Choices! What will it be? #42

The storms of life shall cease. And the sun will shine again. Believe me!

From the writer's desk
Hi there. What you are about to read is not the usual grass-to-grace story. It is a testimony of God's goodness. And I hope it inspires someone reading this.

When I was only 3, my dad lost the job that used to fetch him about half a million naira monthly. The issue was that he was wrongly accused by a co-worker and this allegation landed him in jail. The man in question framed him up then reported the false stories to the authorities.

My mom had to fend for all four of us while still engaging the services of competent lawyers to seek my dad's justice.

My family went from living in a cosy four-bedroom flat and feeding three times daily to squatting in a church with no plans on where the next breakfast would come from.

I watched my mom sell our lands, the houses and cars, all in a bid to prove the accusers wrong because she believed my father was innocent.

The case was dragged in court for years (as is usually the situation when issues involve the rich vs the poor). And my dad, the poor one now, had to bear the consequences of the irregularities of the judicial system.

We, the children suffered greatly. My elder siblings were redrawn from school to a public primary school while I, the last born, was sent to a cheaper private nursery school.

Our relations helped in their little ways. Still, everyone had their families to care for so we had to struggle to maintain ours. Even when it involved doing menial jobs for meagre pay like selling fruits in front of our mom's restaurant.

As God would have it, a missionary paid a visit to the correctional facility 2 years later. He turned out to be a friend of my father, a man he put through school about a decade ago. Upon recognising my dad he got curious and began to enquire about what happened.

That night he and my dad prayed fervently for justice to prevail before leaving.

The next hearing was in two months. The Chaplin stepped in to find out what could be done to facilitate the judgement. He approached the judge who disclosed that the case was overseen by “higher authorities”. And that the chances of getting a favourable verdict were slim. Very slim given the magnitude of the charges.

It was also at this point my mom went bankrupt for the first time in her life. Running the court case had eaten too deep into her pocket that we only took notice when the matter got so bad.

Her health began to fail and with each passing day, it looked like she would collapse any moment. My older siblings were worried. They thought she might develop high blood pressure which she did the next week.

This time, we had two things to worry about.

1. An innocent father in jail
2. A bedridden mother too weak to look after herself, let alone us.

We had to call the Chaplin for help because what we had on our plate was too much for our young minds to carry. He promised to help.

Long story short, he told an NGO about our plight and they stepped in. First, they gave us a loan to run the restaurant again. This was wonderfully handled by Lady Dee, my mom's assistant. Next, they provided my mother with the necessary medical attention she needed to feel better again.

Finally, they got another lawyer to file a Motion of Notice urging that my dad be released immediately since the detention was unlawful.

The day we saw our father again was like heaven here on Earth. I was 6 years old now and I still can't forget how he hugged me so tight and whispered, “Baby, the storms of life have ceased. All that troubled us are gone. The sun will shine brighter again.”

The storms in our lives were our troubles. It took years but we still got the justice we deserved.

For you
Dear friend, remember that tough times do not last. Your troubles/storms would be over soon. And you would sing the victor's song as well.

Photo credit: Canva

Thank you for reading. ❤️
Special thanks to @patjewell for this interesting contest
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