Short Stories

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It was the season of the year when the rains had seized to fall and the sun rose early from nature to reveal the beauty of God's creation.

I suddenly realised that the atmophere around me was tensed and unfriendly. My face promptly began to sweat as I stood in the midst of the little crowd; which was made up of my surrounding neighbours. Three men, their wives and children. They had gathered inside my compound to show concern for my household. They were the same set of faces that I had recognized while advancing from the main road.

I lost my voice, then gradually my strenght gave in, as I helplessly watched the thick smoke and the fire that was consuming what was the remainder of the structure that I once regarded as my house. In my deperation, I started walking backwards, hoping that the event I was withnessing might turn out to be a bad dream. may be, I had absent mindedly walked into a different compound? 'Where was my home...'

In dismay,my mind groped for a plausible excuse that would let me to give upmy present status as an expectant mother and travel back to my child hood days. Yes! Back to the olden times in my father's compound in this small community.
'...When I was just a school . '...When my mama would be pounding yam late into the night. '...When my papa would share his favorite scripture from our native translated Idoma Bible.

Papa was a missionary. In those days my four brothers and three sisters and I would sit around him.During our morning prayers, he would read his version of matthew 5 verse 14:

"Ye are the fire of this age,
Let your fire burn forth before men and women,
that the earth will notice your good labour,
and glorify your creator in the heavens..."

Each of us would meditate after him.
"My fire would burn forth,
all the days of my life,
In good and trouble season,
I shall shine on,
for his glory to reign."

That was the beauty of our home,in our father's house. But I was now a grown up woman of my generation with my own tempraments. I was honourably married to a pastor and I was about to experience the joy of motherhood. 'Then now, is my joy about to be stolen?'

I stood rooted there. My spirit quailed at the prospect of inventing the answers to the cause of this disaster before our relations.'That we lost all our pocession because we honoured a marriage ceremony of one of our chorister?' I swallowed hard. It was difficult to surrender the pain-even as a woman who propagated the teaching of 'grace' and 'faith' along with her husband.'God! What manner of disguised blessing was this?'

I was tempted to call my self all the names of mis-fortune that I could think of, when suddenly I remembered the story of the man named Job and what his woman advised him."Abuse god and die!" She had said. And Job, a man who was connected spiritually respounded."You talklike an unbeliever! Shall we always expect only good things from God and not trouble?"

My Inner spirit troubled me to repent over my innitial mumrning, but I rebeliously refused.

I began walking down the road with my hands on my head when I heard the voice of my husband.he called out my name."Ada!" Like a helpless child I heartedly ran to meet him. I began to cry. "Are you no longer strong?" he queried, with a look that plainly said:'I hope you've not given up your courage in the Lord?'In the past I have seen that look in his eyes when troubled farmers came to him for encouragement over their poor havest. I nodded. "My woman, do not lament over what has befallen on us..." I nodded again. The people were still watching our reaction. My husband courageously whispered into my ear."Are you in agreement with me that God should use our predicament to reconsile the hearts of the believers in this community who had wrongly put their trust on their material pocession -back to him?' I could not answer him. Rather, I remained speechless and stared dumbly at our ruined house."This morning we had a roof over our head now we have become homeless..." I heard my voice say.

Towards the end of that same afternoon, we were offered a temporary accomodation by the head of our community. Although i felt bitter over the unfortunate incident especially when people consoled me, I refused to give in to my flesh rather I meditaded on my papa's words:

"My fire would burn forth,
all the days of my life,
In good and trouble season,
I shall shine on,
for his glory to reign."

That same day, I told my husband that I stood in agreement with him.
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(c) All right Reserved by: Johnson O. J Arumona. 2004.

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