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Part 45
NWALA ; THE BITTERSWEET STORY
Opeyemi Akintunde
I couldn’t sle€p, the reality of what my mother had said to me was a wake up call. It was a call of the need to be grateful to God. It was a clear resounding call to thank God for the gift of Reuben. As I laid on the bed going over my mother’s piercing words, my phone beeped.
I rushed at it thinking it was Reuben calling to give me news about Amos, but Surprisingly it was Bishop who had just sent me a chat.
Not knowing what to expect from the chat, I tapped the open icon to glance through.
“Daughter, I had a chat with Reuben yesterday, it was quite intense. I recorded it without his knowledge, Look through. I am sure this will give you a peep into his heart.”
I shakily tapped on the document. I realized it was a video .
I saw that it was a video recorded From Bishop’s office. I noticed Bishop was positioning the Camera . He went back to his chair while he waited for someone to come in. My heart skipped a b€at when Reuben walked in. It seem to me like it was the previous day because Reuben wore the same shirt he was wearing at the hospital.
” Son! How are you doing?”
” I am good Dad!”
“Praise God! How is your Beauty?”
“She is good” Reuben answered like there was nothing wrong .
That made me ask myself the question. “Does it really mean, Reuben has not told his family that Amos is not his son?”
“You sure she is good?” Bishop asked piercingly
“Yep!” Reuben said bowing his head
“Apart from being a prophet, I am your father and without searching the Spirit, I know when you are trying to cover up. You are not someone who tells lies so when you bow your head, I know there is something you are trying so hard to cover up…Son, What is it?”
” Nothing Dad! Beauty and I are good!” Reuben insisted
” Ok, if you say so!”
” Yes sir!”
There was a moment of Silence, like the Bishop gave that moment to see if Reuben would crack, but he didn’t, instead he said…
” You asked to see me?”
” Yes! I was led to have a conversation with you” Bishop replied
” Ok sir?”
“What are the seasons we have in Nigeria?”
“Wet and Dry. Are we planning a program?” Reuben asked
“No. When is the Wet and When is the Dry Season?”
“The wet season is from April to October, and the dry season, from November until March
“Likewise, we have seasons in life, we have seasons in Marriage, We have Seasons in Ministry, We have seasons in career and Business and one thing is Sure, each season will pass.”
“Hmm…” Reuben said looking up at his father .
“Genesis 8:22 states that While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease.
Reuben, Life obeys the Law of Seasons and it is important to understand that no one can escape the Law of Seasons like we can’t escape the Law of Gravity. It is very important for everyone to prepare themselves for every season so that the season does not come and cause havoc and loss.
Reuben, in Marriage, there is the wet Season like in life where every thing you plant grows, where air quality improves, fresh water quality improves, and vegetation grows substantially, leading to crop yields late in the season. This is the sweet time in Marriage, the time you want to hug each other everytime, this is the time you get warmth from each other. This is the sweet time in marriage. We all want this season to last forever. We however forget that it is normal for the dry season to show up. The time plants become stressed, Growth ceases, nutrient transport slows, and plants wilt as cells become water-deficient. This season is usually harsh, in Nigeria here, the sun comes out, sometimes causing sunburn. Dry season in Marriage is when everything is dry and boring, it is when the wine in the marriage is finished and there is the thirst for more wine.”
Reuben had his head bowed..
” Reuben, What Season are you in your marriage?”
From where I sat watching the video, tears flowed down and together with him I said…
” Dry!” Reuben in the video said
” Don’t you think it has overstayed it’s time?”
Reuben Nodded!
” Do you want to talk about it?”
Reuben Nodded and just like a trapped flood of water, Reuben burst out in tears, wailing like a baby…He tried to talk several times but his voice and emotions failed him…
All he could manage to say was ..
” I loved her!”
The use of the Past tense tore my heart..
Part 46
NWALA ; THE BITTERSWEET STORY
Opeyemi Akintunde
“I know you love her, everyone can see it” Bishop said as he patted him on the back
“I do not love her anymore, and I want a divorce. I have been wanting to divorce her for months but I couldn’t bear to do it. Daddy, Beauty cheated on me and has a child for him”
“Hmm…” Bishop said
Reuben noticed his father’s unsurprised response.
” You knew?” Reuben asked
Bishop nodded in the positive.
“That means everyone knows, that means it is so Obvious.” Reuben said
“Well, Amos doesn’t exactly look like either of you, so it only makes sense for people to query his birth”
“Dad, I made the biggest mistake of my life. I married a Spiritual baby. I guess I was smitten by her beauty. I saw the signs before marriage, I thought if I showed her love in marriage she would grow.”
“If there is no seed in the ground, you can’t grow anything. ” Bishop said
I wept where I sat watching. Back when I was single, I didn’t have the seed of Christianity in me, I was just a Christian because my mom was.
“Am I not permitted to divorce her on the basis of adultery, at least the Bible gives that allowance?” Reuben asked
“Sure you can, but that means you have a hardened heart , an unforgiving heart? That means if you hear my story, you will deny me as your father?” Bishop said
” Your story?”
I watched as Bishop recounted his story to Reuben.
*****
“As I speak, I live in regret daily. I wished I never followed my friend to that place, but I thank God for He is a God whose heart is not hardened, He forgave me when I ran to him for Mercy.”
Reuben was no longer in tears, he was looking at his father in total shock and he asked his father the question I didn’t have the boldness to ask him…
“Truthfully Dad, who can you say gave you the power you are using?”
“I believe it is the Power of the Most High, and that’s why I have never given them the blood of humans they ask yearly from me. Reuben, yours is clearer, one child is yours and the other is for the other man. Do not punish or separate yourself from your wife because of her mistake. God has accepted me even with my ugly past, it is just a scar of regret I live with.
Reuben, what if Beauty was a single mom when you met her, you would have had to love Amos like he is yours. So forgive her and accept her scar of regret.”
Reuben wept again…
“Beauty has grown spiritually, your separation from her has made her grow, I can tell you for a fact that Beauty is now the Woman you should have married back then. You shouldn’t have married her back then in a rush, you should have waited for her to become her own woman before making her your own woman.”
“So I should own Amos like my own?”
“He is a part of your wife, so if you are to accept her back, you have to accept her with her son.”
Reuben wept!!!
“Reuben , I know you are in the dry and hot season of your marriage, but you can bring out something good out of it . I know you both are sweaty and do not want to come close to each other, the sun of infidelity has burnt you, but I want you both to take a refreshing bath under the fountain of the living water. Go there, you will be refreshed. After your refreshment, you can come out, make good use of this hot and dry season to have a good time; a picnic in life. Take this take to dry your wet clothes ”
I couldn’t watch any longer, I wept…
I was lying on the bed I slept on as a spinster. I wished the girl who slept on that bed years back had been wise and discerning.
It began to make sense to me why Reuben spoke to me the way he did earlier at the hospital. He had called Amos His son!
Did it mean he had forgiven me?
I slept off.
CLICK HERE TO READ “NWALA ; THE BITTERSWEET STORY” (PART 47&48) – OPEYEMI AKINTUNDE.
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