Rattlesnake

It came upon her once in a while
Since she was a little girl
It came suddenly and without warning
And it manifests itself in any form
She had little or no control over it
Sometimes as it is building up she would
notice it
Sometimes she would be caught totally
unawares
The effect was always very devastating
The first time it ever happened
She was in primary four
Their class teacher told them to bring a
dictionary to school
She forgot to do so
For that offence, she got three strokes
of the cane
She hated that
Being caned in front of the whole class
It was a normal thing and almost all
the pupils get canned
But the third stroke touched a nerve
It really pained her and she reacted
Her reaction elicited laughter and jeers
among her fellow pupils
She began to seeth and rage
Her ears were shut down and her mind
became clouded
During the break time, she got a sharp
object after minutes of searching
She went to her class teacher's car and
scratched it
She also punctured three tyres before she
was noticed
Some pupils saw her and raised an alarm
Her class teacher came out of the classroom
to see what was going on
She made sure their eyes met!
She laughed menacingly
Then she ran!
The teacher couldn't believe her eyes!
Later that evening, the teacher came to
the house to see her parent
Her parents listened carefully to the teacher
and apologised
Her father offered to pay for the damages
What she did was not new to her parents
She had broken dishes so many times in a
fit of anger
Nothing has helped to curb the problem
Her father used to flog her
He would say "Foolishness is bound up in
the heart of a child;
The rod of correction will drive it far
from him."
Ironically, the more her Father flogged her
the more stubborn she became
She was like a wild boar, laying waste
everything in her path
Her mother got very worried about her
Her mother took the matter to a spiritualist
The spiritualist told her parents she belonged
to a spiritual cult
"The more you flog her, the more things will
become difficult for you
Leave her be, pamper her, celebrate her,
whatever she does
leave her be! If you don't allow her to
rule and reign
she will not allow you a minute of rest!
She was a queen in her spiritual cult, the
Queen of her kind, a natural witch
she came to this world on a mission
It is either you hinder her or you help her
achieve her aim
If you help and encourage her, it will end
well for you
But if you hinder her, it will be very
difficult for you"
They asked the spiritualist of there was
any way they
could get her out of the cult
Exorcism, deliverance or appeasement
"What would it take for her to be completely
human without
any link to the cult?" Her mother asked
They told her mother there was nothing that
could be done
except take care of her fellow cultists through
constant appeasement and special treats for
little children
That was how she became a demigod
Her father would clean up after her
She was left to rot in her "goddessness"
Her mother testified that she had to eat
bean cake and maize
puddling on a public refuse dumpsite before
she conceived her!
Her mother said she carried the strange
pregnancy for
almost four years
Her mother was only able to deliver the
pregnancy after she met
another spiritualist who understood the way
of the occult!
A lot of sacrifices and appeasements were
made before
her mother was able to fall into labour
Her labour lasted seven days
When she was born, the placenta came first
It was a wonder of wonders
The placenta was out for about five minutes
before
the baby was born
And the baby was healthy and strong!
As she grew, she would see herself in the
company of other children
male and female all wearing white clothes
All playing in the forest or by the river
Sometimes she saw herself in the firmament
Wearing her crown and being fawned over by
her subjects
Whenever her father needed anything
A car, a new job, a contract, a house! Whatever
Her father would ask her what she wanted
She would state her terms
Once her father fulfilled it, he would get what
he desired within a short time
When her parents wanted to have more children
Her parents called her in the middle of the
night
and asked her to please let them have more
children
She, in turn, asked them why they had never
thrown a
lavish birthday party for her
On her next birthday, her father slaughtered
four rams
and threw a big bash
Her mother was able to get pregnant afterwards
She had four other children
three boys and one other girl
Her entitlement mentality was second to none
Her parent's friends call her "The delinquent"
She greets only when she felt like it
She was a snub at every level
The sudden urge that comes upon her was still
legendary
But as she grew older she was able to manage
it better
But along the way she had many casualties
Teachers, neighbours, family members
Those she couldn't afflict physically, she
afflicted spiritually
Her parents would explain to many whom
she stung
with her wickedness when they come begging
for forgiveness
after they had suffered and gone for all
sorts of spiritual
consultations that she had a "vindictive"
head!
"It wasn't deliberate, it was her head!
Her head was very tough and does not forgive
easily!"
Her parents rose from a one bedroom apartment
to a modest
the bungalow which they built from their sweat
Her Father was a carpenter and wasn't meant
to amount to much in life
She attended four primary schools and four
secondary schools
Somehow she was able to make it to the Polytechnic
She studied Public Administration and did
fairly well
Her parents made sure she lacked nothing
She was a bit of a loner by nature
Because of her domineering nature most people who
wanted to be her friend ended up leaving her alone
The same goes for boyfriends
She was a queen and must be treated as such
Most of the guys didn't understand her
They felt she was proud, pompous and dismissive
So her relationships also didn't work out
She completed her HND and was posted to
Abeokuta for service
There she met a guy she fell in love with
at first sight
He was fair in complexion and soft-spoken
She really liked him and for him, she adjusted
all her eccentricities
She would jump through hoops and walk through
the fire just to be his girlfriend
He was like Adonis, she really loved him
They met during a community development project
He saw her and smiled, it was so natural
And her heart literally melted
She had never been attracted to any guy before
It really shook her to the coreThey talked
a little and exchanged numbers
her mother had told her to choose a husband
carefully
Her mother was never far from spiritualists
Since she was a "spiritual baby"
Her mother needed to check the manual often
and be sure they are doing the right thing!
Her mother knew she wouldn't last in any
man's house
unless the man was very patient and truly
loved her
She was too eccentric for any man to handle
But she didn't care about that as she fueled
her imagination
with the thought of her crush
They exchanged numbers and somehow became
friends
He was a slow guy, a guy who couldn't see
that she had become a jelly for him on time
She had to insinuate herself into his
by recharging his
phone with #10,000.00
He paid attention after that
He drew closer to her and they seemed to
be on course for a magical future
One evening she was going to his house in town
She took a motorcycle
The motorcyclist rode fast until they got to
a deserted area
He parked his motorcycle, claiming it has a
minor fault
She alighted, then he pulled a knife on her
At first, she thought he was joking or it was a bad prank
Until he slapped her twice across the face
Wham! Wham! "Do you want to die here?"
She perceived marijuana and alcohol in his breath
She took him seriously after that!
"I don't have much money on me," she said
He laughed and told her to move into the
forest
As soon as they walked about five minutes
away from the main road
She saw the space that had been cleared
and a rubber mat rolled up close to space
He told her to spread the mat and take off
her clothes
She said "Sir, take me home and we can do this
on my bed"
He slapped her again!
It was as if the slap knocked off the "crown"
on her head!
She fell on her knees and started to cry
He said "I wanted to do this alone before
but you don't want to cooperate so I will call my friends
to join me"
She quickly started taking off her clothes
at that point!
When she was stark naked, under the evening
sky
He told her to kneel down and forced his
hardness into her mouth, the knife held hanging
over her with malicious intention
She took it!
Then he bent her over and deflowered her
from the back
She winced and cried and moaned and wept
He rammed her until he came
Then he hurriedly got off her and left!
Of course, she couldn't shout!
She was stark naked and couldn't tell if
her shout
wouldn't attract other guys like him
She dressed up quickly and found her way
back to the road
It was about 7 PM when she started the long
walk  back to her house
Somehow she was able to make it home in
one piece!
As soon as she got home she called her mother
She told her mother everything
Her parents got to her house the next morning
before 10 AM
They took everything she was wearing on the
the day she was raped
Her mother gave her morning after pill to
prevent her
from getting pregnant
It took her some time to get over it
But she did
She didn't say a word to her crush even after
he became her boyfriend
Their relationship waxed stronger and stronger
Three years after they met, he proposed!
they got married in August 2014
They settled down in Lagos
One year after they got married her husband became
a born again Christian
She was very uncomfortable with it
She was having all sorts of dreams and nightmares
already
Her cult friends would tell her she had reneged
on their agreement
Her parents kept sending word to her not to
eat okra
It seemed she had told her cult mates that after
she got married
the day she ate okra was the day she was going to die!
She knew no peace whatsoever!
That was what motivated her husband to seek help
What he found was Jesus!
When she could no longer bear the torment
She accepted Jesus too
All she wanted was peace and rest
The day she accepted Jesus as Lord and saviour
was very dramatic
That night all her cult mates took canes and
wanted to flog her
But a light shone around her from nowhere and
she didn't see her cult mates again!
She was able to sleep for the first time without
any sleeping pill!
All the drama about her being a "marine spirit
queen/witch" was over
She started growing in the Lord and praying in
the spirit
She had her first child in 2016 and the second
one in 2018
Her husband became a Parish pastor in 2019
Their church was located at Lekki
Just after service one Sunday, he walked into
the church for counselling
She recognized him immediately
He was smelling of alcohol, marijuana
and cigarettes
Just as he did on the day he raped her
He wanted to give his life to Jesus
She couldn't believe her eyes, he was going to
go scot free!
No!
He raped her and he wanted to seek refuge in Jesus!
No way!
She called her husband aside and told him everything
"He raped me! That man raped me!
If there was anybody that doesn't deserve grace,
it is a rapist!"
She wouldn't allow her husband to attend to the man
She went to the man and shouted "Get out of here, you
rapist, thief! You raped me at so and so area of such
and such a place on this and that date!
Your face is etched in my memory, you took my virginity
may you die a horrible death!
You will never mercy, you will rot in hell"
She just couldn't control the bile!
The man left and yet she raged on and on
Her husband called the brother in Jeans and T-shirt
They both came to know the Lord Jesus through
him when he was pastoring a parish
They had come to know the Lord through him
The brother in Jeans and T-shirt collected the address
of the man from the husband
He found the man at one of the uncompleted buildings in Lekki
He was practically living beneath the human standard
feeding off scrounges and sleeping on cardboard papers
They talked
The man just wanted to give his life to Jesus
He felt he needed to!
His life had been downhill for a long time and
he felt he didn't have so long to live anymore
"Something kept telling me to give my life to Jesus,
that was why I went there! Sir, I did a lot of evil
things! I cannot recall them all! If she says I raped
her, I most likely did, I rode a motorcycle in that city
at that period and I raped many girls!
I am willing to beg her and ask for her forgiveness!
The Brother in Jeans and T-shirt led him to Christ
He handed him over to another pastor in that area
He went to see the Parish pastor and his wife
They talked
He explained the reality of the man who raped her
and why it is important to forgive and allow others to benefit
from the grace which she had also benefitted from
She understood and forgave him
They met the following Sunday
The man fell on his knees and asked for forgiveness
With tears in her eyes, she blessed him

PS: I remember all the people I hurt
before I came to know the Lord
I still remember them
The memory motivates me to do better
The memory motivates me to spread life and peace
far and wide
The memory motivates me to preach the gospel
I want millions to remember me with joy in their hearts
Just as some once remembered me with sorrow in their hearts
We must be humble enough to forgive others
We didn't deserve to be forgiven when we were
unconditionally forgiven by the Lord Jesus
Let us be as He is indeed!

Unforgiveness is a rattlesnake! It is dangerous!!!
This event happened in Lagos, 2019