The Recluse

Her story was a very clumsy one
She was one of those "reserved" ones
The one's people refer to as quiet and
easy going
She could be seated in a room full of
people
Nobody would notice her
She would be present but absent
She hated attention
She hated being seen and talked to
She hugged the shadow and solitude
She was easily irritated by people
She just wanted to be left alone
Nobody saw anything wrong with it
except for her mother
Her mother had an aunt who behaved
exactly the way she was behaving
The aunty's life was a sorry tale
The aunty never had a meaningful 
achievement all her life
She was only of worth within her own
comfort zone 
She was only useful to herself
The aunty died at sixty
It was as if she was never born
Nobody remembered her in any capacity
Nobody missed her or longed for her
Her name was always the easiest to
forget and the last to be remembered
Her mother saw the same trait being
played out 
Her mother started focusing attention
on her
"Get out of that room, go and buy me 
this or come and do that for me" 
Her mother would get on her case and 
break her out of the mental prison she 
was building for herself
She was too comfortable being by herself
Her mother saw this and fought it
but nobody else did
Her father would defend her often
"Leave her alone, let her study"
or "Let her be, stop picking on her"
Even her father often forgot she was
living in the same house with them
On several occasion when they had a 
family outing, they forgot her at home
Locked her in and nobody missed her
or bothered to look for her
Whenever her mother or father returned
home from the office or a party and 
brought home goodies for the children
they would have finished sharing it 
before remembering she was supposed
to have a share of it
At a point, even her father began to worry
or perhaps it was her mother that prevailed
upon her father to worry
Whatever the case, her father started
looking out for her deliberately
She was enrolled in outdoor activities
and deliberately engaged in social activities
in church and with the family
Even then, it was a case of forcing the
donkey to the river
She would withdraw into herself and fade
from the activities
It was as if she would die if she made an
impression or got noticed
When she was sixteen, fresh out of secondary
school
Her mother died in a motor accident
The death was too sudden and gripping
The entire family was devastated
Nobody had the time to hound her
She found herself settling into that comfort
zone
She was shamelessly only into herself
She gained admission into the university
She studied accounting
She was just a name on the admission
list and she remained just a name on the
convocation list
None of her lecturers remembered her
None of her classmates too
She made no male or female friends
She neither loved nor was beloved
A guy noticed her once
A week after her father was buried
She was in 300 level at the time
She was in a classroom crying her eyes
out
She suddenly realized she had become
an orphan and would have to start
speaking out and making demands for
her own needs
her father used to do all that for her
He sent her school fees and pocket
money on time because he knew she
would rather die of hunger than ask
His death meant her parent's estate
will be handled by the lawyer until 
She clocked 30 or got married
The same goes for her other siblings
according to her father's will
Her parents were rich but she hated 
having to reach out and relate with
strangers
The lawyer thing was a deal-breaker
for her
She couldn't believe it when she heard
it as the will was read
The more she thought about it, the more
her feelings sank
Until that moment when she got into 
the classroom to read and the thought
overwhelmed her
It was quite wicked of her father to
expose her that way
It felt as if she had been left penniless
As if her father deliberately wanted to
punish her by not putting her inheritance
in her bank account where she could
get it and be by herself
The young man walked into the classroom
holding some notebooks
He wanted to read too
When he saw her, he wanted to turn and
leave
But something in her made her cry out
loud
He turned around and walked up to her
Concern was written all over his face
It was her moment of weakness
He offered her his handkerchief and was
kind
They talked
She told him about her father's death
and the weird dreams she was having
She actually spoke to another human being
They talked for about two hours
They exchanged phone numbers
The next day, he called to find out how
she was doing
He asked if they could meet at Odili hall
She said yes
Suddenly she developed cold feet
What if he wanted to molest her
What if other students see her and start
teasing her that she was his girlfriend
What if he went about telling people she
was his girlfriend
What if he touched or kissed her
The more she thought about it, the
more the voice told her to sit still and 
let him be
She stood him up
He called and called
She never had the courage to pick
or change her mind
That was how that chapter was closed
She saw him several times after then
She avoided or ignored him until he
moved on
She graduated at the age of 21
She did her NYSC
She got a job as a content writer
It was a non-contact engagement
She got her briefs online and she 
delivered online
She was counting the days until she 
clocked 30
Marriage was an option
She wanted to get married but she
didn't know how it would happen
She often fantasizes about her prince
charming and some wedding in the
golden castle
It was all a pipe dream
She was too nervous around people
in reality
She had never been on a date or even
had a meaningful conversation with a 
guy in that direction
When she clocked 25, her siblings called
a meeting and decided they needed to
do an intervention for her
Her older brother said he had a lot
of friends who would gladly marry her
especially because she was due to inherit
fifty million when she got married
She kicked against it
Her brother told her she would end up
alone and living a life of no impact if
she continued to close herself up
to the world
She took offense and accused him of
cursing her
The intervention failed
Her older brother's words stung her
It was the truth and nothing stings
like the truth
She just couldn't help who she was
It was her nature
She lived a simple life
She worked and watched a lot of movies
She read a lot too
She could do thirty days in her flat without
stepping out into the sunlight
She lived like this until she clocked 30
She got her inheritance in cash and 
properties
She continued to live in her rented 
apartment
She had enough to live on without working
for several lifetimes but she just kept it
She lived as she had always lived
When she was thirty-three, she had a dream
The dream was so real
She saw herself in an arena
She was being booed and jeered by a lot of
people, including her parents
She woke up sweating and scared
It felt to her as if she was walking into
heaven and instead of cheers and joy
she was only booed and jeered
If she dreaded anything, it was being
mocked in public
She reached out to @gbengawemimo
on twitter
They chatted in the Direct Message for
many days
She had read many stories on 
gbengawemimo.com and found the writing
fascinating
Being a writer herself, she binge read the
stories and took comfort in the odd reality of
other people whom she considered less
fortunate than herself
The brother in Jeans and T-shirt told her
the Holy Spirit can transform her life and
change her personality
He showed her how the Holy Spirit made
changed the apostles from fearful people
to bold leaders of the church
He told her all she needed to do was get
filled with the Holy Spirit and grow by 
feeding on and practicing the word of God!
She didn't see any harm in trying as long
as she could stay in her room to do whatever
was required
The Brother in jeans and t-shirt led her to
Christ and got her filled with the Holy Spirit
She was the first student of the brother
In Jeans and T-shirt
She would call him every night via
Whatsapp Call
They would pray in the spirit together,
confess the word and make declarations
Within a week she started feeling a surge
of joy
She would catch herself humming and
pacing about her flat energetically
He told her it is called "Making melodies
to the Lord"
Then she started desiring to talk to people
about Jesus
Not to preach but to talk
To tell them how joyful she was and that
they can become as joyful as that too
She started leaving her front door open
She changed her curtains and upholsteries
into bright colours
She opened an instagram account and a
facebook account
She uploaded her pictures on all her social
media platforms
She was bubbling with life and joy
She was confident and often felt like 
screaming
She told the brother in Jeans and T-shirt
of her progress every day
Within a month she was taking evening
strolls
Then she started greeting her neighbours
and chatting more with her siblings on
Whatsapp
One Sunday morning, she dressed up
and went off to a big church
She just wanted to see what it was like 
to experience corporate fellowship
It was the happiest day of her life
She resigned her job
She decided to start writing children and 
Teen's books
Then she started attending Night of Glory
The first time, the brother in jeans and 
T-shirt laid hands on her and she busted
into tears in public
She cried live in front of the altar and the
service was streamed LIVE
She felt no sense of self or shame
She was just happy and springy
She met her husband at the night of 
Glory
That same day after crying and singing
and jumping and screaming like some
drunk woman
He offered her a ride from the venue
She didn't hear a thing he said throughout
the ride
She was just wondering how she was
comfortable seating in a stranger's
car and listening to music from his car
stereo
He checked on her often after that
morning
He found himself drawn strangely to her
His attention was flattering to her
It made her feel all feminine
Eventually, they talked about it
He liked her a lot and wanted her to 
let him in
She said he was already in, why pretend?
She called the brother in Jeans and T-shirt
and told him about the development
He started laughing
He said you did "First come, first serve"
She said "No sir, I did the bidding of love"
They got married in March 2017

PS: The couple lives in Magodo Phase II
Lagos
It is funny to see people who claim to 
be full of the Holy Spirit but are unwilling
to preach the gospel
I see this often
The Holy Spirit came into your life for one
purpose only
So that you can be empowered to testify
of the Lord Jesus Christ
I have also seen people who claim to be 
full of the Holy Spirit without any evidence
of transformation in character and natural
idiosyncracies
That is not in line with the Scriptures
Even in the old testament, the Bible recorded
that Saul became a new man after his
encounter with the Holy Spirit
The same goes for Jesus and the Apostles
Your nature, habits and proclivities are
subject to change once the Holy Spirit
comes into your life
Without the Holy Spirit, you are not in
Christ
The Holy Spirit is the seal of Jesus on
every believer

GSW's Notes: Solemn Assembly is holding
from Friday 29th to Sunday 31st May 2020
on Telegram and Zoom Mobile APP
It will be a life-changing experience with
the Holy Spirit
You have no excuse not to participate
It is taking place on your phone!
Download the two apps and join us
God bless you