The Bitter Pill

She met him at a concert
She was a singer and he was an admirer
It was at a Christian event
She finished her rendition to a huge
round of applause
and some kind words by the pastor
When it was time for her to go home she
stayed at the bus stop waiting for a taxi
He drove up to
her and asked her where she was going
She had seen him at the event
He was one of those admirers whose
face betrayed their feelings
She knew he really liked her performance
She had also learned from experience
that some people fall in love with the
personality on the stage but
wouldn’t be able to stand that same
personality in real life
She was a talented singer but the singer
is different from the everyday girl
She wouldn’t have given him the time
of day if she was sure a taxi was
coming anytime soon
She swallowed her pride and got in
the car
He told
her he was a fan
She said she knew
He told her he had consistently
followed her career and made time
to be at almost all the events where
she had been invited to perform
She shook her head
He laughed and then he began to
mention event and date and what
she wore and what she sang
He was either a stalker or a true
admirer
The ride was so pleasant that she
didn’t want it to end
She was the one that offered him
her phone number
She was the one that made him drop
her at home and even showed him
her flat
She would have invited him in if he asked
She was that
smitten by him
He didn’t ask because it would seem
creepy
So after he had parked his car, he
urged her to stay a little with him in
the car before alighting
He reclined the driver’s seat and she
did the same with her seat
He played a soft gospel song and
they just laid there and
gave the moment its magic
They were there for almost an hour
From 7pm till around 8pm
They spoke a little in that hour
She spoke about her mixing her
academics (She was a student of
Yabatech, with her tailoring
(she had a shop at Yaba where
she sewed curtains) and her
music career
He spoke about the day he heard
her sing for the first time and what
her music did to his heart
He also talked about his determination
to get to meet and know her before
going into any relationship
He said he wanted to be sure she
wasn’t the one before moving on
He was totally
devoted to her
She fell in love that night
She didn’t plan to but she did
Her mother died when she was
three years old
She grew up with her grandparents
and had learned to fend for herself
from an early age because her
grandparents were not that rich
She had never known love in
any capacity but as she laid down
on that car seat and listened to him
She heard the mood and the texture
of his voice
She heard the sincerity of his heart
She heard the depth of his love
She heard his devotion to her even
when she didn’t know he existed
Something happened to her
heart
It began to buzz in a strange way
It grew warm and fuzzy and swoony
She fought very hard to hold back
her tears
She was loved by a total stranger and
he was able to convince her of his
love without asking her out or trying
to get anything from her
It was for her love at its
purest form
When she eventually alighted from
the car, she could barely stand
Her knees were weak
Her feelings had tied her up in knots
He drove away and she went home
daydreaming about them
The next day he was back as early
as 7 AM
He said he couldn’t sleep all night
It was the
same for her
She just wanted to be with him
He took her to her shop that morning
before going to his office
He was working with an international
logistics company
They were together every day of that
week
He picked her in the mornings and
dropped her off in the evening
it was the
best week of her life
When she got to church that Sunday,
the pastor invited her into his office
and said “I saw you during the week
while i was praying.
I saw you with a young man.
You have grown very fond of this young
man and you are already dreaming of a
future with him…
She told the pastor what he said was
true
The pastor said “He is not your husband,
this union will bring you much grief and
sorrow, it will be wise of you to walk
away from it now”
She was shocked but she nodded her
head and said “Thank you, sir”
The guy had not asked her out
no commitment has been made verbally
but emotions were running high and
intentions were as plain as day
It is only a matter of time before he
would state his intentions and she had
planned to say a very loud YES to
whatever future he offered to share
with her.
it was a tough day
He came around to pick her the
following day
Immediately she got into the car, he
said “I have something to say to you.
When I got to church yesterday, one
of our pastors, the one heading the
prayer department called me aside
and warned me about being with you.
He didn’t say much
He just called me into the prayer
room and said “You met a lady recently,
do not pursue a relationship with her.
She is not your wife.
Bless her and let her go
She busted into tears right there and then
It was the thought that plagued her mind
all night
She had prayed, tossed and
turned all night asking the Holy Spirit to
confirm the word through her pastor or
send a contrary word to her.
She would usually hear the word of the
Lord for herself but she was too invested
in the issue to be objective!
He cried too, bitterly
He wondered why God would not even
give their young love a chance to blossom
She wondered the same
He drove her to her shop
She waited two hours and wrote him a
thank you text
She said she believed they are better off
as friends and wouldn’t want to encourage
him to keep coming around because it
would lead to no good
He got the message and didn’t come
around to pick her later that day
She missed him and mourned for the
future she had imagined
A future that God killed prematurely
Another year of struggle went by
He kept in touch but from a distance
She met a man, a music promoter who took
interest in her work
He paid for studio sessions and all and
invested so much in her career
It was a business relationship without
any intimate entanglement
She was in the studio working at releasing
her debut album when she heard that he
was getting married
She fainted!
Everybody assumed it was from exhaustion
but she knew better
It stung her like a bee
Even she didn’t know she was nursing the
hope that things would change and they
would be allowed to be together
She couldn’t continue her work on the
album for another two weeks
It was tough!
Eventually, her sponsor got concerned
enough to find out what was wrong
She told him, someone, she used to
be in love with got married and it
threw her off balance
He tried his best to comfort her
Eventually, she returned to work and
finished the album
The album launch was a good
success
Three weeks after the Album launch,
her sponsor proposed
She had zero romantic feelings for him
He was eight years older than her and
they had very little in common
She didn’t even pray about it
She told herself he was only pitying
her or trying to marry the talent that
will keep making him money
When she got to the church, the
choirmaster said “I smell a fragrance of love,
someone here is getting married”, another
singer in the choir said “i saw a bouquet of
flower overnight with two names written
on it “Kingsley and Bidemi”
She was Bidemi and
her sponsor was Kingsley
It was enough to make her pay attention
She decided to get serious about it in the
place of prayer
The following Sunday, she invited her
sponsor to church
When her pastor saw him, he said “Welcome,
our husband”
She almost screamed with embarrassment
They got married immediately after their
marriage counseling session which lasted
six months
She relocated to the USA to be with him
eight months after their wedding
The marriage is blessed with a set of twins
Jasmine and Josephine
She said she didn’t expect her marriage
to be as
blissful as it turned out to be based on
how they started
She works with a fashion designing outfit
in the US and also has a blooming music
ministry
The ways of the Spirit is the way of the
believer
We do Him and Him alone
Those who trust in him can never be
put to shame