Mara

They met at his apartment
He was a smuggler
She was a nurse
He studied electrical engineering at the polythecnic
He graduated with a distinction
But he couldn't get a decent job
A friend of his who grew up in a border town
told him about the smuggling routes and how much
money there was to be made
He felt he had no option at the time
He joined the gang!
Some custom officers were in on the deal!
The smuggling operation was well coordinated
Twelve to fifteen drivers would drive cars
from neighbouring countries into their country
through the designated smuggling routes 
It was a fast and furious affair!
They avoid major highways and custom's patrol route
like a plague
Their trips were mostly uneventful
But once in a while, they have a faceoff with the law
Such encounters were usually a close shave with death
At the end of the day, given the ratio of the 
risk and the reward, (He was making about one hundred and
fifty thousand Naira or 500 dollars per trip)they bury 
the dead, rest for a while and get back to work!
The occasion that brought them together
was one of those close shaves!
He was driving in the middle of a quad when
they saw the custom's vehicles in hot pursuit
The had practised their manoeuvres so often that
they all drove in sync and prepared for any eventuality!
The custom officers pursued them with vigour
and at a point started shooting at them sporadically!
They managed to escape but after delivering 
the car he discovered that he had a very sharp pain 
on his left shoulder!
As a rule, they do not use hospitals for fear of their
relationship with law enforcement officers
He called his supervisor
Three hours later, she arrived at his door
His supervisor had made some phone calls
 and she was the answer to his prayers!
She was beautiful
Her smile was a healing balm
Her attitude a golden charm
She was not in uniform but she came with her kit
She examined him and told him he had a splinter in 
his shoulder from the exchange of gunfire they
had with the custom officers
He perceived lavender
He perceived roses
She was all softness and rest
He had been saving the money he made from 
his daring trips for several months
He just wanted to save enough to establish 
his business
He had been so prudent, dogged and 
determined
But for her, he would throw the entire savings 
in an offering box
Her effect on him was not ordinary
He was knotted up and hard in all the right places
She saw her effect on him and smiled
The smile was not a polite one
It was an "I know you're into me" smile
He reached his hand out slowly towards her 
and held her hand
Then he pulled her close and said: 
"What are you doing to me?"
She wanted to retort, say something smart
But the words got stuck in her throat
Her mouth was dry and her throat warm
He drew her to himself and kissed her
And she kissed him back!
She just loved him
From the moment she set her eyes on him
She didn't know what to expect when she got the 
call from her boss to go to the address 
and attend to a patient
But the sparsely furnished house felt 
like her home
She didn't know how to explain it
She had gone to several people's houses to do 
one thing or the other
But as soon as she stepped into his house
she felt like she belonged there
The kiss was outrageous and stupid
And yet it felt so natural and expected
She would have been disappointed if he didn't kiss her
That was how they started!
She was a Christian  sister and gave him her conditions
1) No more smuggling
2) They are friends with a strong potential of 
getting married
3) He must get a better job or start his own business
4) She will like him to start going to church
He had fallen in love with her
Her conditions were reasonable to him
He stopped smuggling immediately
He also started attending her church
It took him three months, but he was able to set up
his own business
A gasoline generator sales and maintenance store
He also followed her to her church
He had always been a nominal Christian
But he got into the church and his life was transformed
He gave his life to the Lord and got filled with 
the Holy Spirit
It was the happiest day of his life
Long after the service was over, he was still 
seated in the church
Full of awe and the wonders of God 
She gave him two years to grow
She wanted to be sure he wasn't faking it
Eventually, she joyfully agreed to be his wife
He had totally transformed since the day he 
encountered the Lord
They got married in 2010
And then the struggle to have a baby began
At first, she waited with the hope that 
 she would conceive!
Nothing!
One year! Two years! two years and six months
She got depressed!
Why was she not getting pregnant?
She dragged her husband to the hospital
They did tests, the doctors said everything was fine
She got fertility drugs and started saving towards IVF
Five years! Nothing!
She did the IVF, it failed woefully!
She didn't know what to think!
Why was he so cool with not having a child?
Why wasn't he concerned and agitated?
She started talking to people who could help
Pastors, prophets, spiritualists and conjurers
They told her all sorts
It was her mother, her mother in law, her friend
Her husband has a woman somewhere, 
she was a mermaid
She would believe one thing and do everything 
they required 
her to do until she met someone else and do whatever
that one also required of her!
She sowed seeds and made many pledges
Nothing!
Her husband always acted as if she was 
wasting the family's resources!
Whenever she wanted to update him on her 
struggle to get a child, he would just tune off
One evening, she told him how frustrating it was
that she was the one doing all the struggling by herself
She wanted to know why he was so wicked, so distant
He ignored her
She got angry and poured a bucket of cold water 
on his head!
He got angry, took his shirt and left the house
Later that evening, the pastor of her church sent for her
She knew he had gone to the pastor to report her
When she got to the pastor's house, the pastor 
berated her
But the pastor does not know what she was going through
The pastor's wife also spoke
And it seemed as if they had all made up their
minds to insult her and make her the bad person!
What was it that she did when compared with her 
"zombie" husband?
Her husband seemed not to care whether she had a 
child or not
He goes about acting happy-go-lucky
He was stoic, mean and aloof
It was as if he was not touched with the feelings
of her infirmity
How was she supposed to love such a man?
The pastor asked her to apologise to her husband
She did
The quarrel was over
Pastor's wife packed some food and drinks for them
"Go home and eat together on the same plate
and then turn that atmosphere to love and kisses"
She took the food and dumped it in the dust bin
outside pastor's house
He tried talking to her all the way home
SHe refused to say a word
When they got home, she opened the door, got into the 
house and promptly locked her husband out!
It was very late in the night
He knocked and knocked
But she wouldn't open
He eventually went to sleep in the car!
The next morning, she dressed for work and left
home very early in the morning, while he was
still sleeping in the car
When he realised she had left, she drove immediately
to her office 
He wanted to settle the issue and get the key to the house
When he got to her office, she refused to see him
After waiting for almost one hour
One of her colleagues came to see him
She explained that his wife had given her the key
And told her to follow him home and help him
pack his belongings, she was no longer interested
in the marriage!
He couldn't believe it
He called the Pastor, the pastor and his wife called
her!
She refused to pick their calls
Then he told the colleague to tell his wife
he wanted the request in writing and witnessed by 
someone else
His wife did it
SHe wrote him a bill of divorcement and signed it
She cited irreconcilable differences as the cause
He drove home and packed his bags!
When he was done, her colleague told him she had
extra rooms in her house she was not using
She inherited a duplex after her late father died and
lived alone
She wondered if he could move in there until
his wife cooled down!
He saw it as a generous offer
He had known his wife's colleague for over three years
She was a well mannered, good-natured lady, always willing 
to help
She was like a family friend to them
He agreed to stay with her for a few days
Two weeks later, wife simmered down and began to miss 
her husband
She called him but he didn't pick
She called all his friends wondering where he was
She called family members too!
She ran to the pastor and reported herself
The pastor prayed with her and told her to relax
Her husband would turn up!
Weeks went by
She noticed that her colleague was pregnant
They were all nurses and they know the signs
Her colleague didn't even tell her she was seeing somebody
She asked but her colleague gave her a story
She knew it was a story but she had issues of her own
Almost four months later, she discovered the truth!
Her husband was responsible for the pregnancy of her
friend and colleague!
She went berserk!
Pounced on her pregnant friend in the office and 
beat her black and blue
She was sacked immediately!
She went to the Pastor, she wanted him to intervene
The pastor called her husband several times
He refused to pick the calls
She started fasting and praying
SHe wanted God to avenge her and restore her husband 
back to her
It didn't happen!
As a last resort, she went to a spiritualist
She wanted something, anything to be done to 
avenge her!
She had been slighted, she had been cheated and 
ridiculed!
The spiritualist gave her powder and some 
incantations to use
As she was going home to use it, she met the Brother in
Jeans and T-shirt in a supermarket
They had attended the same University
They greeted each other!
She told him everything that had happened and what
she had resolved to do to seek redress!
He laughed and told her to let the man go!
"You dug a small hole that you could come out of
but you refused to come out!
People tried to pull you out, but you refused help
You continued to dig until you found yourself 
too deep in it and instead of stopping, you are
still sharpening your digger and shovel to dig deeper!
The wise thing to do is to stop digging!" He said
She got it
She threw away the substance the spiritualist gave
her immediately
The Brother in Jeans and T-shirt prayed with her
That God would set her on a path of true fulfilment!
Her marriage was formally dissolved in 2017
That same year, she travelled to Canada to for her masters
She met her husband, a Jamaican dentist on the 
University campus
They got married in 2018
She delivered a baby girl in January 2019

PS: Her case was rare and special
Many others didn't get a second chance so soon
Her husband and the "wife" got married in 2018
They have two children!
Please adopt a child, please!
Adoption is a very good and viable option
It doesn't mean you will never have your own children
It means you are a blessing and a joy!
There is so much to learn from this story
Read it over and learn as much as you can!
Thank God for God!
The devil would have used pain and bitterness to
set many people in bondage
But God brought out a testimony out of Mara (Bitter waters)

But our God is a merciful God
Her ex-husband is still happily married