HE SAID NO.
EPISODE 27
Grace had been attending to unsatisfied customers all day and she was getting exhausted as she glanced at the mini clock at the far end right corner of her table, the time seemed to be tiptoeing as she answered more and more customers.
A particularly angry woman with plenty of flesh stuffed at designated corners of her body almost ate her up that morning,
“Good morning madam, how may I help you,” Grace greeted courteously.
“What is good about the morning? No, tell me, what is good about the morning?” the woman repeated, shaking angrily in front of a dumbfounded Grace.
“I am sorry madam, but I don’t understand the reason for this sort of reaction, ”
“How would you understand?” she barked, “You are just as daft as the albino that attended to me the last time!”
Grace was angry as the woman kept ranting but she tried her best to be as calm as can be while trying to calm her down, after all, she was a well-trained customer service representative. Her albino colleague, Nkechi had attended to the woman, the last time she came when she complained about not being able to access her account. The woman claimed that up until that moment, nothing had changed.
Thankfully, Nkechi was not on seat as the woman was set to eat her raw, Grace set to work immediately, and the troublesome woman left some minutes later after her account issues were rectified.
Grace felt relieved when she answered the last person on the queue in front of her and she demonstrated this by momentarily placing her head on the table before standing up to use the toilet. She got back after a few minutes she just as she sat down, she felt in her heart to talk to Mrs. Akinwale, it had been a while since they spoke. She picked up her phone and noticed that she had missed a few calls and a new message which read.
“Grace, my husband tried to commit suicide, he is in the hospital and I am on my way there right now, please stand in faith with us. “
“Oh my God! “Grace squeaked as she hurried back inside the toilet with her phone. She dialed Mrs. Akinwale’s number, she picked up almost immediately,
“Grace! My husband is not talking, he is not even opening his eyes. I caused it oh!” She lamented frightfully.
“Mrs. Akinwale, please calm down, just calm down,” Grace said in a bid to pacify her. “For days now, I have been sensing the urge to go back home but I refused, Ah! God alerted me through several means but I ignored every single one of them, ” Mrs. Akinwale lamented, as she relayed the dream she had and how God had been telling her to go back home.
“Ah! Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I knew you would ask me to go back home and I didn’t want to, ” she sobbed as Grace heaved a weighty sigh.
” Just calm down, I really need you to calm down right now. Fidgeting and fretting won’t do anything now, so you need to be as calm as possible ” Grace said as she gesticulated with her left hand. It seemed that Mrs. Akinwale heeded her advice because she stopped acting hysterically, “Good, how is he now, what state is he in?”
“The doctor said he took a poisonous syrup and dropped a suicide note for me. Grace, his eyes have been tightly shut since I got here, the same with his mouth, the doctor said we should keep praying that his chances of living are minimal, I am scared, ” Mrs. Akinwale sobbed.
“That is the doctor’s verdict, not ours, he will live, ” Grace said with utter confidence, “Listen to me, Whether or not this is your fault, God is not angry with you, all the feelings of condemnation that you are having are from the devil and it is targeted at making you keep your mouth shut and resort to fate. But we know that he is a liar, there is no condemnation to you because you are in Christ Jesus. The bible says in the book of Hebrews chapter 4 vs 15 to 16 that we do not have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all, all but sin. So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help. ” she quoted, pausing a bit before she continued.
“You have to stop anchoring that pity party and stand up to pray, that is the only way we can snatch him from the claws of death, tears and regrets will change nothing, it is the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man that makes tremendous power available. I will be praying with you from here and I will join you at the close of today, ” she said with authority.
“Okay, ” Mrs. Akinwale nodded helplessly.
As soon as Grace dropped the call, her heart was heavy, she immediately started praying in tongues as she left the toilet, she still had about 3 hours left before she closed for the day.
As she walked back to her seat, she kept praying, though rather silently so she wouldn’t disturb anybody. Thankfully, she had no customer to attend to and she prayed she wouldn’t for the rest of the day.
Back in the hospital, Mrs. Akinwale who was sitting at the reception, following the doctor’s order, jerked herself up and rolled up her sleeves, she ignored the hostile and questioning face of people loitering around the reception, including the nurses. Her tear-filled eyes were now red with red-hot anger against the devil as she started pacing to and fro the hospital reception, praying in the holy ghost. The woman that was sitting close to her eyed her maliciously before hissing and walking far away from her but she was too engrossed to even notice.
“There is no condemnation to me, therefore, I stand in the gap for my family and I declare that the stronghold of darkness is broken in the name of Jesus, I decree and declare that my husband shall not die but live to declare the works of the lord in the land of the living. I snatch Akinwale from the cold hands of death in the name of Jesus, ” she was walking to and fro the reception.
To be continued…
Written by Sodamade Olamide Tolulope.
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