Happiness means a lot of things to different people. For some, it is being rich and having everything they want, for some it is being in a sweet, loving and secure relationship with an amazing human, for some it is being in a comforting and heart-warming relationship with a superior being, for some, it is caring for and sharing with others that gives them joy, for some, time spent with friends and family are priceless joyful moments that are untradable. For me and some other people, it is a mash-up of all of these but with the romantic and spiritual relationships conspicuously in the centre.
My happily ever after story may not be as romantic as Jack and Rose's or Romeo and Juliet's but it is still the most beautiful thing that has ever happened to me and it brings tears to my eyes every time I think about it. My love story reached its peak exactly two months ago today and I decided to immortalise it (who knows if the internet will last forever but at least it is our surest bet for now) it by penning it down now that it is still fresh and not some faraway, faded memory. Maybe someday, when I am too old to remember the details my grand daughter will find this as a complementary account to the scanty details I verbally share with her. Also, as I like to mark, honour and commemorate everything, here is to two months of being married to an extremely delightful man. Here we go.
In mid 2014, I met a young man who was passionate about God just as much as I was and maybe even more. Someone once posted a question that asked people where that will be if they were to marry their lovers where they met them. I laughed as I read funny comments like 'in my friend's house,' 'on the road,' 'in a taxi,' 'in the restroom', etc. Mine would have been the most appropriate answer because we met in different churches. I would explain. I saw him for the first time in my church where he had been invited to minister but he had seen me earlier in a religious gathering, not exactly a church but at a gathering of christians from all denominations. We got talking mostly on the phone and every time we met at our bi-monthly christian meetings. I thought he was so cute. I totally loved his smiles and the cute dimples that appeared on his cheeks when he smiled. I was due for a masters course in England in October, just five months after we met and because of this he didn't take the relationship further although he wanted to ask me to date him at the time. Although I was dating someone at the time and thought he somehow found out, I was a bit disappointed that he didn't ask me out. I even prayed about it asking that he should come back to me if he was truly mine....lol. So off I flew thousands of ocean miles away to England but we communicated occasionally during my sojourn in England. Although all hopes of ever dating the young, handsome preacher's son who was himself a preacher were gone. I wonder how we pray about things as christians and expect them not to happen.
Fast forward to October 2015, I had just rounded up my masters course and was eagerly awaiting my final result. It had been a long year for me. I had worked my way up to the top of my class, a feat that was by no means easy considering that I was six weeks behind the others on resumption. I had also worked like a horse trying to pay my way through school but most importantly, I had enjoyed God's grace in several amazing ways and had grown closer to God, stalking all of Heather Lindsey's posts like an obsessed fan and wishing me a man like Cornelius Lindsey. Something I prayed about too...lol. I talk to God about pretty much everything, from a crush to a mean remark by a colleague. Let's just say God and hubby are my best friends. I had gotten this fantastic job in Nigeria (one of God's favours which I talked about earlier) and was preparing to fly back to Nigeria to take up the role. A week before my home coming, he pretty much asked to me to start a godly relationship with him. He didn't know I was coming to Nigeria. In fact, he didn't know about the job but he would call me everyday for a considerable length of time, not minding how expensive international calls were.
When I arrived in Nigeria, he came all the way from Calabar where he was based to see me and we had our first official date. It was a memorable one because we were friends who hadn't seen each other in a long time and we were also lovers on our first date. He brought me a necklace which he had bought while he was on pilgrimage to Isreal and which I still treasure to this day. He helped me put it round my neck in a very romantic way. I was ecstatic, I had never being treated so specially by a man in a long time. I laughed a lot when I remembered the prayer I said that if he was mine, he would definitely come back to me. I gave God a lot of secret winks during our date that night. We talked a lot about what had happened to both of us during the absence. We had ice-cream because I didn't want to eat anything. I was too thrilled for that. And that was how my relationship with my hubby of today started. I am proud to say we did it God's way. We honoured God with our relationship and with every part of our bodies even our lips. Some people go halfway but not the whole way but we kept anything that even looked like the beginning of physical romance at arm's length. It was not that difficult because both of us were on the same moral page. He works directly with God and I had prayed to God for several years to send me someone who wouldn't defile me. Notwithstanding, I do remember a few times when we both had to walk away painfully but are grateful for today because if we hadn't, indecency would have crept in.
Fast forward to 2016. We got married in March. My next post would describe the engagement, introduction, bridal shower and wedding in details. Watch out for My Happily Ever After 2 - The Wedding Blog Post.
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| Hubby and I on our first date. We are both formally dressed because I had to come from work and he is quite the formal guy. |
