Hi steemians all across the globe.
Warmest greetings from my own part of world! It's my pleasure to be here and thanks to you ma'am @ruthjoe for organizing this interesting contest.
What happened
It all started while we were still in secondary school some years back, my friend named Praise was dating this guy who uses every slightest opportunity he gets to beat her up and throw insults on her.
Her parents weren't aware of her relationship with this guy and she was afraid to let them know because they will not be in support of the relationship rather, they will ask her to quit because, she was still a teenager and a secondary school student. I never liked the idea of having boyfriend while in secondary, so as her friend, I adviced her to quit that relationship and focus on her studies because it was too abusive and wasn't good for her mental health.
I gave her reasons why she shouldn't be in that relationship, but all my efforts did not yield any result because she refused listening. My friend, Praise kept on with that relationship secretly until that faithful where her boyfriend beat her mercilessly simply because he suspected that she was seeing another guy of which it's not true!
The beating was so serious that it landed her in the hospital, so because of this single incident, her parents became aware of the relationship and asked her to quit the relationship as soon as she is discharged from the hospital. Her parents warned the boy never to come close to their daughter ever again, and the girl also in the hand, did exactly as she was instructed by her parents, she quit the relationship immediately she was discharged.
One month later, this same guy came back and was pleading with my friend that she should give him another chance again, claiming that he is now a changed man and won't raise his hands on her again. There is no amount of advice I did not give to my friend, just to see that she turns his request down but my friend instead, turned my advice down and foolishly accepted the boy back into her life without her parents approval and consent.
Few months later, my friend became pregnant out of wedlock! And guess who was responsible? This same guy that uses every slightest opportunity he gets to beat her up. When the guy found out that my friend was pregnant, He beat her and threatened her to abort the child or else,, she would see the other side of him. Because my friend was coming from a God fearing background, if not for her stubbornness that landed her in this kind of mess. she didn't accept to abort the unborn child she was carrying.
So she decided to confess to her parents on how she foolishly went back to the same guy the warned her not to ever see again and how the guy has got her pregnant and is threatening her to abort the child. Her parents became so heartbroken and furious that they send her packing to the boys house. She was forced to marry at that early Stage because of her stubbornness.
She had a miscarriage few weeks later after she packed into the boys house because of the kind of stressful work she was doing and the maltreatment she was getting from him. The husband never cease to beat her despite the fact that she was pregnant. He kept on beating her until one day, he beat her to the point where she had a miscarriage.
My friend kept on enduring that kind of abusive marriage because, her parents warned her never to return home. They said she should face the consequences of her actions since she choosed to learn the hard way. Praise, my friend became pregnant again and gave birth to a bouncing boy, she farms and sells awara to feed herself, her husband and the baby.
When she was pregnant for her second child,, her husband became even more irresponsible, he doesn't sleeps at home, and even if he decides to come back home, he is always drunk and often end up beating my friend. My friend was feed up with her husband attitude and decided to leave the marriage with her first child and the pregnancy she was carrying.
She packed back to her parents house and delivered her second child in her father's house. Few months later after she delivered her second child, the husband came and pleaded with her to come back home claiming that he has changed but my friend mind was already made up not to return to her husband house. So she refused going with him.
As it stands now, my friend is leaving with her parents for the past three years and has been struggling to raise her two children singlehandedly. She had learned her lesson but she choosed to learn it the hard way.
What I have learned from it.
I have learned that it is important to prioritize my self worth and never to get involved in an abusive relationship.
I have learned never to allow myself to be blinded by love and ignore red flags in relationship.
And lastly,, I have learned to act in obedience to my parents instructions and adhere to their advice.
My invites
@pandora2010
@suboohi