IT IS WELL 2

Life after the Blow

Having the word is not enough to really carry one if you don’t really get the understanding and choose to allow it work for you.
“IT IS WELL” was the line. But all was far from well. All my heart shattered and it felt like my world had crumbled.
Family members expected that I automatically take all the burdens and become the mother and brother to my younger brother. “You are know you are the first child” was on the lips of everyone. Yes, I knew I was the first child but no one gave me any orientation on how to go about a shock as great as this.
My Dad pulled me and expected that I know somethings I knew nothing about. I was only 16 and in SSS2. All I knew to do was read well and pass my school examination. I was faced with life’s real examination and I could see failure staring at me in the eyes.

Down the slide

My mum had done a lot to ensure that I was smart academically and she had put in a lot of effort to help me to the top.
How easy it is to fall down a slide that to mount up. In just my first term without my mum, my academics went from very good to very poor.
The teachers consoled me and tried to make me believe that they understood my plight. Some even augmented my results but things never felt normal. I lost all passion to study and my great goals as a student went down from being an academician to being just a student struggling to scale through.
Since SSS1 I had been doing some exercises for higher level students and so I was supposed to blast my WAEC test with strong A’s. That was what I envisioned but the vision was corrupted.

Only interest

Mum was not there, academics was not appealing, health was far from normal.
The only thing that got my attention and commitment was God and the school fellowship.
I didn’t have anyone to spend time with and no one really understood me anyway, so I followed after God diligently.
Being the introvert and always hiding fellow that I was, I couldn’t understand how I was selected as the fellowship president even as a secondary School student who just lost his mum.
But I gave my all to it and I ensured that an impact was made while I served as the president. Students became interested in the fellowship and the number of congregation increased. All Glory to God.
While serving as the president, I met a Corp member who was posted to our school and he became a part of the fellowship. We built a good friendship and he influenced me into wanting to go continue my education in Zaria as that was his home. I was looking to pass my WAEC, do well in my JAMB and travel to Zaria. But life won’t be so interesting if all things came so easy.

Stay home 001

I tried JAMB for the first time and filled in “awaiting results” and Engineering as my course choice. Did well in JAMB but I couldn’t proceed.
The results for my WAEC was released, I had failed Physics and managed to pass all others with B’s and C’s as against my all A’s vision. No way I could become an engineering student without a good grade in physics.
Will you blame me? My support system was gone and I couldn’t keep up with studies, the little I got must have been by Grace.
I had to stay home for another year awaiting another JAMB trial. I moved on in search for greener pastures in academics from our family house in Owode Egba to my uncle’s home in Abeokuta, Ogun state.

Stay home 002

Another JAMB trial I said right? Yeah.
I was advised to apply for Economics since I didn’t have good grades in Physics. I put in all my efforts to prepare for the examination and I did well. Only for me to get the report from the school that I had “wrong subject combination” for Economics. Another subject in social science was required to complement Economics as prerequisite and I didn’t have that, I had filled in science subjects instead.
This was another bang for me. Another whole year gone and I still didn’t gain admission. All my mates were undergraduates at this time, many of these people were looking up to me while we were in school and the table had turned so quickly.
It was enough trouble to think my health was draining the family finance and a greater worry to see that my academics was beginning to demand money and giving no good results.
I was so troubled and sad. I was advised to worry less about it but I couldn’t stop thinking of the Shame.

Near death experience

Some months after secondary School, I had received same message from different sources that death was hovering over me. I was not expecting much from life anyway and I simply told God to take me if that’s his wish.
After the second bang in my academics journey. I was depreciating in size and losing weight. Everyone thought I was still being disturbed by my admission troubles but I wasn’t so bothered about it as they thought. I drew strength from God and was getting words of assurance from him.
What then was wrong? All I knew was that I had some pains in my stomach region and I couldn’t hold food in. I went to the hospital myself for tests and nothing in particular was found to be wrong with me.
I would take my food into the room and dispose it because I couldn’t eat it without vomiting. And when asked, I’ll simply say “I am fine”.
Staying with my uncle and his family helped me in different ways but one I can never forget was how God used his wife to save me.
I was going about my daily activities and pretending to be fine when she suddenly looked at me and said “we are going to the clinic tomorrow”
And so we went to the Clinic and another scan was carried out. Then was it discovered, that my spleen was engorged with inappropriate quantity of water and it had to be removed that night to prevent the death that was staring at me in the face without me even realizing it.
It was the first time I would undergo a surgery and the doctors had some fears about my underlying health condition. They talked about the dangers of me falling into crisis while the surgery was being carried out and concluded that immediately after the surgery, I would be taken to the Intensive care unit.
…… After surgery, I opened my eyes and I was on the bed in a normal ward, not the Intensive care unit. A nurse was by my side and she asked me “Do you know God loves you?”.
I thought about her question and I agreed that truly God loves me. If I had gained admission into the university, there was a high probability that the prophecy of death would have been fulfilled because I would have continued lying to myself that I was fine and not report home till I fall and all begin to pray that I rest in peace.

A light to show the way

After God delivered me from that near death experience, he didn’t stop there. He helped me with my worries about education.
I was going on my way one peaceful day when a prophet came to me and asked what course I had intention of studying. I told him Economics because I had plans of resitting for WAEC to get the right combination. And he said that was a wrong choice, that he could see me owning a big farm and working in an agro-based Enterprise. So it was from him I got the instruction to go study Animal science.
I called my dad and informed him about it and he gave his support. I sat for another WAEC and passed all subjects with less stress.
I got the admission to study Animal science in Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta and I said my promise to God, to be useful and serve him diligently.

School Journey

The first day I got to school, I saw a sign post of a fellowship and I knew within me that God wanted me to join them there.
I got to my apartment, dropped my luggages and went in search of the fellowship. Got to the place and realized that it’s a small one but my heart longed to be a part of the fellowship.
I joined All Christian Campus Fellowship and continued my gentle lifestyle with minimal relationship with people. I joined the Fellowship prayer unit and served with all diligence.
Breaking existing protocols, I was made a part of the executive body in my 100 level first semester as the Drama coordinator.
I had no history with drama and I didn’t have a very healthy self esteem so I was very naive and scared but God helped me through and built me.
I handed over as the drama coordinator and took up the position of the Bible study coordinator. I became the fellowship vice president after that and now the fellowship president.
And through it all, God has taught me a lot. All of the lessons and Bible study Dad taught us while growing up had great benefits.
At some point, there was no source of finance from anywhere and I had to depend solely on God and he appeared in miraculous ways to settle all bills.
My health condition is still being managed and I still have crisis sometimes but it’s all going down gradually. The drugs I use have dropped and my strength really has been coming from the Lord.
My academics performance has been a product of Grace with zero stress. All I know I input most of my efforts in is the work of God and I can boldly say God is not reducing his blessings on me too.

End notes

It pays to serve Jesus and it pays more to acknowledge him as the source and sustainer of our lives.
My message to all is to never think low of yourself. Never depend on your own strength and if you will give up on anything, Never give up on serving God.
The God that created you has a purpose for bringing you to earth and when you realize it, you will learn to trust him to take you through the steps to achieving it.
To all sickle cell anaemia patients out there, I will like to say “You are not a mistake and God has great plans for you. Do not let the condition define you. Let your life and strength come from the Lord and not just from the drugs because God is the giver and keeper of life”.
I am not at the peak of my purpose yet but I trust God to take me there. Still praying for a miracle for my health but never letting it limit me or create fear in me.
I remain my humble self;

 

      ODEYINKA JOSHUA ADEBAYO TIOLUWANI

 

Written, compiled and edited by Igbin Christiana Oluwakunmisola, as narrated by Brother Odeyinka Joshua Adebayo.

When all looks turbulent, remember that with God, All is well and his Grace is sufficient.