaked out
of the house and boarded a flight
to the USA. Her abaya covered
the pregnancy perfectly and she made 
sure she didn’t waddle like a pregnant 
woman would. 
Her delivery was a success. 
When she returned home,
her husband was mad but she
begged him and the family intervened!
 
She repeated the same process with
her second child. This time she
got in trouble with the immigration
on her way back to Nigeria.
They called her sister and she picked
up their call and started talking on
the phone while she was in
their custody. That was how they
discovered she had been gaining entry 
into America illegally.
She was detained for six months
and eventually deported.
 
This time her husband had
a hearty laugh at her expense.
It was a loveless marriage.
She had a duty and so did he
but nothing beyond that
She got pregnant again
and this time it was a girl.
The pregnancy was easy and she 
delivered peacefully in a Nigerian 
hospital. 
Her husband got a job in
the Middle East.
 
She started reading her Bible again
and fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit. 
Perhaps she took it too far.
One day her husband came
home unannounced and met her praying 
in tongues.
He was livid.
She tried to beg him,
but he stormed out of the house.
 
A few weeks later, she went
to visit a friend and by
the time she returned home he
had taken the children away.
It was a crazy time for her.
She called and begged and
prayed. She reached out to the
brother in Jeans and T-shirt.
She explained her ordeal and
He told her to calm down.
He said her children will walk
back to her of their own accord and
she need not do anything
But she is a mother
She took the case to court.
The judge favored her and
Her husband was told to return
the children to her.
He did.
 
A few weeks later the judge
was retired. She couldn’t say
if he had a hand in it or
not but as soon as he was
retired, her husband went to the
children’s school and took them away
for the second time.
 
He flew them to another state
and seized their Nigerian passports.
He told them a lot of lies.
She called the brother in Jeans
and T-shirt again and he told
her not to worry. The children will
walk back to her of their own
accord. This time she believed and
waited.
 
A few weeks later her children
called her out of the blue.
They said they are in Abuja
and would like to see her.
She met them at the airport
and they told her what had
been going on with them.
Then they told her what they wanted.
She called her family members and 
everybody rallied round to protect her.
Two days later they left for an 
unknown destination. 
All she wanted was to be with her 
children and raise them in peace!
 
PS: This is a made-up story!
I am in a troublesome mood.
DSS and Police should stay away,
I am protected by the power of my 
imagination
Understand?
I have to say this though!
 
The Holy Spirit loves all his
children and He will fight for us in
any situation we find ourselves.
Know this and rest as a believer,
His word is yea and Amen!