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ACHING HEART

Once upon a time, there was a young man named Jack who lived in a small town in the rolling hills of the countryside

Jack was tall and handsome, with a strong chin and piercing blue eyes that could melt any woman's heart. Despite his good looks, Jack had always been a loner, preferring to work on his family's farm and take care of the animals.

One day, while Jack was out in the fields, he heard a soft voice calling him. Turning around, he saw a beautiful young woman standing at the edge of the woods. She had long, flowing hair the color of golden wheat and eyes that sparkled like the stars in the night sky. Jack was immediately smitten and he knew he had to approach her.

"Good afternoon," he said, approaching the woman cautiously. "I am Jack. Who are you?"

The woman smiled, and Jack felt his heart skip a beat. "My name is Lily," she said, "I am new in town and was just out for a walk when I heard your voice. You have a very soothing way of speaking."

Jack blushed, flattered by her words. "Thank you," he said. "Would you like to join me for a walk? I know this area very well and could show you around."

Lily nodded and the two set off for a leisurely walk through the fields and woods. Along the way, they chatted about their lives and interests, and soon they had formed a strong bond. They found that they had a lot in common and enjoyed each other's company very much.

Days turned into weeks and Jack and Lily grew closer and closer. They spent every spare minute together, exploring the countryside and getting to know each other better. Jack fell more and more in love with Lily, and he knew she felt the same way.

Finally, one evening, as they sat by a gently flowing stream, Jack mustered up his courage and asked Lily to be his wife. To his delight, she accepted without hesitation and the two were married in a beautiful outdoor ceremony surrounded by their loved ones.

For a time, Jack and Lily were happy beyond measure. They settled into married life and started a family. They raised their children on the farm and taught them the value of hard work and kindness. But as the years passed, Jack noticed that Lily was growing more and more distant from him, and he did not know why.

One day, after a particularly cold and lonely evening, Jack approached Lily about her behavior. To his horror, she burst into tears and confessed to him that she had fallen out of love with him. She said that she was unhappy and that she needed to find her own way in life.

Jack was devastated. He begged Lily to stay and work on their relationship, but she was determined. She packed her bags and left the farm. Jack was left alone to raise the children and care for the animals.

In the months that followed, Jack had a hard time coming to terms with Lily's departure. He was heartbroken and lost without her and often drowned his sorrow in alcohol. But despite his pain, he knew he had to be strong for his children, and he threw himself into work on the farm.

The years passed, and Jack never forgot Lily. He thought of her often, wondering what she was doing and if she was happy. But he knew she had made her decision, and he had to accept it.

Over the years, Jack's children grew up and left the farm. Jack vowed never to love another woman, as he never set his eyes at his wife again, but his children visit him from time to time.

CHAPTER FOUR

UNEMPLOYED & PROMOTED
While going through my second divorce, I lost my job for doing what I always did in my marriage, viz. A colleague under my supervision defaulted and my boss blamed me for it, without hesitation I snapped at him without even beginning to calm the situation which I felt was unfair to another employee. After work that believing day I went to get him, I was frustrated and knew today would be my last day. The next day my boss called and asked me to come to his office, I hurried and left. Long story short,
when I arrived at the office, he called me in for a meeting and told me to submit my resignation
because he could no longer tolerate my insolence; without hesitation, I submitted my resignation.
As a Christian, I knew I had done wrong, but what's done is done, so I apologized to him and
asked permission to leave. He agreed, but was very upset about letting me go, and I was also
upset that I had snapped at him like that in the presence of my younger colleagues. To make a
long story short: After a month I got a job offer, and a few days later I was terminated for not
following simple instructions. When I lost my job a second time, I was very upset and prayed
to God for redemption and restoration, I begged him day and night, I could not rest. I
remember leaving the building and telling the manager who was processing my final
paperwork, "I am going to get my job back because I did not do anything wrong." I went home
and prayed again about my situation and asked God to take control of it. That night, God
opened my eyes to many mistakes I had made in my marriages, in my career, and even in my
finances. I began to ask God for His guidance and continued to pray persistently.
One day, as I sat in my small studio apartment on the North Side of Chicago, I heard a voice
instructing me to write a letter to top-level decision makers, which I did. After I faxed the
letter, a week passed with no response. Another week passed and still nothing. On the third
week, I received a call from a manager who introduced himself to me as the person assigned to
review my termination. This man invited me to a meeting where he set up a review committee
of managers and supervisors. These people unanimously concluded that the termination was
justified; they also recommended that I attend an anger management class. I promised God that
if He gives me a second chance, I will worship the one He sends me and treat him as my King,
which He is, and I will spread His words to the far corners of the earth; I will tell people my
story so they will know that God answers prayers. Back to the interview, God took over the
review one of the managers recommended an adjustment and a raise and also the
recommendation to assign me to another department and a new manager.
I tell you this story because no matter how difficult things may seem at times, you should
always find and keep your peace and believe that God is always in control and will fight our battle for us if we make Him our greatest ally. Psalm 105:15 says, "He says, 'Do not touch my
anointed, and do not harm my prophets.' This is an example of how God can and will fight our
battle for us; we just need to persevere in prayer and believe that He has done everything we
have asked Him to do.
In my situation with the unexpected job loss, it could have seemed impossible that I would be
invited back to work, but I refused to let the devil win. I continued to pray and ask God to help
me and give me back my job with full benefits. I knew that what was happening was an attack
by the enemy that I had allowed to happen; I reminded God that I always pay my tithes and
most importantly that I want Him to take the glory for the outcome of this situation where I
lost my job. The Bible says in the book of Isaiah 54:17, "No weapon devised against thee shall
prosper; and every tongue that rises against thee thou shalt condemn in judgment. Do not get
me wrong, when I read my Bible I never thought my attitude needed adjusting on many things,
not until my second husband divorced me, that's when I realized I had a bigger demon inside
me trying to eat me up and all I could do was feed it and let it win.
My situation, which seemed hopeless with no end in sight, became a testimony to others in a
similar situation. A month after I regained my job with an apology from the company, the
company also gave me the opportunity to choose another department, and I met my childhood
friend who had had a crush on me since I was a child. I'll tell the rest of the story another day.
As for the manager with whom the whole problem began, or for whom the devil might have
planned evil for me looked at me and said, "May the God you serve be praised for all eternity,
which ultimately led to more glory for the Lord.

THE TENACITY TO ASK

CHAPTER TWO

ARE YOU SINGLE, MARRIED OR FACING DIVORCE?

First, I want anyone reading this to know that I am not a marriage expert, because I have had my share of marriage problems in the past. I have been married several times, but all my efforts to stay married "till death do us part" were an exercise in futility at the time. In my first marriage, I was a bit young and naive. It was all about me and what I wanted, and I was not as caring as I should have been at the time. My first husband was kind, nice, and really had a lot of positive desires for our family. Some of the things that some of us have neglected in
married life are a lack of consideration for our partner, honesty, 100% truthfulness, selflessness
toward our partner, lack of feelings, stubbornness, sloppy health and mental habits, and a lack
of communication. Genesis 2:24 says, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and
cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. In my opinion, some people do not understand what the Scriptures say about marriage in this case, or they miss the message inadvertently and through no fault of their own. We are all imperfect human beings and as such have our own weaknesses. The most important thing about this word is that we hold on to our loved one and not allow anyone to come between us and our marriage. Leaving home to unite
with our spouse is one of the steps required in a marriage. In some cases, we allow outside
forces to interfere in our marriage instead of working out our differences with each other in open, honest dialogue. We may have moved away from home to literally reunite with our loved one, but our minds are still on the times when everyone told us what to do and how to do it in terms of crisis management.
For some of us who are in a relationship, it is sometimes difficult to speak up. In some cases, we
would rather "air out" the dirty laundry of our marriage in front of our best friends, parents
and other family members. When you involve too many people in your marital problems, you
tend to get too much advice and counter-advice.
One thing I strongly recommend is to pray unceasingly and persistently and entrust all marital
problems to God - I have done that, and guess what? I have done that, and guess what? But do
not stop talking to your partner about some things that would improve your relationship and
strengthen your marriage. John 10:10 says, "The thief does not come to steal and kill and
destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly. Knowing this, we
must protect our personal property, in this case our marriage. Let us not forget that none of us
is immune to the tricks and possible attacks of the devil. We must remember that if the devil
could try to trick Jesus Christ and get him to the top of the mountain - how much more you
and me. Satan will stop at nothing to thwart this agreement. We as human beings should also persistently seek God's guidance and counsel.


CHAPTER THREE

I AM DONE!

This is a common way some of us deal with our relationship or marital challenges. Instead of looking for ways to solve the problems, sometimes we just take the easy way out. Instead of looking for ways to put the devil in his place, we just give up. I gave up on my marriage to my first husband, and that was the worst decision I ever made, but over the next two years of my single life I never stopped praying for a second chance for one day. It got to the point where I even forgot what love felt like or what it meant to love someone. Asking God, I never let up, and He allowed Himself to be found. No matter what challenges you are going through in life, whether
you are single, married, or going through a divorce, it is never too late to persistently ask for the wisdom of God that surpasses all understanding.
I remember a friend of mine who was married to his high school sweetheart. When they were boyfriend and girlfriend, all was well with the challenges in their relationship. A few years after they were married and living together as husband and wife, they both developed zero tolerance when it came to communicating with each other. They did not even take the time to listen to each other's concerns or problems that were affecting their marriage. So one day they decided to separate and divorce. The husband was the first to move out, eager to get back into the dating scene. The wife stayed in the same apartment, and they both looked for two different spokespeople to solve their marital problems. When I say spokesperson, I mean a lawyer, because at that point they were no longer talking to each other, they were just communicating through their lawyers. Some of us who have used a divorce lawyer before know that these lawyers can be very expensive. Of course, that also depends on how much you want
the other party to know that you are willing to fight them. To make a long story short: The court and legal fees had strained their finances, so they both decided to fire their lawyers and represent themselves, in other words, handle the proceedings themselves. One day I was curious to know how they had gotten rid of their expensive lawyers, since they had not been getting along. Most of all, I wanted to know if they had forwarded the termination letter to the other side. My friend looked at me and said, "I had to send my wife an email about the financial burden associated with the whole divorce."
So I asked, "Did she respond to you?" He said, “Yes, in fact, she told me that she was thinking
about sending me the same message to represent herself.” I said, "Wow, that's good." So I asked my friend to pray again about his marriage and ask God
to intervene on his behalf. I also asked him to send her another email inviting her to a nice dinner to talk about the next step in the marriage. Surprisingly, she accepted his invitation and they have been happily married ever since.
Note: When you are in a relationship, everything runs smoothly because it is a relationship. As I mentioned earlier, marriage is an agreement made by God in heaven, and Satan will stop at nothing to thwart that agreement; Satan is at war with God's people, God's faithful servants here on earth. Being married is a sure sign that you are fulfilling God's divine command recorded in the Bible book Matthew 19:5. Once you are married, your own struggle has begun,
your eyes open to a whole new world, you begin to see things differently, and from now on you both become one and have to face the challenges and setbacks that married life brings. At this point, many people start experiencing problems in their marriages, things that are not so important become a big problem. When you are courting or dating someone to get married, you will also face challenges related to planning a marriage and this is the time to pray tenaciously to God for guidance.
Mark 10:6-9 says, "From the beginning of creation, God created them male and female.
Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and they shall be one
flesh; so they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not
man put asunder. In my friend's case, all it took to save his marriage was for him to reach out to his wife and not be too proud to make her a peace offering. Some of us are not willing to give up our principles
and ideologies or compromise. We would rather allow the marriage to fall apart than be the
bigger person and work to get the relationship back on track. That was one of the many issues
I faced during my marriages. I have found through my journey of marriage and through my
experiences with several failed marriages that it’s perfectly okay to say to your partner,
"Honey, I am sorry I lied to you or offended you. Please forgive me and let us pray for our
marriage." There is nothing wrong with apologizing and putting the devil in his place. One of
our presidents here in the United States of America once described his wife as, "My rock." I ask
you today, who is the rock in your marriage or relationship? In the book of Proverbs 31:10-12
says, "Who can find an excellent wife? She is much more valuable than jewels. Her husband's
heart trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days
of her life". A friend of mine once told me what marriage means to him, he said, "Marriage is
like management, the only difference is that there is no boss, everyone involved is equal. You
manage me, I manage you, and we manage each other." I thought that was another interesting
way of looking at it.
As for me and my past problems in my marriage, I had to work on myself first and learn from
my experiences. I remember when my first daughter Julie was born, I was still going out with
my friends and letting my husband do everything for the baby on his own. I do not even
remember how many times I woke up at night with the baby to change him, or how many times I made sure my husband could rest while I took care of the house and our daughter. I was good at taking him out to dinner and buying him nice things, but looking back now, there were so many simple but crucial things I could have done for him to save my marriage and create a happy home for our family. I know I cannot undo the past, but I have learned to devote all my love and affection to my current husband, Alfred. Since our new baby, Derek, arrived, I have
mastered diaper changing perfectly. Everyday I try to do more things myself that every woman should do as a wife, mother and friend. My new outlook on life in regards to my marriage is that my God and husband come first. It is very easy to find faults in a marriage, but we should not look for faults, but for happiness and many more ways to promote it. Everything written in this book can be applied to your life as well, whether you are single, searching, married, or considering divorce.

PART TWO

THE TENACITY TO ASK.
At first, my mother was very afraid that her husband, my father, would be angry with her. To
both of our surprise, he did not even say anything negative about it, nor did he ask us to stop
praying. So we knew that the devil and the spirit of fear had been defeated in our lives without
any drama. I must admit that my father still has a bit of work to do in terms of the Lord and the
pursuit of salvation. My mother, on the other hand, became a strong, devoted member of the
Body of Christ and passed away on November 20, 2005, while I was living in Orlando, Florida.
As a Christian and believer in the Word of God, I am always at peace when I read the book,
Number 23:19 "God is not a man, that he should lie; nor the son of man, that he should change
his mind. Has he said something, and he will not do it? Or hath he spoken, and will he not
perform it?" I do not know about you, but these words are profound and very comforting to me.
I have made this my watchword and have acted on it with all consistency.
One thing I know about this God from everything He has done in my life and in the lives of
people past and present: When he says yes to something, there is no one who can overturn it.
God has granted. Sometimes we may have doubts and question the mathematical or scientific
ways God will fix it. I would advise you to leave God alone to work it out for you; he is the God
of David who gave David victory over Goliath. In the Gospel of Luke 18:27, Jesus says, "What
is impossible for man is possible for God." I have overcome various obstacles in my life, but one
thing that has always kept me going is my faith and the fact that God has always provided for
me. He may not do it in my time or your time, but in God's appointed time. Allow me to share
one of my personal stories with you today; how impossibility was made possible for me. How an
impossible path became a fast track for me and God delivered me from the impossible.
I remember a time when I was in New York praying for my residency papers to be approved.
Most people who are foreigners or students waiting for a response from immigration can relate
to this story. Anyway, I had been praying, reading the Bible, and thanking God for granting me
my residency papers, even though I did not have them in hand yet. I was persistent in prayer. I
refused to allow negative people who were around me at the time to affect my positive
connection with God and my perseverance. A few days earlier, I had gone to see immigration
officials. Some people came back crying and were really very negative, saying things like,
"They will not approve anyone anymore; they said there is no more immigration help for these
kinds of cases," etc.
However, a few days before my immigration appointment, which was about my application, I
heard an immigration official tell another official that a certain immigration judge would not be
present for a few days. He said that a guest judge would decide the cases until that supposedly
difficult judge returned.
Now some of you may say, that is not God that was just a simple coincidence. I know you
probably have your doubts, but remember God does not come down from heaven to help you in
your time of need, He always sends someone through someone else to help you and give you
what you have asked of Him. I think we can agree that God has the power to do whatever he
wants with Pharaoh, but instead he sent Moses to him as the one to fulfill his heart's desire for
the Israelites who, according to the Bible, were being held captive in Egypt at that time.
The same God who sent Moses to Pharaoh is still alive today; in fact, God once told Moses in
Exodus 3:14, "I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to
you.' This is very interesting in that Pharaoh was considered a very powerful ruler and strong
king at that time. As powerful and fearsome as Pharaoh was to the Egyptian people and the
Israelites at that time, the
Bible reminds us that Almighty God was not afraid of him and his mighty armies. My message
to you today is this: if God is not afraid of the most powerful man of that time when his people
were held captive by Pharaoh, do you really think God is afraid of putting an end to the
problems in your life today?
The same God who delivered the Israelites from Egypt parted the Red Sea and defeated many
enemies of His people. The same God is alive today and always will be. He once said, "I do not change." I do not know about you, but there are not many people in the world who can say that
they "do not change." I know that sometimes when we go through something in our lives, it
seems like the problem never ends. Let us not forget that people, including great men of God,
have also gone through their own challenges and obstacles in life. The most important thing
we should always remember when these moments come into our lives and there seems to be no
end in sight is to praise God and continue to thank Him for His love and mercy. We must not
give up because the Scriptures tell us that we will overcome!
"I have told you this so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have difficulties.
But be of good cheer! I have overcome the world."
John 16:33.
Note: At the beginning of my petitions, which of course I did not know were called prayers, I
firmly believed that there was a powerful being responsible for the creation of the universe.
This belief has strengthened my persistence in asking for evidence of this powerful being, and I
have not stopped persistently asking for a day. If this works for me, I am sure it will be
beneficial for you as well. Regardless of our gender, we have the will and grace to persistently
ask for something, and it will be given to us because we asked for it.


CHAPTER TWO

ARE YOU SINGLE, MARRIED OR FACING DIVORCE?
irst, I want anyone reading this to know that I am not a marriage expert, because I
have had my share of marriage problems in the past. I have been married several
times, but all my efforts to stay married "till death do us part" were an exercise in
futility at the time.
In my first marriage, I was a bit young and naive. It was all about me and what I wanted, and I
was not as caring as I should have been at the time. My first husband was kind, nice, and really
had a lot of positive desires for our family. Some of the things that some of us have neglected in
married life are a lack of consideration for our partner, honesty, 100% truthfulness, selflessness
toward our partner, lack of feelings, stubbornness, sloppy health and mental habits, and a lack
of communication. Genesis 2:24 says, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and
cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. In my opinion, some people do not
understand what the Scriptures say about marriage in this case, or they miss the message
inadvertently and through no fault of their own. We are all imperfect human beings and as such
have our own weaknesses. The most important thing about this word is that we hold on to our
loved one and not allow anyone to come between us and our marriage. Leaving home to unite
with our spouse is one of the steps required in a marriage. In some cases, we allow outside
forces to interfere in our marriage instead of working out our differences with each other in
open, honest dialogue. We may have moved away from home to literally reunite with our loved
one, but our minds are still on the times when everyone told us what to do and how to do it in
terms of crisis management.
For some of us who are in a relationship, it is sometimes difficult to speak up. In some cases, we
would rather "air out" the dirty laundry of our marriage in front of our best friends, parents
and other family members. When you involve too many people in your marital problems, you
tend to get too much advice and counter-advice.
One thing I strongly recommend is to pray unceasingly and persistently and entrust all marital
problems to God - I have done that, and guess what? I have done that, and guess what? But do
not stop talking to your partner about some things that would improve your relationship and
strengthen your marriage. John 10:10 says, "The thief does not come to steal and kill and
destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly. Knowing this, we
must protect our personal property, in this case our marriage. Let us not forget that none of us
is immune to the tricks and possible attacks of the devil. We must remember that if the devil
could try to trick Jesus Christ and get him to the top of the mountain - how much more you
and me.
Satan will stop at nothing to thwart this agreement. We as human beings should also
persistently seek God's guidance and counsel.

To be continued…

Part 1

INTRODUCTION
The Tenacity To Ask isn’t only the manual for self-confidence for every woman, but also a must-read for every counterpart, as it aims to emancipate mankind from the bondage and shackles of slavery and sin. The principles contained herein apply to both genders.
Like other women who have made it to the pinnacle of their careers, you are full of abilities, gifts and talents. An empowerment of grace, power and presence is with you. You are the image of the Most high. So what are you doing with your life? Are you like the eleven disciples who stayed in the boat, or are you like Peter who, when Jesus passed by, said, “Lord, I want to walk on water with you!” Do you have a vision for your life and want to accomplish something or do something bigger than what you are doing right now? Will you just sit by in the boat, shaking and trembling whilst the rest of the world passes by? Are you carried away by the tide of time, or will you be one of the rare people who jump out of the boat and refuse to wait for the storm to pass? In this book ‘The Tenacity To Ask’ it is up to you to maximally utilize the information presented to the best of your advantage. Fear will always come against you. But remember the words of Jesus. “Take courage. I AM WITH YOU”. Don’t be afraid. It is time to get out of the rut. It is time to be tenacious in your quest for greatness.
You have not been heard because you were not brave enough to command silence. This wisdom of the ages is the key to unlocking your potential and living the life you want.
The Tenacity To Ask, offers readers from around the world the opportunity to live tenaciously and graciously by letting go of self-perceived barriers or obstacles. It begins with being fully conscious, understanding the source of your desire, and then assessing who or what can serve as a bridge to make it a reality, a dream while you are awake.
If you are ready to challenge your thoughts and motives, learn to ask good questions, and succeed - this is the book for you.
Whether you are a founder, executive, parent, student, sales executive, or investor, you will gain the courage to ask for what you need and want. It's time to live intentionally, graciously and tenaciously, to be empowered and to realize the life of your dreams. This is actually based on an actual event, names has been changed with that said, I hope you will find comfort in reading this piece, as at the time I my friend Liz told me her story which you are about to read, I had lost my job at the US Consulate Lagos as a [Security guard, her story brought me comfort and relief in Knowing that there is a God who isn’t faraway from us, and all we had to do is reach out to him and be Tenacious in our request for help from him, please sit back, relax and enjoy.

CHAPTER ONE

SHOW YOURSELF TO ME

As a young woman growing up in a non-Christian home, I was persuaded that Christianity was a kind of stigma and a waste of time. In fact, at one point, my father hired a private Islamic teacher for me and my siblings so that we could read, write, and communicate with more commitment in Arabic. The Bible says, "God is able to do far more than anything we ever dare ask or even dream of, infinitely more than our highest prayers, wishes, thoughts, or hopes."
The plans and hopes my father had for me were quite different from what God and who’s God I should put my trust in. Like many children who grow up at home with their parents, they follow in their parents' footsteps in most cases, especially when it comes to religion and faith. So it is safe to say that my experience was not the norm. One day I fell asleep in my father's small office downstairs, and that's when I had an encounter with a supernatural being that was so unreal. In my first encounter with God, I saw a very tall man. However, I could not see his face. The man was wearing a long white silky robe. This angelic person reached down, took me by the hands and said, "I am with you and everything will be all right."
He continued by quoting a verse from the book of Jeremiah 15:21, "And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible." I was really surprised by this dream, because I have never had such an encounter in my life, although I have always believed that there is a powerful being, and to crown my faith, I have always asked it in prayer to show itself to me, and before you read on, let me say this with all sincerity: everything I asked for, I got and even more. This book is titled because I am a living witness. The other strange thing was that I did not have a Bible at the time. So when I woke up, it was about 4:00 in the morning. Everything was so quiet and I took a notepad and wrote down the exact quote to share with my older sister. The next morning I went to my sister and told her about my dream. She said she wanted to take the information I had shared with her to school and ask one of the Bible school teachers if there was such a quote or if he could at least shed some light on the dream for us. When she came home from school that afternoon, she told me that the quote was from the book of Jeremiah 15:12. At that moment, I knew that my prayers had been answered and that there was much more to come. My sister was a few years older than me, but she is very smart and always wanted to help me.
When she came home and confirmed that such words were in the Bible, and also knew that I could not have made them up because I could hardly read at that time, my sister became really upset. I did not own a Bible; my father had already imposed very strict rules on my siblings and me when it came to which religion we should practice. In short, by the confluence of all these factors, she emphatically believed me. Now for the hard part - I say this because we were just a bunch of kids who lived with our parents and were very loyal and respectful to them no matter what rules and regulations they imposed on us. The thought of going to church or even trying to worship or pray to Jesus Christ would probably have gotten us kicked out of the house; any petitions I made, I did in my closet. Prayers I call petitions because we would be considered rebellious or disobedient to our parents' wishes, so if I got caught, that would be my defense.
In time, my sister made a plan for the two of us to attend a local church one Sunday in 1983. It was the first time I had ever been to a church, and it was very exciting and relaxing. We were only there for half an hour because our parents might be looking for us, as we just had an excuse to visit a family member who had just moved to our area. When we left the church that day, we were very quiet and somehow very reflective, not because we did not like the message or the whole experience, but because we felt like we had finally reached our destination after a very long and complicated journey. Since that day, there are very few Sundays when we do not attend church services to worship and praise God.
A few years later, we were able to convince our mother to join us, and she was "skeptical" at first, but she reluctantly agreed to join us after I made a persistent request. The next morning she said to me, "I am willing to try". Our mother became a good, devoted Christian like us. She kept her newfound faith to herself, just as my sister and I did when we lived with both our parents. Several years had passed since I had moved out as a teenager to continue my education in Paris, France. On a Saturday night, I had called home to say hello to my parents and see how they were doing. During my phone conversation with my mother, we decided to say a short prayer before I asked her to include my father in the conversation so I could greet him as well. While we were praying and calling on the name of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, we thought we heard someone pick up the other phone line in the house. Of course it was my father, he heard our prayers and how we prayed to God in the name of Jesus Christ. That was the first time my father heard about our change, and it was the first time he heard about my mother's new faith.

To be continued……