WITH THIS RING – a novel – will be posted all through this month
Author: Pastor Taiwo Iredele Odubiyi
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(Day 3)
Femi would prefer a beautiful woman who was both spiritually and physically mature. He didn’t want any of those young ones; some of them could be funny and very selfish. He didn’t want a woman just to warm his bed but also to warm his heart and be a good mother to his children. He was forty eight years old and would want to grow older in peace, not in pieces.
At the headquarters of the church, there were quite a number of single ladies and he found some of them who qualified by his standard but somehow, he wasn’t particularly drawn to any of them. And here at Lily of the Valley Centre, three women including Ibie qualified but Ibie won his heart about two months ago when she stood on the altar one Sunday morning and preached.
It was her appearance that first took his breath away. From the ruby red hat on her head that matched her bubble hem knee length gown, to her matching high-heel sling-back peep toe shoes, she was a paragon of elegance. Her face was well made-up and her jewelleries were modest and just right. And when she began to preach, he told himself that he had found the woman he was looking for: the next and last Mrs. Femi Crowther.
He could still remember the title of her message that day, it was Let Go and Let God. After a brief opening prayer, she had asked the congregation of about three hundred people to turn their Bibles to Matthew chapter six. Then beginning from verse twenty five, she read to the end of the chapter from her New King James Version of the Bible.
25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Looking up from the Bible at the people, she exclaimed, “Wow!” Then she told them, “Look at your neighbour and say ‘Neighbour,’”
The people responded, “Neighbour,”
“Let go and let God.”
They repeated, “Let go and let God.”
“You may have needs,”
“You may have needs,” They echoed.
As she said the words, the congregation repeated after her. “There might be issues … Your world may seem to be falling apart … Don’t seek help from ungodly sources … Gentlemen, don’t seek help from the so called sugar-mummies … Ladies, don’t go to Aristos …”
Then she stopped to explain, “I hope you know who Aristos are? They are rich men who prey on young girls.”
Some people laughed.
She went on with the congregation. “So ladies … don’t go out with Aristos … Husbands, don’t seek another woman … Or spiritualists … Don’t try to control the uncontrollable … But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness … And a-a-a-all these things shall be added to you!”
“And a-a-a-all these things shall be added to you!”
“Halleluyah!” She exclaimed. “You may be seated.”
As Ibie preached with all her heart, Femi’s eyes followed her every movement just as his ears listened to every word from those lips that shimmered with pink lip gloss. At the end of the message, four people came out to give their lives to Jesus.
After the service, he had called her to his office to let her know how much her ministration had blessed the church, and discovered another beautiful thing about her: she was humble, almost shy. Ah, a woman after my heart! This was definitely a plus.
That day, as he looked at her and smiled, he noticed other things that made her earn more points with him – her manicured nails and well set teeth. He had also noticed that she wore makeup appropriately which gave her a polished look. It was never too much.
Since then, he had been studying her as he prayed to God for confirmation and direction. He wouldn’t want to make a mistake. He had to get it right this time around. His first marriage had been far from perfect.
But somehow, Ibie didn’t seem to see him as anything other than her pastor. She appeared to be interested in only one thing – serving God and serving His people. She didn’t seem to care about him. She smiled and was respectful to him quite alright but that seemed to be all.
He even had a feeling the woman was avoiding him. He might be mistaken though, for why would she be avoiding him? He hadn’t done anything wrong, neither had he misbehaved toward any lady. He knew better than to do something that would cause a scandal or make people query his integrity and calling.
He had been very careful with ladies although some of them at the headquarters and even here had been pushing to get his attention. Some ladies in America were clearly chasing him after the death of his wife. Hadn’t they been told that chasing a Christian man would only push him away? Some of the elderly people in the church had also introduced their grown daughters to him with the hope that he would pick one of them.
Femi’s mouth curved in a smile as he remembered some of the funny things some ladies both in Nigeria and New York did to get him to notice them. Some of them were subtle while some were not so subtle. Don’t Christian ladies pray anymore for God’s will? Where is the leading of the Holy Spirit? He had wondered several times.
At the headquarters of the church, after a midweek service one evening, a lady in the ushering department came to him as he walked toward his car. Pointing at her car, she told him that it wouldn’t start and she would need a ride home. He hadn’t hesitated to offer to drop her at her house.
Almost as soon as he engaged the gear and the car moved, the lady engaged him in conversation. She wanted to know him better. Already guessing what she was trying to achieve, he carefully answered her questions. When she asked to know where he lived, he told her the neighbourhood but not the address. She pressed for it but he refused. He couldn’t afford to have scandals. He had his calling and children to protect.
The drive to her house took about thirty minutes. There, she reluctantly got out of his car after she had tried in vain to invite him in for just a drink as she put it, and he drove off immediately. The next day in the morning, when he got to the church at about eight-thirty, he didn’t see her car.
“Where is the white car that was parked here last night?” He had asked the security man at the gate.
“The owner came last night to pick it.”
“The owner? A woman?”
“Yes. She’s short and light in complexion.”
That was the usher, Sister Lara, Femi thought. “Can you remember the time she came?”
“She signed the register before I allowed her to drive the car out. Just a minute, I will show you.”
The middle-aged man carried the register and opened it. Squinting his eyes, he read the entry. “Her name is Lara. She came last night at nine-forty five.”
Femi had laughed and thanked the security man. As he proceeded to the church office, he had thought about it. The lady must have come back right after he dropped her off at her house. Interesting. He didn’t bother to ask her about it when he saw her the next Sunday. And though he remained pleasant to her, he distanced himself.
And in New York, one of the choristers had told him she loved him and that she had loved him since before his wife died but had kept it a secret because he was a married man. But now that he was a widower, would he pray about her? That was about eight months after his wife’s death.
Femi had met his late wife, Remi through one of his friends, and about nine months after, at the age of twenty nine, he became a married man. Both of them were not Christians then.
To be continued.
You will learn about the mercy of God and that there is hope for you, in this novel.
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