I was perfectly sure that he was the right man for me and I was ready to get married to him. Then we decided to tell the pastor. A big mistake we did make.
‘Sister Kate, the Lord says I should tell you and brother Amos not to get married. He is against this union. I foresee a lot of things for both of you and they are not too pleasant, I tell you.’
My pastor’s words came pouring like a pack of knives slicing every bit of my heart. I almost fainted while I sat with him. Who had paid him to make such a statement? It must be one of those desperate sisters who thought they could use their money or even influence to destroy a person’s life. But not mine.
They had another thing coming their way.
Pastor, I don’t’ know the kind of trick you’re playing or who paid you to do this kind of thing but I should let you know that both of us have prayed and the Lord has confirmed this marriage.’
“Do not use the name of the Lord your God in vain.
He has said His word. It is left for you to obey.”
But we disobeyed the voice of God. Two months later, Amos and I got married in another church with my sister standing as my maid of honour. It was a very big wedding. My parents couldn’t have been happier for me.
For our honeymoon, my Amos took me out of the country where we spent two months together. It was perfect, just the way I’d imagined that it’d be.
“Darling, I didn’t know you smoked or even drink?’ I’d said one evening when he’d taken me out to a pub for some drinks.
I was totally shocked by the way he did it all like a pro who had perfected his act well.
‘I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you about this love,’ he said, holding both items up. “I didn’t want you to know because I thought you wouldn’t want to marry me if I told you.’
‘But you know it won’t change the love I have for you.’
He shrugged. “I’m sorry, I guess,’ He said and downed his drink in one gulp, asking the bartender for more. I accepted him that way. I mean, what more could he possibly do? I soon got to find out when we got back from our honeymoon because things began to change. Two months after our arrival, my husband came back from the office one evening without a smile on his face.
“Sweetheart, what seems to be the problem?” I asked, rushing to where he sat with his hands holding his head. He replied by handing me a letter. As I read through it, my heart did a double take. A sack letter?
I’ve been laid off.” He finally said as if to confirm my question.
‘But why?”
“Didn’t you read it in the letter? God, Kate I thought they said I was the best staff ever. They told me they can never do without me. Now they say they are cutting down on staff and they take me out? I don’t understand this one bit.” He kept murmuring to himself. I was too far gone in my thinking to even hear him. We had spent a lot of money on our wedding and honeymoon and from what I’ve seen, Amos’ account wasn’t doing pretty well and I didn’t have much in my bank, thanks to the fact that Amos had made me resign from my job since he said he could afford to take care of me forever.
‘Don’t worry love, everything will be all right. “I assured him.
But things didn’t go right. If for anything, they got worse with each day that came. For two whole years Amos went about hunting for a job but in spite of his wonderful credentials, he still couldn’t get one. I on the other hand tried to secure myself one but I also met with brick walls. Things got so bad that we soon had to start selling things. We sold the cars, the electrical appliances and worse, we sold the house.
We moved from a rented apartment hoping that when things got back to normal, we’d be able to buy another one. ,
During those periods, Amos changed. He took more to drinking and excessive smoking. He stopped going to church completely. We stopped praying as he said there was no point in doing so, that God hadn’t answered our prayers ~
Then the fights came. Amos decided to channel his frustration towards me. He’d come back late at night from a drinking parlour and would pick on anything I did.
‘Why didn’t you answer when I knocked.
‘But I opened on the first knock.’
A slap would come, followed by the beatings. I was turned into his punching bag and there were even times when I’d been rushed to the hospital by our neighbours.
“She is the cause of my downfall,” my husband would never hesitate to tell anyone around him.
“I started going down immediately I married her.
She’s no good news at all!
Each time he made those statements, my mind would instantly go back to Pastor Femi’s warnings.
He’d told us not to get married, yet I had chosen to ignore God’s word.
The camel’s back finally broke one afternoon when my husband came back from the drinking palour. There was nobody around as all the neighbours had gone to work,
“You see? See just how lazy you are. You sit at home doing nothing while everyone goes to work. See how ugly and fat you have become by just sitting all day at home?”
“But you know I’ve not been able to get a job. The last business I tried starting up didn’t go well at all. What more do you want me to do? At least I wasn’t the one who decided to stop working. You told me not to . .”
“Witch!’ was all he’d said, and before I knew what was happening, my husband grabbed the empty bottle by the table and I blanked out.
I woke up later to find myself in the hospital. Apparently, the neighbours had found me and had taken me there. I rose up from where I sat but slumped back as an excruciating pain seared through me. I screamed holding my head. That was when I felt the stitches. What happened? it didn’t take me long to remember what had happened.
God! My husband had smashed a bottle on my head all in a bid to kill me. So it had come to that point?
According to the information I got later, I learnt that Amos had fled on seeing what he had done to me.
A search for him by the police proved futile. He had disappeared from the face of the earth. I can just picture the smile on the faces of all the sisters at St. Benedicts.
‘Serves her right”, they’ll say.
‘I told you. It doesn’t pay to snatch one’s husband,” I could imagine my best friend, Janet saying.
‘Sister Kate, see what disobedience has caused you. You have annoyed God by not listening to him.
His back is turned to you.”
I’m sure my pastor’s words will follow that sequence. Oh! How I have ruined my life. It has been two years after Amos disappeared and I heard he’s doing well, thanks to those people who bring news just to spite me. For me, my life hasn’t been the same again.
I’m afraid to go into marriage for fear of being beaten by man or even wallowing in poverty.
My warning goes out to all the girls who think all that glitters is gold. Pray, listen to the voice of God and don’t rush off to get married, your Mr. Right may turn out to be your worst nightmare you know.
My Amos whom I thought couldn’t hurt a fly was full of rubbish. I look back now and I curse the very day I met him. I look back and regret his ever coming to propose to me.
…To Be Continued
