Indelible

His grandfather had a Raleigh bicycle
He called the bicycle his legs
Whenever he went to the village for holidays
His grandfather would take him everywhere
At first, he would get a ride on the bicycle
But as he grew older, he had no option 
but to jog after the bicycle 
His grandfather was blessed with 
many grandchildren 
He had four children and each of the 
four children had at least three children
The first child had five children, 
two boys and three girls
The second child had three children, all boys
The third child had five children, 
four boys and a girl
The last child and only daughter had four children, 
three girls and a boy
In all, there were seventeen grandchildren
As a custom, every summer, all the grandchildren 
were brought to the village to spend the holidays 
Their grandmother was a trader
Their grandfather was a Cocoa farmer
The grandchildren were able to bond 
during the summer vacation
Some came in from the north, some from 
the north central, some from the south-west 
and some from the east
Early in the morning, those who were eight 
years old and above amongst them would 
follow their grandfather to the farm to 
get some firewood
Most of the time they would be back 
with the firewood before noon
They would have breakfast and do house 
chores till 4 pm when they would set out 
to hawk some of their grandmother's goods
Their grandmother dealt in all sorts of foodstuff! 
Pepper, okra, onions, potatoes, yam, traditional sponge, 
yam flour, cassava flour, charcoal, palm oil, 
corn, groundnuts, and so on
About ten of the seventeen grandchildren 
aged eight and above, hawked every day except 
Sundays!
Sunday was basically the Lord's day
Their grandfather was a very serious Christian! 
His mother was the first Women Missionary Union Leader
 in the south-western conference of the 
country and a member of the local church.
 Their grandmother was of a pagan background, 
the whole Christian thing was strange to her and 
she would only arrive in church just in time 
for the grace to be shared!
While his grandfather was a self-taught literate man, 
his grandmother was non-literate but an astute 
businesswoman!
They were both poles apart in their belief system!
His grandmother had very deep superstitious beliefs 
that sometimes led her to consult herbalists in a bid 
to smoothen her journey in life! '
She does this secretly because she knew her husband 
would never tolerate such as it would tarnish 
his standing in the church, the community and 
most importantly it would be an affront to his faith!
Once in a while when issues crop up and their 
grandmother's spiritual consultations come to light, 
their grandfather would get so angry that it would 
sometimes result in verbal exchanges that could 
almost escalate to a physical scuffle between them!
Once his grandmother's best friend, 
an idol worshipper whose family worshipped an 
idol came to visit her grandmother dressed in 
the attire of the shrine! When his grandfather 
returned home from town and saw the woman
 as she was dressed seated so close to his grandmother, 
his grandfather ran into the compound and got a very long cane! 
By the time he descended on the two women, 
one was running out of the gate while the other 
ran into her room and barricaded herself inside 
until the coast was clear!
Aside from this occasional glitches, his grandfather 
was a prayerful man whose family altar came alive at 
6 am every morning!
His grandfather knew most of the hymns by 
heart and was a complete gentleman
Every evening, his grandfather would sit on one of the 
long benches in front of their compound and tell all 
the children of the compound stories! He was the 
very best storyteller in the universe!
He would change his voice, dramatise and even 
add suspense to the stories! He enjoyed storytelling 
and would travel far and wide to learn new stories 
which he would tell all the children! 
His grandfather's story was usually the last event of 
the day! Many of the younger children would have 
slept off on the mats by the time he finished his story!
He often wondered why his grandparents were cat 
and dog most of the time!
He was taught that those who fight would go to hell!
His grandfather was too much of a good man to 
go to hell! 
If those who get angry and fight even when 
provoked would go to hell, then God would be a 
very unfair God to send his grandfather to hell!
One day,  he asked his grandfather the question that 
has been bothering his mind for a long time!
Can't you let grandma do everything she wanted so 
that you will not go to hell?
I don't want you to go to hell grandpa!
His grandfather didn't say a word! 
Later that evening, his grandfather called him aside 
and told him they would be going somewhere the 
next day by 10 AM
The next morning he quickly did his chores and 
was ready long before 10 AM
His grandfather told him about a home Sunday 
service they conduct in the church for the old and 
infirm baptised members of the church! 
The essence of the service was to serve the old and 
the infirm communion and share fellowship with them!
The church's deacons and elders had been tasked 
with the duty of carrying out this assignment!
His grandfather was an elder and it was his turn 
to conduct the service!
He was disappointed!
He thought they were going somewhere fun and 
adventurous! He hated the boring main church 
service as it were and couldn.t even imagine how 
lifeless the service with the infirm would be like!
It was too late to back out!
His grandfather rode his Raleigh bicycle slowly, 
while he held on to its carrier and jogged beside it
When they got to their destination, 
his grandfather gave him a brief history of the 
elderly man they would be fellowshipping with 
and administering Holy Communion to!
The bespectacled man was well into his 90s at the time! 
His grandfather called the man "Baba" meaning Father!
His grandfather explained that the elderly 
man had gone senile several months before 
he eventually became bedridden, the man 
could barely say anything intelligible!
 The man watched them lifelessly, blinking only 
once in a while as His grandfather was sharing the 
word and preparing the communion
Suddenly, something happened!
A strange calm fell upon the room, 
his grandfather set down the communion cup 
and smiled! 
The atmosphere changed! He could feel goose pimples 
all over his body and a slight tingling feeling in his spine!
 The old man's eyes lit up and he said 
"Welcome, welcome, beautiful, beautiful. 
Oh! heaven is so beautiful"
And that was that!
The man was gone!
All that remained on the bed was dust and ashes!
His grandfather did the needful!
His children and relatives were called and 
they started making funeral arrangements!
As they journeyed home later that night he said 
"Baami (Grandpa), did you know that will happen?"
His grandfather smiled and said, "I have been ministering to
 "Baba So and So" (The Old Man) for many months 
and the Holy Spirit told me yesterday he would be going home today! 
I decided to let you witness it so that you can put your 
mind at rest about my salvation and eternal destination! 
He that is born of God cannot sin!
Christianity does not mean allowing evil to 
fester in the name of protecting your own 
heavenly status! 
Christianity is "Thy will be done on earth as 
it is in heaven! Wherever I am, the will of 
God must be done there"
It was the best sermon he ever heard!

PS: Dedicated to David Oladeji Ajao Sowemimo, 
(The Story Teller of Awe,1929-1999)
Storyteller of grace!
Remembrancer and Griot of His Kingdom!
People ask me often if heaven is real!
I wrote this to share with you my indelible first taste of heaven
How prepared are you for the heavenly Jerusalem
The Zion above, the land of the blessed?