Saved by Love

It was like waiting for an accident 
to happen 
The two of them together
 Like Bonny and Clyde 
No couple should be so into each 
other's weirdness as they were 
And yet, everyone felt it was for 
the best 
His family had a strong history of 
mental illness 
Out of the seven children his
father had, two had committed suicide 
while another two had been committed 
into psychiatric hospitals 
It was not strange for their family 
His father had been under psychiatric 
care for years but was very functional 
Three of his father's siblings were 
sick too 
Some people said their family was cursed 
It is true Their grandfather was an herbalist 
whose specialty was treating mental illness 
According to the story, their grandfather 
made a deal with the demon of madness 
in order to boost his success rate as a 
physician 
As a result, he made so much money
and became quite famous 
All the demon asked their grandfather 
in return for the success rate was the 
blood of newborn babies 
The babies must not be more than a 
week old 
Their grandfather will mark the child 
with camwood and the baby will die 
mysteriously overnight 
When the baby dies, the baby's mother
 must not cry or weep 
If she does, she would run mad 
Nobody knew exactly when or where 
their grandfather struck the deal 
What everyone noticed was this 
Their grandfather woke up one morning 
and announced that he would be 
opening a maternity center in their
village 
As at that time, only female herbalists 
dealt with maternity issues in their village 
It was strange but not unheard of 
Their grandfather announced to all 
that the deities told him to start the 
maternity and they all accepted it 
Soon after then, his mental health 
practice started to blossom 
By the time their grandfather died, 
they were by far the richest family 
in their community 
Their grandfather married many wives, 
had many children, and lived a life of 
affluence 
It was soon after his death that the 
affliction started hitting the family 
members
They ran everywhere seeking a solution 
But the affliction raged on like a wildfire 
None of the children followed in their
grandfather's footsteps and most of 
the herbalists they went to were minions 
compared to their late grandfather 
Nobody knew what to do 
Within three years, a huge family of 76
had been reduced to 34 
The palatial mansion their grandfather built 
for himself was abandoned 
The community had a meeting and carried 
out spiritual cleansing for the land 
Their grandfather's properties were 
regarded as cursed and other families 
in the community were told to be
wary of marrying from their family 
That was his background 
When his father moved into the city 
with his siblings, they changed their 
surname and blended in 
They still had money 
His father was the first son and he was 
the official banking officer of their late 
grandfather 
Even though the community head told 
them to abandon everything their 
grandfather built and start afresh 
The money in the bank was too much 
to ignore 
They couldn't dash it to the bank 
They couldn't withdraw it and burn it 
down 
Moreover, it was lodged into the bank 
under his father's name 
So technically the money belonged to 
his father 
His father started an electrical appliance 
business 
The business grew to the point where 
his father had to build a factory to start 
manufacturing cables and other electrical 
appliances locally 
Because of their past, they kept a very
low profile 
His father also ensured all his surviving 
siblings were given their fair share of 
the investment annually 
It was the money that brought them, 
wives and families, despite the challenges 
their family was facing 
They went everywhere seeking a solution 
But they found none
By the time he gained admission into 
the university, it was obvious something 
was wrong with him 
Nobody could place a hand on it but 
people gave him a wide berth 
A few people who came from the same 
community with him knew his story 
People were polite to him but he
 really didn't have any friends until she 
arrived at their school in 200 Level
She was a direct entry student 
Her family was also stupendously 
rich and based in the USA 
She was raped in her hostel when 
she was in her first year 
The experience was very traumatic 
for her 
When she failed to recover as
expected her doctor recommended a 
change of scene 
That was why she got her transfer to 
a private University in Nigeria 
A week after she finished her registration, 
he walked up to her and said hello 
And that was that 
It was as if he was the reason she 
relocated
They became best friends immediately 
At first, their relationship was amusing 
to these around them 
Especially when they started kissing in 
the cafeteria in broad daylight 
They were both in their early twenties 
and very much in love 
Her parents were grateful to see her 
bouncing happily again
His father was happy that he finally had 
someone he could call his own 
Some of their fellow students gossiped 
and jeered but none of that moved them 
They had found in each other a fountain 
that can never run dry 
By the time they graduated she was 
completely off her meds 
She had recovered fully 
He was still very functional, just like 
his Father
He had his good days and his not so 
good days 
Sometimes it gets so bad that he 
locks himself in his room and does 
not see anybody 
At other times, the only person he 
permits in his space was her but the 
spells were manageable and wane
over a period of 3-14 days per time 
Her parents made plans for her to 
return to the USA after graduation 
She insisted she must observe her 
NYSC before returning 
They agreed with her 
After the NYSC he proposed to her 
She said yes 
Her parents flew off the handle
They had done their research into the 
family and discovered they were 
afflicted with madness 
Their daughter was depressed as a 
result of the rape but she had fully 
recovered 
His condition does not have a cure 
No sensible parent will allow such 
a marriage 
It became a tug of war
His father tried to intervene 
Her parents said No 
He offered to sign a prenuptial agreement 
releasing her from the marriage if his 
condition worsens 
Her parents said No 
She cried and begged and pleaded 
Her parents said No 
Then she told them she would kill herself 
if they don't let her marry him in peace 
Her mother reached out to the 
Brother in Jeans and T-shirt 
She explained everythng 
She said she wanted her daughter's heart 
to be flipped off the accursed young man 
She was sure her daughter was making 
a terrible mistake 
The brother in Jeans and T-shirt
met with the young couple 
The past and present were merged into one 
What was hidden came to light 
The Father of the young man and his 
living siblings were also invited 
They were led to Christ and filled with 
the Holy Ghost 
The curse of several generations was 
lifted forever 
Wow!
The lady's parents called three weeks 
later to say 
Thank you 
They have seen for themselves the remarkable 
change in him 
The days spent sitting in the darkness, 
screaming at ghosts were long gone 
He had been made whole 
The couple got married in November 2018 
Maranatha!!!

PS: Someone wrote to me after
reading this story
She said why would God forgive such
a wicked family?
She didn't see them as worthy of
heaven and the gift of salvation 
because of their past
She was wrong
Jesus died for the whole world
and promised never to cast away
anyone who comes to him
Every believer must strive to see
unbelievers come into Christ
'Deolu and Yewande were blessed
with their first baby in September 2020
They are both fervent in their 
walk with the Holy Spirit
Deolu's father and uncles have
also recovered from the affliction
None of them had relapsed since
they gave their lives to Christ and
started walking with the Holy Spirit