“Tife?!” he exclaimed

Tife didn’t expect her father to be back that early and so when Jide, her boyfriend offered to come visiting, she didn’t think it would be a problem. She planned that by the time her father would be arriving from work, he would have left. That was not the first time she had him come over and her mother had been aware of that but always indulged her. She allowed her to have her way all the time because she didn’t want to look like a bad mother. Little did she know that it was by indulging her that she was being a terrible mother.

“Tife, how dare you? After all I’ve done for you, this is how you repay me? Bringing a man into your bedroom and making out with him under my roof? Ha Tife” he entered the room looking for any object to beat Jide and chase him out of the room.

Jide picked his shirt and face cap “sir…sir…it’s not what you think sir, we have a project we are working on together” he lied and tried to escape being beaten with the hanger in Mr Abiodun’s hand. He successfully dodged it and ran downstairs.

“Daddy why on earth will you barge into my room and embarrass me like that?” Tife snapped at her father.

            “Is it me you are talking to like that?” Mr Abiodun asked as he pointed the hanger he still held to his chest. He couldn’t believe his ears.

            Tife hissed “excuse me” she said rudely as she brushed her shoulder against him and left the room.

            “Ha I’m doomed” Mr Abiodun placed his hands on his head. “Will you come back here” he commanded.

            Tife paid no attention to him but walked angrily downstairs and left the house.

“Where exactly did I miss it?” he asked himself, shocked. “All along, I thought I was doing the best I could by ensuring my family was comfortable. Now is this how they repay me?”

            He went into his room. His wife wasn’t around. He sat on the bed and began to sob and for the first time in a long time he prayed “Dear Lord, I know I’ve missed it big time. I thought that if I could make my family comfortable, I will be good husband and father but I was so wrong. Where do I go from here?”

            As he sat there sobbing, his phone began to ring. He initially didn’t want to pick it but after the third ring, he decided to check the caller ID. It was his wife.

            “Hello Sade” he said. Not knowing what reply to expect from the woman he had hurt badly.

            “Kunle, Tola was involved in an accident. She was rushed to Finger of God Medical Centre close to her school” her voice shook as she broke the bad news to her husband.

            He could feel strength leave his body as he heard the news. “I’ll be there right away”. He had not been more scared in his entire life. “Lord please don’t let my baby die” he prayed as he ran downstairs, picked the car keys and zoomed out of the house. Waiting for the driver was waste of precious time.

            Immediately he got to the hospital, he was directed by the nurse at the reception to his daughter’s room. On getting there he found no one. The bed was empty!

            “Where is my baby?” he cried as he hugged her school bag which was by the empty bed. “My baby cannot die o Lord please have mercy”

            His wife walked into the room crying.

            “What happened to Tola? Where is our daughter?” he asked her.

            “The doctor said she sustained multiple fractures and internal bleeding and…”

            “And what Sade mi and what?” he was afraid of the next sentence.

            “And needed to be operated on”

            “So she is in the operating room?” he asked as he gave a little sigh of relief.

            “Yes but they said she has a slim chance of survival,” she sat on the bed and burst into tears.

            He sat beside her and hugged her tight as she cried. Out of desperation he vowed “Lord please spare our daughter’s life, I promise to serve you with my family and all I have and I am”.

            After about two hours, the nurse called them into the doctor’s consulting room.

            “Mr and Mrs Abiodun, your daughter’s case was a very critical one. She was hit by a bus and was brought in unconscious. She lost a lot of blood so we decided to take her straight into the theatre. Although she was close to death, by the grace of God, we were able to resuscitate her”.

            “My Father and my God!” Mr Abiodun exclaimed as he moved forward and sat at the tip of his chair. “You mean our daughter made it?” he needed clarification.

            “Yes she did. Please if you don’t mind me asking, are you Christians? The doctor needed to know.

            “Ye…Yes we are” Mr Abiodun answered unconvincingly.

            “Wow, I am too and I believe that it was God that restored your daughter”

            “It’s not just our daughter that God restored, He gave us a second chance too” Mr Abiodun looked at his wife and placed her hand in his.

            “Congratulations sir and ma. She is in the recovery room. We’ll monitor her closely and soon, you will be able to see her” he stood up and extended his hand for a handshake.

            “Thank you doctor” the couple said, shook him one after the other and went back to their daughter’s hospital room.

            Mrs Abiodun sat on the bed. Her husband sat beside her and they were both silent for some moments. Then he broke the silence. “Sade, I am so sorry. I was so foolish and wrong. I knew things were falling apart in our home but I thought I could fix it by making us live comfortably.”

            “Kunle I never asked for comfort. A loving husband and father was what we needed but you were never around. What happened to us Kunle?

“We missed it when we stopped seeking God’s face and were carried away by the material things we had.” he explained.

“We loved the gift more than the giver Kunle” She shook her head in regret. “I knew I was drifting away but the farther I drifted, the more difficult I thought it was to come back” she sobbed.

“That’s where we got it wrong Sade. God is not man. No matter how far away you think you might have gone, His mercy and grace are always available to bring us back. He stretched out his two hands open to receive hers, “let’s say a word of prayer”

She placed her hands in his and said “amen”. As they prayed, she felt joy and peace she could not explain. She fell in love with him a fresh.

Immediately, he finished praying, with tears rolling down her eyes, she said “Kunle, I forgive you”.

He knew he didn’t deserve it. He was deeply sorry for what he had done; having an affair and not been there for his family. “Thank you dear, I don’t deserve this but I’m grateful.” He hugged her. He was grateful for the second chance God had given him. He could feel a sincere and fresh love for his wife.

Just as they were basking in the moment of their newly rekindled passion, the door barged open. It was Tife. She was crying.

“Daddy how is Tola?” I came immediately I heard.

“She will be fine dear” he answered calmly, stood up from the bed and open his arms to embrace his daughter.

She ran into his embrace and hugged him. “Daddy I’m scared. I don’t want to lose Tola or any of you” Tears rolled down her eyes. “I love you”.

Her mother stood up from the bed and hugged both Tife and her husband “we don’t want to lose you too dear”

Tife gently pulled away and looked at her parents then went on her knees “I’m so sorry daddy and mummy. I know I have been disrespectful and disobedient, please forgive me” she meant every word she said.

“It’s okay dear, we have all been wrong” he said as he lifted her from her knees. “Your mother and I are also sorry for not been the there for you. However, there is someone much more important than us you need to apologise to” he pointed up, signaling to her that she needed to make things right with God.

“Please pray for me” she said looking at her parents

They all held hands and Mr Abiodun led the prayers while his wife and daughter said “amen”

The next Sunday, Mr Abiodun, his wife and Tife were present at church. Tola’s recovery was speedy, the doctor attested to it and assured them she would be discharged in no time.

The pastor preached on ‘Letting Go of the Past’. He pointed out that we all have made mistakes at one point in time or the other, no mistake is too big or too small for God to forgive and if God can forgive us then we too have to forgive one another.

He used himself as an example “My wife and I have been married for thirty five years and before we gave birth to Favour out first child, we waited seven years. During that period I lost faith in God, I put the blame of our childlessness on my wife. Our marriage was a disaster but thank God for His mercy that located me and for my wife that forgave me. To the glory of God, we have two beautiful daughters Favour and Faith. Favour is here today with her husband Emmanuel” he said so pleased with how much God had blessed him and his family. “What I’m trying to say is let go of that past and allow God to give you a fresh start”. 

THE END

This is not just a story to entertain but a message for you. Irrespective of how far away from Him you think you have gone, God is ready to give you a fresh start. Don’t allow the devil use your past as a medium to condemn you. Take that ‘messed up’ situation you have found yourself to God and let Him turn it into a message for His glory.

“WHEN THE DEVIL CONFRONTS YOU WITH THE REALITIES OF YOUR PAST, CONFRONT HIM THE REALITIES OF GOD” S WORD”

-A quote from the movie, “HAUNTED” (A Mount Zion Film Production)

Written by Emmanuela Mike-Bamiloye

(2017)

If you missed any episode of Abiodun’s Family story. Follow any of the below links to catch up:
The Abiodun Family Drama
The Abiodun Family Drama 2
The Abiodun Family Drama 3