Vera and Simon were back at Some Peace and Quiet. Vera just can’t get enough of the place. Not only was it affordable but she guessed that the owners were introverts and they simply cherish being in quiet places.
The one main rule they were given was to always remember that all who come are seeking quietness hence noise is extremely frowned against. Disturbing the quietness meant being evicted from the premises.
As noble as their mission sounds, Vera knew that outward peace and quietness is nowhere near the one that Christ brings. She hoped that the owners were those who had met Christ and were enjoying inward peace and quite as much as they enjoyed the physical one.
She had begged Simon to let them take a quick morning nap right there before they continued any discussions. Her Son seemed to like the idea more than he let on because it was not long after each took a sleeping position that he had dozed off.
Vera had truly stuck to a quick nap because within one hour, she was already wide awake and had just returned from freshening up from the restroom. SHe contemplated waking Simon up but left him to sleep some more. He is a growing boy afterall.
Then she began to pray. The devil seemed to want to plant fear of the unknown in her mind especially with the dream she had recently. She had considered many variations to its interpretation but each one kept leaving her with fear. She knew that was totally wrong. God did not let her see what she saw so she could be afraid.
God let her see so she could get her gear up in prayers and with the Word to fight the enemy. She knew her last dream was not going to go away, she had to pray it through and get victory before it materialised.
Vera began to barnish fear from her heart with the Word of God. She was very careful not to play out loud considering Simon was still fast asleep in the room and noise of any form was absolutely not allowed.
She moved closer to the balcony of their lounge, leaned towards the railings and kept praying under her breath. Not too long later, Simon woke from his sleep and went to the restroom to freshen up. Before he returned, Vera had rounded off her prayer and was on the little camp bed, seated and waiting for Simon.
When Simon returned, Vera tapped the space beside her, inviting him to sit with her. Then she held his hand closer to her left. Very softly she began, ‘That day at the motor pack, barely in the right frame of mind, all I could do in that bus that day was cry, silently, so I don’t draw much attention to myself, and wish that my parents had not abandoned me the way they did.
I kept thinking within me that if my parents had not died, I would not have suffered in the hands of Uncle Tim. I wouldn’t have broken Uncle Tim’s marriage. I wouldn’t have to have been abandoned all over again by aunt Vivian. When the tears were blurring up my eyes, I would use my sleeves to clean up.
I didn’t know that the woman beside me had been staring at me. She knew I was crying but chose to allow me cry my filling without interrupting me or drawing attention to me. Along with her husband, all three of us sat at the very last row of the bus so other than the both of them, no one else seemed to know I was tearing up.
After about three hours of driving, other passengers alighted at different stops in the town we had journeyed to. Myself and the married couple alighted last, at the bus stop. I alighted and moved away from the bus but it then dawned on me that I seem to have made a very huge mistake!
I did not know where I was headed. I began to panic. I kept looking in both opposite directions, wondering what I was going to do. Then the woman who sat beside me came to my side and asked if I knew where I was going. with huge droplets of tears falling from my eyes, I shake my head, saying, no.
Then she smiled so gently and asked if I ran away from home? I nodded with my head. Then she asked if I would not mind following them to their place. I looked at the man, hoping to see the kind of face Uncle Tim would usually give me, instead, I met with a kind smile on a gentle looking face.
Since I did not have any other options, I followed them. We took a taxi and we went back in the direction the bus had come from. Their house was not far from the entrance into the town. They could have alighted off the bus but they followed me. I wondered why?
It was when we entered the fenced property that I noted that there was a church building in it. Oh! They are pastors, I thought. That gave me some sort of relief. It wasn’t that I was strange to church but my parents, aunt Vivian and her husband, just attended Church for cross over night into the new year and that was it for the year.
I hadn’t really met anyone either who took Christianity seriously but I understood that pastors were meant to be good people. Indeed, the man was the church pastor and they were living in the pastorium.
‘Wait, mum, are you referring to dad’s parents? They were the ones who took you in?’, Simon asked, leaning towards his mother to meet her eyes.
Vera laughed cheerily, ‘Yes, Simon, they are’. ‘Wow!!! Really??? Mum please go on. What happened? How did you fair with them?’ He asked.
‘Honestly, this me you see today, the me who loves Jesus, was molded in their home. It felt strange when I got to their house for the first week. Neither of them asked me any questions about where I was from, why I was on the run. The only question Papa G asked me was for my name. Mama G instead asked me questions about if I were hungry, slept well, and such matters of bodily comfort.
I absolutely didn’t trust them, especially Papa G, not after what Uncle Tim had done to me. I was often tense whenever he was somewhat close to me and he noticed it too. So he started maintaining physical distance.
Mama G on the other hand was always seeking every avenue to be close to me. Whenever we went to Church for service, she made sure I sat with her. Whenever she introduced me, she called me her friend’s daughter. She served me the same food everyone was eating. She did not over burden me with house chores. I did what was simply appropriate for my age.
I had a sleeping mat at first but within the week I got there, it was changed to a mattress even though it was used, it was much better than a mat. In all I was grateful.
At first I was wondering if they had any children but I knew that with their age, if they did, they would be grown up children. I finally knew the day Mama G asked me to bring her purse from her bedroom. I saw a picture on a shelf in the room of a little boy in front of a birthday cake. I knew that was their child. I never asked because I wasn’t ready to talk about myself either.
Gradually, I had spent about three months with them at the pastorium. I was beginning to fall into the church routine, the home routine, especially keeping Mama G company. We were beginning to get comfortable with chatting together.
I was still uncomfortable around Papa G but I had been observing him relate with others in the church. He really looked like a kind man. Nonetheless, if I notice that Mama G went out and I was left alone with Papa G, I would walk away from home until she returned. I was that afraid. Later, I began to notice that he would also leave home and head towards his office in the church.
I didn’t realise that the Good News about Christ was already seeping into my heart and mind. Before I knew what was going on, the Bible Papa G gave me had become a daily read for me outside of family devotion.
At first, I was simply interested in the stories in it but later, it simply felt like it was making natural sense to me. The more I read it, the more I believed all that was said in it about Jesus.
Without anyone preaching the message of salvation to me personally and inviting me to give my life to Christ, I simply gave Him my life. This was about five months since my staying with them
Right there in my room when Papa and Mama had travelled away with some church members for a ceremony. I was so convicted of my sins when I was reading John chapters 14 through 16 that day. I saw that I was no better than Uncle Tim who had hurt me the most in my life. The words of Christ broke me as I read them that day.
I gave my life to Christ and that same day, I got the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. Jesus was so real to me that day that I didn’t know when Papa and Mama got home. Perhaps they heard me speaking in tongues and they let me be.
When I could finally recover a little from the awe of His presence in my room that day and I stepped out, I saw Mama seated right there, waiting for me. Seeing me come out, she dashed to hug me right away. As though Papa had been waiting for this day all his life, he came over from the living room and asked me, ‘will you like to be baptised?’ I nodded yes.
Mama went to their room and grabbed me a big gown and a towel. Then the both of them walked me towards a lone path behind the church premises. It was a bit of a distance but soon we arrived at a flowing stream. There and there I got baptised by water immersion, in Christ.
I know my salvation experience is such a miracle but also, it was not in isolation of the Words about Christ that I heard during the family devotions, the Sunday services, evening services, house fellowships, Bible study and all of that.
When the Lord knew I was ready, He found me by Himself and the same day, led me to do the right thing by believing in my heart and confessing with my mouth that He is Lord. Then He gave me the infilling of His Spirit and also got me baptised in Him the same day!
At this point, Vera could not help her tears. Oh! How loving of Jesus to grant her such a unique salvation experience, she thought. ‘Simon, please give me a moment alone. I need to be alone at the moment’.
Deeply understanding how emotional his mum can be, he gave her a quick hug and went outside. She later saw him walk towards the water fountain.
Vera kept singing her beloved hymn to Jesus, ‘Jesus is all the world to me, Jesus is all the world to me, My life, my joy, my all; He is my strength from day to day, Without Him I would fall… She sang the entire hymn over and over again and she felt His warm embrace around her.
She knew she has been forgiven much, her Lord had forgiven her much, hence she sought to love Him much.
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Wheeeeew!
Can you remember vividly the day you were saved? Care to share? Just do that in the comment section. You are yet to be saved? Jesus is waiting. He died for you too you know. Not sure how to go by it? Just ask your questions in the comments section.
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Checkmate Episode 19
