ONE LAST TIME
©Sonia Okehie
EPISODE 6
There’s nothing more beautiful than seeing a man who’s in love with God and isn’t ashamed to flaunt it. You have won yourself a jackpot if you are fortunate enough to find a partner that genuinely loves God more than they love you; with that way, you’re are rest assured not to receive anything far fetched from the kind of love they show their maker. God’s love is agape; it’s pure, genuine, not selfish, not controlling and it’s sacrificial.
Stacy would have never believed that Noble was capable of leading her to Christ there and then in her car. She always saw God to be a strict and inaccessible, never in her life did she think that God was easy to access any day and any time. A new mindset was about to be birthed that day and it was an encounter she would never trade for anything.
“Are you ready?” Noble asked, “Yes I am” Stacy replied sobbing. He reached out for her hands and held it gently, “now repeat after me” he commanded. “Lord Jesus, I welcome you into my life today. I acknowledge all you did for me on the cross and I want you to come into my life. I’m sorry for living on my own terms, I’m sorry for not serving you like I should, I’m sorry for not regarding you and I’m sorry for staying far away from you. Today, I ask you to come into my life and take me as your daughter. I give myself away to you and ask you to use me however you wish. Thank you lord” He said as Stacy repeated same.
After that prayer, Stacy felt completely empty of every burden of guilt she had been carrying for a long time. She felt like a new person and her self esteem recharged and became stronger than it was before she prayed that prayer.
Strangely, Stacy felt strengthen within and didn’t know how to explain the sudden control she now had over her emotions and feelings. It was strange indeed, but definitely a thing of joy.
“How do you feel now?” Noble asked smiling, “I feel different, thank you so much” Stacy replied and hugged him. Noble wasn’t expecting the hug but he was glad to receive it.
They hugged for a while before Stacy let go of his grip. Noble looked into her eyes and could sense that Stacy had gone through alot in protecting her faith and belief. He saw a lady that was struggling to live a holy life hence the guilt she felt earlier.
As those thoughts went on in Nobel’s mind, he knew that it wasn’t safe to leave Stacy all alone to nurture her new salvation, else, she was bound to return to square one. Noble decided to help her grow and also keep a close watch on her to ensure that she doesn’t fall back to where she had been before.
“I want to help you in this your new journey of salvation, I’m not a completely perfect man but I sure know I can be complement your weakness with my strength. I want you to eradicate anything that’s capable of making you backslide. Abstain from anything or anyone that doesn’t impact your life positively. Make sure to pray at least once a day and call me whenever you feel like doing anything bad so I can talk you out of it” Noble said.
For the first time in Stacy’s life, she felt genuinely cared for. All her life, she has been used to men taking things away from her and drawing her farther from God, this was the first time a man was giving something to her and drawing her nearer to God. She thanked Noble for being far too kind and he told her not to mention. They bid each other ‘Goodbye’ and parted ways.
As Stacy drove home that day, she was so happy and filled with joy. She was so jealous of her new found salvation and made up her mind to do everything to protect it. Remember, the heart can be willing but the flesh is weak. It wasn’t going to be easy but she made up her mind to do her best.
While Stacy was rejoicing for her new found life, Randy was home alone missing her. He tried calling her but she wasn’t picking up. Randy needed to see her and we all know why he wanted to see her that much.
As Stacy wasn’t picking up his call, he got dressed and drove down to her house. When Randy arrived, he went straight to her apartment and knocked on the door. Stacy was in the kitchen cooking when he knocked so she went to find out who was knocking.
“Who’s that?” She enquired, “It’s Randy, open the door” he replied. At the mention of Randy’s name, her heart dropped. The man she was running away from was at her door. “Oh, which kind of trouble is this now” she silently said to herself before opening the door.
To be continued…
