VICTORIA’S SECRETS

Home sweet home

My wedding is in few days and I had to travel home from Zaria to get things sorted and be fully prepared for the ceremony. After all the welcoming visits from friends and family I finally had time to myself and enough time to go through my stuffs and down memory line.
I have been away from home for about three years, after my NYSC posting to Zaria and the instruction of the Lord to remain there. I remember it wasn’t easy to convince mum about it being her only child. At that point I saw the benefits of being a part of a family where everyone believes in God and can hear God themselves.

“Let God speak to me too”

My Dad didn’t have anything to say against it because he has always been someone who believes in oneness even in ethnicity but my mum was not going to agree so easily. I smile now as I remember mum looking angrily at me like I just committed the worst sin. “Let God speak to me too” she said and went into her room. She didn’t speak to anyone for three days and we didn’t bother her about it because we wanted to give her the space she needed to hear from God herself knowing she’d say we are trying to convince her with our words and trying to fill her mind with pictures of a YES when God might be saying a NO.
Sometimes I imagine God smiling at Mum’s actions when it comes to receiving clear instructions, very strict and void of distractions. Well, on the night of the third day, she walked into my room and knelt down beside my bed weeping from her heart, I knew something had happened. She was in that position for over an hour, praying for my protection and confessing her willingness to submit to God’s will. For the first thirty minutes I pretended to be asleep but I couldn’t hold my tears any longer, I joined her and kept saying Amen to all her prayers. It’s been three years since I left the house and the house has never been without children and youths, with mum always taking in as many as she can and helping them get good education and good life. At a point I was so desperate to have more impacts on earth than my parents, but I learnt that the most important thing is to take things a step at a time as the Lord will be giving the “Now” instructions.

Down memory lane

Back to today’s story, the number of children that my parents have adopted and allowed into our house at one time or the other even before I traveled is one thing I don’t have a record of but in all these, my room was never tampered with and was just the way I left it except for some slight re arrangements during cleaning. So I was in my room and going through my old books, pictures and half used diaries and note pads when I saw a big note pad with the words; “VICTORIA’S SECRETS” written in bold letters.
Wow! was all I could say. This was the book I got from my late grandmother.

Grandma Victoria

Grandma Victoria was my Dad’s dear mother.
My grandmother was unique in her ways and I always admired her ever renewed strength. A biological mother of one-my Father but a spiritual mother to many. Grandma Victoria moved into our home to live with us after the departure of her darling Husband to be with the Lord. I was four at that time and I was so happy grandma was coming to stay with us.
I grew up to seeing our house always filled with people waiting on benches to see grandma Victoria. Some traveled long distances just to speak to Grandma. I remember I was so curious I went to meet my mum to ask why Grandma was always having so many visitors and to this, mum smiled and said, it is how God ordained it.
Sometimes Grandma allowed me sit close to her and I saw how these people told Grandma about one problem or the other, some weeping while explaining their plights to her and others just expressing their pain in hopelessness. I didn’t understand much of what were being discussed but I knew it was like me going to tell mum about every little problems I had or challenges in school and how she would help me profer solutions.

At a time, I thought Grandma was a good witch. Yet I wasn’t satisfied about my conclusion on the existence of good witches. I knew there had to be something more that I didn’t know. But as I grew, my mum taught me the way of the Lord and how God has appointed each one of us to certain duties on earth and how that Grandma was carrying out her duties as she helped those people with their problems. I couldn’t disturb Grandma so much because she was always busy with her many visitors and I was either busy with school work or helping mum with hospitality duties to our visitors. And Dad was busy with ministry and travels at that time too. All I could gather was from my mum’s teachings about God on the kitchen table; which really contributed greatly to my salvation. Her teachings helped clear my curiosity but left me with one last question; How can Grandma know how to handle so many and so different problems?.

That Sunday Experience

After some years, grandma was getting older and spent less time with her visitors but she still insisted on doing somethings herself, especially getting her room cleaned up. On a fateful Sunday morning, during church service which was anchored by teenagers which I was part, I could see the Joy on her face after I led the prayer session and walked down the altar. I have always led other teenagers in prayers in our auditorium but that really was my first time of leading so many including the elders and pastors to pray and I was amazed at how powerful it was myself. When we got home that day, the Joy was still on Grandma’s face and while we sat on the table to pray over lunch, Grandma volunteered to say the prayers. She blessed the food and after the prayers she looked to my mum and said;

“Deborah, I have always loved you since the first day this boy here brought you to our home to meet us and I never stopped loving you till now. This I want to add my dear, today, Precious mounted on that altar to lead the prayer session, that was your examination to know how well you have been able to carry out your duties as a mother. And I am more than impressed and I know God is smiling at you right now my dear. I can boldly say I love you now, more than I loved you yesterday”

My mum had tears flowing down her cheeks already but Grandma was continued;

“You have been a faithful wife to your husband by keeping the home in his absence and praying endlessly for him when he goes on those travels to minister. And you never failed as a daughter-in-law to me too. You will never complain about the people coming here all the time to see me and you always make sure you prepare meals for them when necessary. I couldn’t have asked for a better choice for my son than you because you are more perfect than the perfection I prayed to God for. I take this opportunity to say to you now Deborah, to you that have been faithful in little, the Lord has said much will be given to you to care for, open your home to children that’ll be needing good parental care and let this house not be void of growing ones”

At this, my mum fell on her knees close to grandma, shedding uncontrollable tears from her heart and grandma pulled her close and prayed for her. Mum explained how she had known the Lord wants her to be a mother to many but how she has been scared she might not be able to do it alone since Dad was not fully at home and the stories of how some adopted children turned against their foster parents. Grandma reassured her that it was time and everything will begin to fall in place.

New commitment

I would have lost my appetite for food in that scenario but not if the food is White Rice and fish sauce as it was that day. So I was getting impatient when mum won’t stop crying on Grandma’s knees like a baby and making me wait too long before doing justice to the food. Then Grandma looked to me and called my name. I immediately forgot all about the food in seconds and was so scared not knowing what to expect.

“You’ll be cleaning my room for me from now henceforth and don’t stop being a praying child. We may all eat our food now”.

That is one of the memories of Grandma I can never forget till tomorrow and the next because that day was so different in the house. She gave mum an instruction that required so much responsibility and assigned me to the duty I never thought I would have to handle, to clean her room, the most respected room in the house. And the day ended with Dad receiving a mail from our church headquarters to be the resident pastor in one of the newly established churches, meaning he didn’t have to travel so often anymore and would be doing more of pastoral duties than evangelical movements.

I made sure to write the events on that day in one of my diaries even though I was never committed to any of them to have used up all of their spaces.

The Discovery

It was one of the days I was cleaning Grandma’s room I saw this big note pad I just saw again in my stuffs. I was so tempted to open it but as I was about to do that I looked again at the cover and saw below the Big words; “Do not open without permission”. I carefully returned it back to where I had picked it from but I was really disturbed all through the day and was curious to know whatever was in those pages. Could it be Grandma’s past or confessions of her sins to God? I kept on wondering and questioning in my heart till I could not hold it anymore.
I walked into Grandma’s room and told her about the note pad I saw and if she’ll permit me to open it because curiosity was eating me up. Grandma sat me down and explained the uniqueness of that notepad and it’s importance to her.

Secrets Explained

“Precious Dear, on the pages of this book are the secrets that have helped me at one point or the other.with my walk with God, my home, my life and the lives of all those people always coming to share their problems with me.
They are secrets I got either in place of prayers, study of the word or even while doing mundane things like cooking and meditating on God’s word and being sensitive. These little secrets have been very helpful in ways beyond your understanding and even mine. All I know is, I go through them daily and apply them when necessary and things go well and smoothly. I also update my secret book from time to time as I get more revelations and understanding from the Lord.
You can open it to see for yourself, you have my permission”

I opened the note pad and just as she said, there were so many important revelations and pointers to right living with bible references to back them up. And as I checked through she continued;

“In this note pad, you’ll find some instructions that are for everyone and others that are personal and for my own purpose here on earth. I know you’ll want to have the book but I can’t release it to you. One reason being that I am still here on earth and still need to go through the book myself and update it too and another reason being that it is better you have your own personal secret book and learn to hear from God yourself and follow his instructions and precepts since your purpose is different from mine and will need personal divinely guided steps and ways of life.”

I returned Grandma’s secrets book to her and was eager to get one for myself too which I did and have been using till date. I gained admission into the University about a year after grandma gave me the secret of having a Secrets book and Grandma went to be with the Lord months after.

Early wedding gift

It was the day after Grandma’s burial, mum gave me her book and told me Grandma wanted me to have it and check through it for some secrets I might find very helpful and that is yet to be included in mine. I forgot to take it with me to Zaria and now I have seen it again at a time a need it the most. I opened it and I was on a page that reads “Victoria’s Secrets for a Godly Home”. I will be taking it as Grandma’s gift to me on my wedding day as I say yes to my God sent partner and take a new step into beginning another home for Christ.

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I know some of you reading this will be interested in having a peek into Grandma Victoria’s secrets book. Well, I’ll be kind enough to share some secrets which is for everyone here with you but like Grandma said to me, I also say to you that it’ll be better if you’ll get a book or note pad just like mine and Grandma’s and be attentive and sensitive to God as he gives you the secrets you need to be a success in life and also make purposeful impacts on earth.

A peek into Victoria’s secrets

* Seek first the Kingdom of God {Matthew 6:33}.Put God First in all matters and at all times.
* Pray as often as you breathe; without ceasing. {1Thess 5:17}
* Hear God’s voice before making any decision. {Isaiah 29:24-26}
* Do not wallow in your guilts, repent and let it go.{2Peter 3:9}
* Love God and love your neighbor as yourself. {Matthew 22:37-39}
* In all situations, give thanks. {1Thess 5:18}
* Just Strength is in the presence of the Lord. {Isaiah 40:30-31}
* Study the bible with a heart open to receive new life and new secrets. {2Timothy 2:15}