SHE RETURNS

Comfort returns to the arm of her savior. She gave it all to Jesus Christ who loved her enough to accept her messed up life. She returned to school. She also started to fellowship on campus with (NIFES) International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. She made new friends in the fellowship, It was a new life for her. She always enjoys the fellowship. The praises, prayer, and the word of God. They became healing to her spirit, soul, and body. Her academics were becoming revived too. She was assimilating very well. She was tutoring her classmates as she used to do before. 

"I made new friends but believe me, they were all female friends". I was a bit scared of really coming close to those brothers. Once we ended the fellowship, I rushed out immediately hardly greeting any brother apart from my female friends, I moved out quickly to go to the library to read before going back to the hostel.

There was a time the fellowship president noticed me and decided to engage me in a talk. He asked if I had someone I wanted to marry and I replied “no one yet”. In my heart I was not even ready for any relationship, I’m still healing. 

He encouraged me to stand steadfast and be faithful in the Lord. I was told to be an example of believers in word, spirit, conversation, etc. I was very happy with the encouragement. Every Monday, I joined a group that prays on “Mount Zion”. Mount Zion is that area, of a field dedicated to prayer. We come there to pray for thirty minutes, after which we gather round, hold our hands and we pray together. We do this every Monday around 9 pm to 10 pm. 

There was a time a sister called me to share her problem with me. She wanted to change her course from the English department to English Education. This means the sister will have to be attending education courses. She went to see the faculty officer and the head of the department of English. The dean of the faculty of Education rejected her and told her she must go back to 100 level when she was in 200 level. When she told me the dean refused to sign her paper, we decided to go to Zion, I mean Mount Zion to pray. We prayed to hold hands I felt so much of the presence of God, I had never experienced such power in my life, I spoke out that God had answered her prayer she should go back to the dean he would sign her paper.

 She went back to the hostel in pure excitement, believing the word spoken through me by God.

We met the following day and excitedly told me that God had answered our prayers. God spoke it and He did it. The same man that rejected signing the other day smiled at her as soon as she entered his office. He asked her to bring the paper and he signed without delay. What joy that day! We started worshipping the Lord. God is faithful and his mercies endure forever. 

“I recalled a wonderful case that happened to me, she said, "I was going to have three papers that are my second-semester examination. Then" the following day while I was reading in the Library, an insect flew and entered my ear. I couldn’t read again, I rushed to the hostel to check if someone could help me remove the insect, the insect kept on moving from time to time it was quite disturbing. Some of the girls in the hostel tried to remove using cotton bod all to no avail. They resolved that we should go to the school clinic to have it removed so I could continue reading for tomorrow’s papers. I was quite disturbed. I kept on believing God as we were going. We got there and I was with one of the doctors. He tried to remove it but he couldn’t. 

Finally, he resolved that I would have to be operated on that night. I spoke to him that I had three papers to do the following day. He simply told me to go to the hostel; that after my papers I should come for the operation. I thanked him and left. I told myself ‘Operation!’ I rejected it and we went back to the hostel, on our way to the school gate someone saw us and asked what the problem was. We told her everything she said, “Oh! You don’t know, you should use oil, like olive oil, pour it into your ear, the one affected, block it with a cotton wool wait for about ten to twenty minutes. Remove the cotton wool and pour out the olive oil from the ear. The insect would have died and come out with the oil. Go to the hostel and try it. It is as simple as that. "

We thanked her profusely and we all rushed to the hostel. We were not able to get olive oil that night so we resorted to groundnut oil, we poured it into my left ear and blocked it with cotton wool as instructed, the insect became more active, moving up and down after a while, it was not moving again. I removed the cotton wool and poured out the groundnut oil from my left ear. Lo and behold it worked. The dead insect was out with some of the remaining groundnut oil. It was the Lord’s doing and was very marvelous in my sight. I was so happy. It was an answered prayer to me. How come I got to the hospital, the doctor tried and failed and on my way back, I had someone explained it simply to me. I was overwhelmed with joy and thanksgiving, I quickly rushed out to the theatre class to continue reading. 

I had another encounter in the examination hall, the first paper I had was very simple. I answered the questions. The second one came as soon as I saw the paper, I was happy but when I got into writing the examination, I couldn’t write again. All that I knew flew away. It was as if someone came to remove the answers from me. I was exasperated, I was developing muscle tension when I remember that I needed to pray. I bowed down my head and prayed a very simple prayer. As soon as I ended my prayer, the answers came like a rushing mighty wind. I quickly jotted down the points before going on to expand them. That was God in action. A miracle-working God. “A fool says there is no God”. 

Comfort continued, "permit me to tell you a story of a Fool who said there was no God. Religion is the opium of the masses. People are just brainwashing you to keep you as a slave. Be free and use your mind. Be creative, you can achieve just about anything. "

This same fellow was in the same car with me, as we were talking about politics, then we entered religion, he felt we were talking rubbish. There is no God anywhere it is just a myth, it is not true. We were all arguing with him in the car when the driver lost concentration and there was an oncoming trailer suddenly the trailer swerved to our side and was like coming to crush our vehicle, the driver lost control and we were face to face with death. We were all shouting "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus," including the “free-thinker” or should I call him “atheist”. His voice was louder than all of us. He was not conscious of himself. I believed he spoke it out of his subconscious mind suddenly, something moved the trailer away from us, or should I say our driver just passed the trailer. It could have been a fatal accident. Our Toyota vehicle could have been crushed completely. But the name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous runs unto it and is safe. 

When we were a little bit settled in our minds, one of us shouted, "Mr. free thinker, why were you shouting Jesus now! Who saved you? "He was too dumbfounded to react. He kept mute throughout the journey till we reached our destination. 

“Lest I forget, Comfort said those three papers I did were my very best papers in that semester. I got 'As' in the three. That I knew and know now was and is still a miracle. 

I told Comfort to tell me more about Uncle Barry." I wanted to know how he was behaving after you escaped suicidal death. I wanted to know how he was behaving to you."

She cleared her throat and gave a kind of smile. I do not know what to call it anyway. She continued, “I think it is in place to find out our relationship. Well, he came back from his village journey saw me, and greeted me coldly. I gave him a colder response. My elder sister Labake called me and asked me what had happened. She noticed the cold treatment between her husband and me even before I travelled. She had asked her husband but he said it was childish talk. So she had kept quiet. He was no more excited about me. She said it was as if we were both fighting a war, a cold war. If my husband thought it was childish for her to think that way”, she asked “how about you?” I laughed and laughed and said, “my sister you are imagining things that are not real. I am a big girl now, not a baby that Uncle can be carrying about. I am of age. He had pampered me enough. He is treating me like a mature girl and I love it”. My sister felt calm and good at the same time I never knew if I was able to convince her though. But I was able to silence her once and for all. She had no choice but to respect our opinions, I mean her husband and me.

Uncle Barry decided to respect himself and stayed out of my way as much as he could. I respected that. But one day, I think he was not satisfied with the relationship he was only coping with it. He called me and sat me down. We were the only two in the house. I was thinking in my heart, if he tried anything funny, I would fight him strongly. I was kind of battle-ready. He knew, he told me he came in peace. He wanted things to become normal between the two of us. “I am ready to do anything just to win your heart again, I mean brother and sister relationship”. He took me by surprise as he suddenly knelt begging me. He laid his pride to do this, I know. He begged me on his knees, telling me to forgive me, that it would never re-occur again. 

I asked him, you mean I should let down my guard to hurt me again? Never, Uncle, I am very sorry, I can forgive you but never will I trust you again, I told him; “You can never intimidate me into trusting you again. You spoilt your chance and I don’t know if you can ever get it back. Trust is earned. If you try and keep on trying, maybe I could trust you but not completely. It is not easy to do so again. Let it be on record that I have forgiven you, Uncle Barry.

He got up and thanked me and said, it was okay, at least he was not expecting too much. This forgiveness will go a long way in healing him. He had not been able to forgive himself since that unholy incident. He told me he was a changed man. He promised never to do such again. He repeatedly said that. Anyway, I nodded and he felt he needed to hug me but I declined. I told him “I’m very sorry but no hugs, no shakings, no nothing, only talking. We can talk freely now.” He quite accepted. We got talking mostly about schooling and my plans for the future.

I told him I would love to serve in the North, especially Abuja the capital city of Nigeria. We call it FCT meaning Federal Capital Territory. I would love to be in the centre of the nation. I would also like to go for my master's and read on to Ph.D. I would love to be a lecturer. I want to impart knowledge to young minds. I want to transform lives positively. He smiled and nodded in agreement with what I wished to be. He told me he would help me to attain my dreams if only I would agree to allow him. He would love to sponsor me to any length even to do the Ph.D. here in Nigeria or even abroad. He wanted me to allow him to do it. That was his promise to me initially before he spoiled everything. He was reassuring me he would love to continue to do that. He said that whenever I want to marry, he would support me like a father. “From now and henceforth, please see me as your father, do not think of the past again, I have changed and will continue to see you as my first daughter. I need you to please accept me back.” He begged profusely looking sincere. But I cautioned myself to take it easy. I never wanted him to ever take advantage of me again. “No, I would not be able to survive another attack”. 

That got me thinking again, would I be able to survive another attack? Would this Uncle not betray me again? Could he be trusted again? Hmmm, I sighed deeply, tears were rolling down my eyes, I rushed out quickly to avoid another evil occurrence. As I got up, I told him, please give me more time, I’m hurting deeply”. I moved as fast as my leg would carry me to my room, bolted the door, and wept so hard. 

I had not expected this talk from him. I never thought he would be able to speak like this. I was not prepared. I was not able to come out to greet my sister when she came along with the children. The children came to knock at my door, but I could not open it. They had to leave when they got tired of waiting for me. 

I later apologized to my sister the following day for not coming out to welcome her. I gave a flimsy excuse which she accepted anyway. She had no choice. She had noticed changes in my behavior. She had asked me severally and I had declined to talk. She got tired and left me to my moody behavior. Uncle Barry and I met the following day, I smiled at him, he smiled back. He left for work and came back in the evening. I welcomed him back cheerfully. I did it in such a way my sister exclaimed, “No moodiness today”. Thank God, may this continue”. I just gave a deep smile but right inside me, I was still in pain. I wished my pain would be healed. It was taking longer than I expected. I was managing it very well. I was becoming better day by day. It was like I was using a cloth to cover up my wound for no one to see. The pain was more emotional. “Whenever it comes, I become another thing. I never wish my enemy to pass through this pain”. 

My relationship becomes cordial with Uncle Barry. The tension became lesser and lesser though always on my guard, especially whenever I am alone with him in the house.