07/03/2025
“You're a pretty girl. You shouldn't be suffering this much.
Just spend one night with me and I'll give you a reason to remain by my side” his text message popped up on my phone.
I swallowed hard.
This was nothing less than a temptation.
Mr Phillip was one of the youngest lecturers in our school, in my department precisely.
On two occasions, I was unable to purchase his course materials which he tagged compulsory on time.
When I finally did, he made me explain why.
I was forced to let him know of my plight–I was a girl struggling to make ends meet with no support from any friend or relative.
I was my own sponsor.
Since then, he never stopped bugging me with his ridiculous offer.
I never considered it, but that night, looking at such a tempting message on an empty and growling stomach made me want to have a rethink.
The only thing I had to eat for the past three days was groundnut and roasted corn.
Those were the things I could afford.
When his message came in, I had nothing to eat. I was preparing to go to bed hungry.
Tear drops rolled down my face as I thought about my miserable life.
I knew many of my mates who exchanged their bodies for huge amounts of money and were living a seemingly stress free life.
“God, did I do wrong by deciding to keep myself in honour of you?
Why do I have to suffer this much?
Are you going to keep watching me go through this much suffering and do nothing?” I wept in bitter anguish as I poured my heart to him.
Silence was the response I got.
I wept.
I had no idea when I slept off.
The next morning, I woke up to find my neighbour at the door.
It was her birthday, and she cooked and decided to share her food with the other tenants in the compound.
As I received the food with heartfelt gratitude, I was assured that God still loved and cared for me.
It strengthened my faith.
Two years later, I graduated with flying colours and crossed paths with the man God had reserved for me all the while.
With him, I had no cause to cry.
He was an answer to my prayers.
A firm believer and genuine child of God.
His love for me was and still is palpable.
“If I were to choose again, I'd choose you, Anna.
When it comes to loving you, my control button fails.
I can't help it.
With God on our side, we'd enjoy the blessings of life and grow old together” He slid the diamond ring he had bought for the proposal onto my slender finger.
I had just said 'Yes' to the one my heart yearned after–the testament of God's goodness and faithfulness to me.
Whenever I looked at him, I was reminded of the fact that God rewards those who diligently seek and obey him.
Keeping myself wasn't in vain after all, because if I had decided to defile the bed, I definitely wouldn't have met him in the manner it happened.
Mr Phillip, he died a year after my graduation.
I learnt that he had been a patient of AIDS for a long time.
I thanked God for holding me back that night.
I would have been infected too.
God doesn't forget his own.
Sexual purity pays.
Keep the marriage bed undefiled.
One love.🤍
©️ Rejoice S. James
