The Warden

The affair was like a whirlwind
He met her at a friend's wedding
in Ibadan
She was one of the friends to the
bride but she had not been selected
to be part of her friend's bridal train
for one reason or the other
She was initially part of the plan
and then some things happened and
she was removed
Her friend told her it was for one 
reason but the other friends on the
train told her it was for another
reason
She felt very hurt by the bride's
decision and almost didn't show
up for the wedding
But her mother encouraged her
to attend the wedding
She was twenty-nine years old
and had never had a successful
relationship
She was concerned and so was
her mother
They had visited many places and
done so many things
Eventually, she was told to get a
face-powder
She was told to use the powder
whenever she was going to a 
public gathering
She was told it would help her
husband locate her easily
She was also told that when her
husband shows up, she should
be quick to bring his name and
picture for the second stage of
the work
Her mother was the one doing all
the running around
Her mother would often say that
some eaglets will jump out of the
eagle's nest by themselves while
others will have to be thrown out
by the eagle
She was one of those eaglets that
needed help
She had to admit her mother was right
She was a born again Christian while
in the University
She was even the Mama of the house
during the NYSC but all her "born again"
activities did not bring her the promised
result
She didn't get a job and she didn't get
a husband
She prayed and fasted and made vows
Her life remained the same
She returned to her mother for help
when she realized all her friends had
gotten good jobs and had either gotten
married or in the process
She had practically nothing to show
for being a born again Christian
Her mother had always believed in
the use of means and all to support
whatever god you worship
Her mother always said "Herbs and
charms, whether demonic or angelic
were made by God for the benefit of
mankind and only a fool will shun such
an advantage"
That was how she bought into her 
mother's wisdom
It was a steep slope
From eat this, wear this and say this
to carry this to this place in the middle
of the night and at a point "The sacrifice
won't be accepted by the deities unless 
we have sex..." 
So she ended up sleeping with the
spiritualist in the name of getting a 
husband and a job and other good 
things of life
She was wearing the powder that day
when he approached her
She was waiting for the husband and
wife to arrive at the reception venue
from the church so that she can show
her face, greet them and leave
She didn't even bring a present lest
someone will say she brought 
something fetish
The reason they removed her from
the bridal train was because the
bride's pastor claimed she was 
diabolic and shouldn't be allowed
near her on her wedding day
(Some other friends told her this)
but the bride stylishly told her 
she was benched because the
bridal train's imported material was
not enough
She knew there was more to the
story especially because the attitude
of the bride changed towards her in
a very funny way
Not picking her calls and changing
the venue of the rehearsals so that
she was excluded from everything
She got the message loud and clear
She never expected anything good to
come from the wedding for her
But there she was, sitting down
with her legs crossed
A tall handsome guy walked up to
her with a smile that could swallow
the sun
 Within minutes, they were talking
like old friends
She wasn't even aware of the moment
the husband and wife arrived
She had been swept off her feet
He offered to drop her at home
from the reception venue
That was how it started
As soon as she told her mother about
him, the race to hook and tie him
down began
She went for incisions in her private
part and was given a cream to
use on herself after sleeping
with him
They were talking every day on the 
phone and she had made it obvious
that for her "sex" is the difference
between just a friend and relationship
He got the message and was all for
them going to a hotel for a smash
but then he picked her up that day
and took her straight home
He said he wanted his folks to meet 
with her
That was the beginning of her woes
His mother didn't even respond when
she greeted her
His mother's eyes were like fire
She knew if it was up to his mother
she was dead in the water
As soon as she sat down, his mother
called him into the room
He was there was about an hour
Her heart was beating like crazy
until he came out
When he eventually came out of
his mother's room, he told her
they have to go
She knew it was bad news
Another "Almost" episode in her
quest for marital settlement
He drove on in silence
She knew once he dropped her
it was over unless she did
something totally crazy
So she said "Can we go and
have sex now? I promise i won't
insist that you marry me afterward!
Wow!
He smiled and drove her to a hotel
That was how she hooked him 
He just couldn't listen to his mother
or any other voice of reason
She was the one he listened to
always
She had his remote control 
It wasn't the kind of relationship she
wanted
She was always feeling guilty and 
afraid that he would somehow be 
free and leave her
She knew he wasn't really with her
by his own will
It was all a tangled mess
She got pregnant three months after
they got together
It was her mother's idea
She was sure he would marry her
if she asked him to but his family
will never be a part of it
With the pregnancy, the dynamics
would change
It was her mother that broke the
news of her pregnancy to him
His mother said "We dont have
children outside of wedlock in this
family, so you have to go home and
inform your people so that they
can come and do the needful"
He went to his family immediately
and demanded that they support 
him for his marriage
His mother saw that he had been
swallowed whole by the python
She also started running from one
pastor to the other claiming her
son was in bondage and needed
to be set free
Her mother kept telling her, that
anyone who will get it in life must
be ready to make war with 
adversaries
Several nights she would toss on
her bed feeling the full weight of
all the webs she had gotten herself
into all in the name of getting 
married
Her quest for a job had been suspended
from the moment she got pregnant
She was depending on him for her
wellbeing and all
That was another issue his family
had against her
She was jobless and since she met
him he had been spending practically
all his earning on her and her family
Isn't that what a man ought to do
for a woman he loves?
She was convinced his family wouldn't
mind if they loved her but they were
raising hell because they don't love her
She had their son, that was all that
really mattered
Marriage plans progressed
Her man picked a date and 'decided 
he would go ahead even if his parents
refused to be a part of it
He carried her along every step of
the way
She, in turn, carried her mother along
but in the dead of the night, her mind
was never at rest
It was as if she murdered sleep
The closer the day got, the less she
slept
And then the weird dreams started
She started seeing herself being
mocked in a market place
Sometimes she would see herself
naked with ashes all over her
Her mother took her to many places
but the fear had taken a hold of
her heart
Her blood pressure went haywire
Headaches became a norm for her
It was a season of trepidation and
fear
Four months to the wedding, the
headache took a crazy turn
She was rushed to the hospital
by 7 AM his mother had called him
and he had rushed down to be
beside her in the hospital
He was the one that called the brother
in Jeans and T-shirt
It was out of concern for her health
He wanted someone to pray with
her on the phone for her healing
He told the brother in Jeans and T-shirt
his pregnant wife was sick
The brother in jeans and T-shirt
said give the phone to her
He handed over the phone and she
started speaking with the Brother
in Jeans and T-shirt
It was supposed to be a five minutes
prayer
The phone call lasted 1 hour, 55 minutes
By the end of the call, she had been
healed of high blood pressure, anxiety 
attack, headache, panic attack, fear
and shortness of breathe
Her whole body was tingling as if an
electric current was running through
her system
The brother in Jeans and T-shirt finished
praying and asked her if there was
anything else she needed
She didn't know why she started 
confessing her sins
The words just came pouring out
How she lost her way
The things she had done
The incisions and sacrifices
She talked and cried and cried
When she was done, the brother
in jeans and T-shirt asked her if 
she would like to be filled with the
Holy Spirit
She said she had been filled before
but she lost it somehow
He laughed and started praying
in tongues
She joined him and they prayed
together until she started crying
all over again
When they were done, she turned
to her man and told him everything
she did from the beginning
She told him her mother's role
She told him the secret was what
was killing her and she didn't want
to bear the burden anymore
He was stupefied
It was as if every word she spoke
put a kilometer of space between
them
He couldn't believe he had been a
victim of demonic manipulation
right from the moment, he met her
He couldn't even pretend it was
all water under the bridge
The only thing that kept ringing in
his head was "My mother was right"
He left her at the hospital
When he got home, he locked himself
in his room
He called the Brother in Jeans and
T-shirt
He wanted to know how the brother
convinced her to tell the truth
The Brother in Jeans and T-shirt 
told him he couldn't understand what
was going on unless he became a
born again Christian too
He said "No matter what i tell you, it 
would sound like foolishness to you 
because the mystery of the Kingdom 
of God has been revealed only to 
initiates in Christ and to no one else!"
He asked if he could become an
initiate too
The Brother in Jeans and T-shirt
led him to Christ and got him filled
with the Holy Spirit
He spoke in tongues all-day
Later that day, he sat his family
members down and told them 
everything
He told them he was no longer
interested in the marriage
He didn't go back to the hospital
Her mother called him several times
He blocked her and anyone else
who could reach out to him on
their behalf
As far as he was concerned their
chapter was closed
On August 31, 2009, his mother called
him early in the morning that she
was just called by her mother
She had delivered their baby
The baby was a boy
His mother was already dressed
and so was her younger sister
They had travel bags full of baby
clothes and other things
They went to the hospital
He said he wasn't going in
His mother insisted he must see,
carry and bless his child
They got to the hospital
He saw her and something happened
to his heart
He walked straight to her 
He hugged her and they both
started crying
he had thought he would be repulsed
by her sight but the effect was 
opposite
He couldn't explain it to anybody
He had missed her desperately
The nurses gave him his baby
He named him Israel, Jolaade,
Adebayo
They got married in December 2019
The tow families supported and 
blessed the union
They live in Lagos State, Nigeria

PS: It is either you are a wife or a 
warden
it is either you are a husband or a
warden
A prison warden is not really a
prisoner but he thinks like a prisoner,
talks about prisoners live with
prisoners and usually the prisoners
serve out their sentences and leaves
the warden in the prison
Many marriages are like this
The man or the woman in captivity
by the one who was supposed to
love and cherish him or her the most
What a shame!
Those who have to resort to fetish
means to keep a spouse are of all
humans most miserable and yes
it never ends well!

PS: We need to learn how to be 
born again
Many believers don't know-how
They assume once they gave their
life to Christ kingdom realities will
come and meet them as they are
This is not true
Being born again is a lifestyle of Christ
The way you talk, think, perceive things
and make decisions change
You produce kingdom reality through
this deliberate engagement of your
new status in Christ
You dont continue complaining, griping,
moaning, crying, cursing, living like
an unbeliever and yet be claiming you
are a born again Christian because 
you said some prayers one day
You cannot be acting like Esau and
get the blessing
If you value your birthright in Christ,
live your life worthy of it.