The Potter’s Hands
Written by Sonia Okehie
Episode 3
There’s no hard shell the word of God can’t break and no strong heart it can’t soften. Long before now, we have witnessed so many cases that seemed impossible to man, get transformed by the wonder working power of the word of God. We have seen evil men and women turn from their bad ways and surrender to the authority of the most high; a force and power that is greater than any addiction, sinful lifestyle etc. In as much as Terry was rooted deeply in his dubious ‘Yahoo’ lifestyle, it didn’t mean God doesn’t love him anymore nor want him around the gathering of the saint’s. It was quite heartbreaking to know that Terry had already judged and cancelled himself before God actually did.
That powerful word of assurance Maya said to Terry, uplifted his spirit and almost brought tears to his eyes. For starters, he couldn’t believe that a scammer like him was qualified to be in the presence of God; not after all the atrocities he had committed in the past and still committing. Terry felt as though Maya was just pulling his legs because there was no way he was going to easily accept that God loved someone like him.
The most complicating thing about the whole issue was that Terry had a secret beef with God due to all the hardship he went through at a very young age. He was angry at God because he felt God never cared about his family. The fact that Terry’s mum had to work extremely hard just to put food on their table, while so many privileged kids out there were living their best lives, made him feel neglected, bitter and cheated. Turns out there was truly a lot of work to do in the young man’s life.
After the emotional breakdown at the church parking lot, Maya tried to convince Terry to go back inside the church with her but he refused because he felt a bit shy to go back inside after creating the impression to everyone that he had left. “I don’t think I can go back inside with you dear, I have to go home now because my head is already messed up and can’t process any new information” he calmly said. Maya understood where he was coming from and didn’t feel the need to push his decision and try to get him to change his mind. She told him that she would call immediately the service was over so they could talk further. They bid each other “Goodbye” and parted ways.
As Maya walked back to the church auditorium, she felt sad and couldn’t get her mind off everything that happened at the parking lot between herself and Terry. The fact that he said those heartbreaking things made her wonder why he would ever see himself as unworthy before God. There were few guesses in Maya’s mind that could be the reason behind Terry’s actions but never for once did her mind ever cross the thoughts of him being a fraudster. The remaining session of the service was great but it was quite unfortunate that she couldn’t concentrate anymore.
On the other hand, Terry wasn’t too happy for his behaviour back in church. He felt a bit embarrassed that he displayed all that vulnerability in front of Maya and also gave her some clues on what he did for a living. “Why why why! Terry you had just one job to do today, which was to go to church and turn a deaf ear to everything that was preached but you failed woefully. How did I let myself get so broken to the point that I couldn’t hold back my emotions any longer. I should have just declined this fellowship invitation if I knew I couldn’t handle it. Now see!” he soberly said to himself as he drove home. It was such a day indeed and both parties were emotionally messed up. Immediately Terry arrived home, he went straight to bed and forced himself to sleep.
Just as promised, after service that same day, Maya put a call through to Terry immediately she got home but he didn’t pick up. She called twice and finally decided to let him be because she felt he still hadn’t gotten over what happened earlier.
Unknown to Maya, Terry was fast asleep and wasn’t aware when his phone rang. It was when he woke up that he saw her missed calls and quickly called back but it was around passed 9pm and by then she couldn’t pick up. Terry called only once and figured Maya might be asleep, so he postpone the calling till the next day.
The following morning while Maya was already on her way to work, Terry’s call came in. “Hello dear” she hurriedly greeted when she picked up, “Hi Maya, how was your night?” he asked, “it was great, thanks!” she replied.
At that moment, Terry was a bit nervous and didn’t know how best to chip in the incident that happened the previous day. However, he managed to say something regardless. “About yesterday, I’m sorry for leaving you like that and also for all the drama. I know I could have done better, I’m so sorry” he calmly said. Maya smiled warmly and chipped in; “You don’t have to apologise, I totally understand because not everyone is comfortable in church, especially when invited to a church that isn’t their local assembly” she said, “Can I ask which church you attend occasionally?” she added and he suddenly became mute.
The bitter truth was that Terry hadn’t attended church fellowship for over 10 years of his life. Since he started engaging into fraudulent activities at the age of 15, he had never felt the need to go to church.
When a person is involved in certain lifestyles that greatly contradicts or goes against the word of God, the last thing they ever need is a constant reminder that their ways are sinful; talk more of going to a place that speaks against their way of life to their faces. People love that comfort they derive from not being told occasionally that they are doing something bad. The reason is because their conscience would be a rest and not easily pricked; with that way, they can comfortably continue their evil deeds.
In Terry’s case, he knew that ‘Yahoo’ was his means of livelihood and also the source of his riches, so he avoided churches because he didn’t want anyone to tamper with his mind. Not only that, but he also had a secret beef and held a huge grudge with God.
Well, regardless of all this, Maya still needed an answer to her hanging question. “Which church do you attend occasionally?” she repeated after a little moment of silence, “I don’t go to church so I guess that answers your question” Terry nervously said, “Why don’t you attend fellowship, or is there something you want to talk to me about?” she curiously inquired.
The numerous questions began to make Terry a bit tensed and nervous that he started stammering. When Maya figured that he was uncomfortable with the numerous questions, she postponed their discussion by informing him that she had to rush down to work.
When the call ended, Terry’s heart raced and he kept wondering why on earth he felt that way. The fact that everything about Maya gave him tension and made him nervous, was something out of the ordinary. “Who’s this babe and why does she have so much impact on me?” he wondered as he opened his laptop to check some fraudulent transaction he did the day before. While he scrolled through his laptop, everything made no sense because his mind wasn’t settled. On seeing that he couldn’t concentrate, he closed the laptop and laid on the bed lost in thoughts.
While Terry was battling with his identity and conscience, Maya kept contemplating on what to do with him. To be honest, on a normal day, she would have dropped the person and move on with her life but there was just something about Terry that made her want to draw closer to him and not just abandon him. The fact that he was on her mind most of the time, made her feel as though it was a sign from God to her.
At work that day, Maya used her spare time to stalk Terry’s social media pages to have a glimpse and clue of the kind of person he truly was. The pictures on Terry’s timeline portrayed a wayward person that loves the material things of life, clubbing, drinking, showing off and so on. Maya needed no more detail to be able to give a handful of information about whom Terry truly was. Most of the pictures she saw on his social media accounts were scary and naughty.
After a marathon race on Terry’s social media accounts, Maya now fully knew why he despised the things of God and avoided it. There and then, she began to come up with a better mode of approach and strategy to help the drowning young man.
In the evening after work, Maya called Terry to check up on him and schedule another meeting with him since the first one didn’t go too well. He was very happy to receive her call and also excited that their meeting venue wasn’t at a church this time around. The little unofficial date was scheduled for the next day and both of them greatly anticipated for it.
From the very moment that meeting was agreed upon, Maya took to her knees and prayed at any little chance she got. She called out Terry’s name whenever she prayed and kept asking the Lord to intervene on his matter and also touch his heart. There was just something about Terry that drove Maya to her knees the more. It felt as though she had a huge responsibility bestowed upon her by God to help the straying young man change his ways.
Unknown to Maya, she had no clue that Terry was head-over-heels in love with her and that was one of the reasons he was still trying to get closer to her; despite the fact that they were from two different worlds. I guess the main reason she was different in his eyes was because of the glory of God that rested upon her.
You know there’s just something about the glory and presence of God. It distinguishes people and add an unexplainable glow on them. Have you ever just looked at someone and can’t get your eyes off then, but yet you can’t figure out why they glow so differently? Most times, these set of people aren’t even polished and don’t put on designer clothes, but still they radiate like the sun rays. That’s what the Glory of God does and that’s why Terry kept coming back despite any shortcomings.
The date and time scheduled for the little unofficial date came and both parties were so excited but also tensed. Terry first arrived at the venue before Maya and welcomed her when she came. “I’m so sorry for coming late, I was stuck in traffic” she politely said and he assured her that it was all good. “What would you like to take?” he asked, “I’m fine dear, maybe water” she replied and he ordered two bottles of water for both of them.
Maya smiled because she knew that Terry’s initial menu desire wasn’t water but he had to order one for himself because she did. “Aren’t you hungry?” she asked smiling, “I am, but since you are drinking water let’s drink together” he replied and she laughed out loud. The fact that Maya was laughing and not being overly serious helped to ease the atmosphere and tension Terry was initially feeling as regards their meeting. He became a bit relaxed and set to enjoy a wonderful meeting.
They made jokes and talked about so many random stuffs till Maya gradually started chipping in godly related topics. “Can I ask you?” she warmly inquired, “Yeah sure, I figured you already have a lot on your mind concerning me so let’s just get it over with once and for all?” Terry replied.
The atmosphere gradually began to get tensed as Terry awaited the question Maya wanted to ask. After pausing for a while, she nervously looked into his eyes and dropped a bomb. “Who are you and what do you truly do for a living?” she nervously asked.
For a moment, it felt as though the whole world stopped and Terry was the only one moving. His heart raced uncontrollably because that was the very first time he was faced with a question about his true identity. At that moment, he was also having trust issues because for all he knew, she could be a secret agent working with the police officers. He looked into her eyes and nervously said; “You want to know the real truth right?” and Maya nodded ‘Yes’.
Regardless of all the risks in front of Terry and the fact that he could lose Maya if he revealed the truth, he took a deep breath and outrightly said; “I am a G-Boy (Yahoo boy)”.
Written by Sonia Okehie
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@Sonia Okehie
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