Self Redemption

Our flight to Abuja was like walking on pins and needles. A few days prior to our trip, there was a major plane crash (Dana Air Flight 992) that claimed many lives. We could have actually been on that flight, we were planning to go to Abuja earlier and return to Lagos around that time, but we couldn't get tickets. As I sat on the plane, I held on to my faith in God. I was walking in obedience to him, he had my back for sure. Even when we experienced some turbulence and people around me began to panic, I shunned fear. There's was a sudden boldness and confidence in God's protection that came upon me, I could not be moved. 

We arrived in Abuja safely to the glory of God. As we walked through the airport, I liked what I saw. It wasn't as cluttered as Lagos' airport. We existed the airport and linked up with our family friend that came to pick us up. As we drove for what seemed like forever, I couldn't believe my eyes. Was this Nigeria? The same Nigeria?

The rodes were clear and clean, the streets were smooth, it was quiet and calm. I marveled at the major differences between both cities. I instantly fell in love with Abuja. Our hosts were great, we had our own means of transportation with someone to drive us around. They showed us a good time, I had the biggest and freshest grilled catfish ever at a lounge in Abuja...my mouth is watering now as the memories of scooping succulent well seasoned chunks of catfish with my hands flow in my mind. Take me back!!!

Registering for NYSC was beyond stressful, I almost gave up. The process was unnecessarily tedious. I felt like I entered a time machine as we had to input our information in notebooks, there was no electricity, everything was disorganized, a bunch of hidden charges, and the staff was extremely rude and unprofessional. Frustrating is an understatement. It took me two days to complete something that should have taken an hour or two. Little did I know that this was just a glimpse into my one year NYSC experience. Thank God for my host, she knew someone that worked there. The second day was much better. Mission accomplished!

Throughout my stay in Abuja, Raymond kept trying to reach me. But, I either ignored him or gave him the run arounds. I was disappointed in him, his true colors were gruesome. He was not who I thought he was. I finally gave him the time of day about a day before I was scheduled to return to Lagos. He apologized and told me that his behavior wasn't something that happened often. He stated that he was just happy to see me. I told my sister and she said "Yea right!". 

Well I was still stuck on the illusion that I created in my head, "God said that he's my husband". So when we returned to Lagos, he tried to make it up to me. He promised to stop drinking. On our first day back, we met up at a restaurant, he came with his coworker. I went there armed with a you-better-redeem-yourself attitude. I barely smiled initially but later had mercy on him since he brought a friend. As he stepped away to order our food, his friend said "He told me what happened, he said he was so happy to see you and he misbehaved" with a wide grin. I felt anger brewing, as the memory of all that transpired replayed in my head. I faked a smiled and remained silent, his cue to either shut up or change the subject. He choose to change the subject.

We went to a lounge with live music afterwards, the same one that we went to on our first date. The music was awesome. We also met up with one of our friends. It was my sister's first time there and she had a blast. He even had the band dedicate a love song to me. I had to admit, it was cute. We had such a great time, we danced and danced. By the end of the night, he had been proceeded in redeeming himself 20%.

The next day was a Sunday, we had agreed to attend church with him. The service was okay. It was good to see the kind of teachings that he was exposed to. I felt like there could have been more but I was satisfied. He introduced my sister and I to members of the ministry he volunteered in. He was a member of the power, sound, and media unit. They were all so friendly, one of them even said that he was looking forward to covering our wedding. I felt much better knowing that he was active and known at his church, it gave me a sense of peace. That shot up his self redemption to 70%. 

He told us about his friend's birthday party after. So we got home and changed and went right back out. On the way to the party, I caught a glimpse of him from the corner of my eyes as he drove. He looked at me with so much admiration and what appeared to be love. My sister saw it also. I was feeling good, I guess he wasn't that bad after all. 

We enjoyed the party, there was great music, barbecue and plenty of alcohol. Of course the alcohol part made me uneasy but I tried to take my mind off of it. The birthday boy was excited to have us there and made sure that we were well fed. My sister and I were also getting a lot of attention, we overheard some people saying that we looked like the Kardashians. It was funny too me, while other people may have been flattered I was unmoved.

The DJ could not get his eyes off of my sister, as he spun each track he became increasingly excited as we  gave our approval of his skills. We love music! And boy oh boy when he began to dance, we couldn't believe our eyes! He definitely had some moves. He and my sister managed to exchange numbers, even though his face did not make his dance moves according to my sister.

Throughout the time, Raymond maintained his cool. And surprisingly he didn't drink. The birthday celebrant offered him alcohol at numerous intervals but he explained to him that I didn't want him drinking. The guy seemed shocked, he even tried to appeal to me once. But I gave him an ultimatum, and he seemed to be cooperating. Even though, he looked like he had to gather all the strength that he had to resist grabbing a cup. I felt like I was on top of the world, at the end of the night his self redemption increased to 85%.

You're blessed!


- Bunmi


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