Meeting Joy

His mother died when he was 
12 years old
His father started raising the 
five of them by himself
His two younger ones were 10 
and 8 years old respectively
The older ones were already in 
secondary school
They were aged 12 and 15 respectively
He ought to have been in secondary 
school 
too but he had some challenges in 
primary school and had to repeat 
some classes
It was later discovered that the 
challenge had nothing to do with his 
brain but much to do with his eyes
By the time he was given a pair of 
glasses and he started picking up, 
he had lost two years 
his mother died just as he and his 
immediate younger sister were writing 
the common entrance examination
She was said to have been afflicted 
by a strange disease
Doctors couldn't fathom it and neither 
could any of the spiritualists her father 
and relatives took her to for help 
Their father coped with raising them 
for two years
He tried his best to do it alone and honour 
the memory of their mother but common 
sense prevailed
The balance between work and family 
was lost and he was torn in between both
Their firstborn became their pseudo 
mother by defult 
but the responsibility was taking its toll 
on her academics and life
Their father had to come to terms with 
the fact that marrying another wife would 
be the best thing for everybody
He told one or two people about his 
decision to remarry and asked them to 
pray along and be on the 
lookout for any suitable candidate for him
That was when all hell was let loose
It was as if the vultures had been waiting 
for him to open that door or lurking in the 
shadows for him to declare his intentions
Relatives started coming to the house at 
various times of the day with 
with prophets, alfas, and spiritualists to 
pray for the family 
Their father was a very simple man whose 
motto in life was not to offend anybody
He accommodated all those who came 
claiming they were trying to help him not 
to make the same mistake he did with 
their mother by prying 
into the spirit realm to get him the best
Religion and manipulation are close 
relatives
It turned out many of those coming 
around claiming to want to be of help 
already had a candidate or the other 
in mind and were only trying to use 
the spiritualists to plant their candidate 
in the house
Within three months the hidden agenda 
of the four people who were frequenting 
their house in the name of helping out 
became obvious as they met at a family 
meeting and began to expose one 
another's secrets
His father was not a spiritually sensitive 
man, he lived on the 
assumption that spirituality was meant 
for those with a calling
All he did every morning was say a 
simple memorized prayer in the morning, 
recite some psalms and face his day but 
the drama regarding his remarriage and 
the plot of his family members really got 
to him
He didn't know that the so-called cord of 
brotherhood that he had trusted to come 
through for him could be turned into a 
cord of strangulation and manipulation
He gave up on the idea of getting married 
altogether and for another eighteen months 
   continued to struggle between raising his 
family and other aspects of life
By this time he was in Senior Secondary 
School 1 (science class) and he was 
struggling
He had told his father he wanted to be 
a medical doctor and this prompted 
his being placed in the science department
He simply couldn't cope with chemistry and 
physics
He was encouraged to pay a visit to the 
guidance and counseling office of the 
school for a review of his academic and 
career choices
He had a lengthy discussion with the 
guidance counselor in which he was 
asked many questions
He answered the questions as much as 
he could 
At the end of the day, he was given a 
letter to give his father
The letter invited his father to his school 
for a meeting with the guidance and 
counseling officer
The recommendation of the lady was 
that he should change to Art class as 
that was his area of strength but the 
change had to be effected with the 
understanding and cooperation of 
his father
His father drove him to school the 
next day and waited to see the guidance 
and counseling officer
It was the first time his father had been 
dragged to school because of him and 
it made him very nervous
He kept 
glancing out of his classroom to the 
school's car park where his father's 
car was parked
He waited and waited, hoping to catch 
a glimpse of his father as he left the 
school premises
He waited until the school closed
His father's car was still there and his 
father was still in the 
guidance and counseling office
Eventually, his father emerged with a 
smile as bright as the sun on his face
He was standing by the car and saw 
his father humming and walking with 
a spring in his feet for the first time in 
many weeks
He knew something had happened but 
he had no idea what it was
As they drove home, his father kept 
humming and smiling
It was puzzling
The next day, as he was leaving for 
school, his father told him the change to 
Art class has been agreed upon and the 
process by which it would be managed 
without him losing a year had been 
worked out 
He was glad
That morning he was moved to the Art 
class and an arrangement was made for 
him to have an extra hour in school with 
the Government, literature, and CRK 
teachers so that he could catch up with 
the syllabus
When he closed from school that day, his 
father was waiting for 
him at the school gate
It was very unusual, to say the least
His father was a dealer in roofing sheets 
and asbestos, he was the owner of his 
own business but he never joked with 
his work
How come his father was in his school 
for two days in a row and with a smile 
as bright as the 
sun on his face!
What was really going on?
He searched himself but couldn't make 
sense of it
They drove home in silence
When he closed from the school the day 
after that his father was waiting again to 
pick him and drive him home
It continued for two weeks, one day just 
as he was about to ask his father what 
was really going on
His father called all the children together 
and told them they would be having a 
visitor later that afternoon
Their father really urged and encouraged 
them to be at their best behaviour
It was puzzling
Nobody had any idea what was 
really going on
At about 2 pm, the august visitor arrived
It was his guidance and counselor in school
His father introduced her to all the children 
and informed them he would be getting 
married to her in a few weeks!
That was when everything added up
His father had found himself 
a good thing
His guidance and counselor was in her 
early forties
She had never been married and had 
been waiting on the Lord for the 
fulfillment of her marital destiny
She said the Holy Spirit said to her as 
soon as he walked into her office that 
fateful day for counseling
"This is your son!"
She said she ignored it and did her job
Six months later, she was married to 
his father and he indeed became her son.

PS: This event happened in Ibadan in 2009
The young man is now a journalist
His father and his stepmother are still 
making each other happy 
Psalm 68:
5 A father of the fatherless, and a judge 
of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.
6 God setteth the solitary in families: he 
bringeth out those which are bound 
with chains: but the rebellious dwell 
in a dry land.