Author: Onome Omodara

 

Getting a bride for an interview just two weeks to her wedding is not quite easy but Tee is just a lady whose heart is large and I couldn’t be happier when she told me she is willing to share her story. I had a meeting Tee in 2016, she came to say hi and we were discussing about relationships. She was still very single and I could remember she told me she was going to allow God have the final say in her love life and looking back at that statement she lived to her words. Her story is one of patience, absolute trust in God and of course love.

Tee’s wedding comes up on the 8^th of December and interviewing her was not just fun there were a lot of great lessons to pick from her love story. She is on the journey to forever and in this interview she talks about her waiting and of course how she met her darling husband to be.

Do me a favour get a bottle of cold Fanta and enjoy this story because you are in for a great ride!

 

Onome: Let me start by saying thank you for your time. My first question is this; what makes you special as an individual?

Tee: Everyone is uniquely created by God and each of us has what makes us special but for me I will say my temperament makes me special because that is who God has made me to be. My attitude, behavior, reaction, action, responses and all makes me unique and special in my own way.

Onome: what was your waiting season like? How did you spend it?

Tee: Hmmm….. That’s a very long story but I will try to make it as brief as possible. I have tried a lot of relationships but none worked. I can’t start saying in details but God thought me a lot of lessons alongside.

The fact remains this; putting God first will enable one make the right decision at all times. Knowing God early and relating with Him sincerely will also help in making the right choices.

It’s not fun trying relationships because it hurts the heart deeply most times, getting it right from the early stage is the best thing that can ever happen to a lady in terms of relationship but at the same time God has a way of making all things work together for good. My waiting season was filled with lessons and at the same time I got to walk intimately with God.

Onome: How did you meet your husband?

Tee: I met him when I was serving, I had a friend serving in his office, he happens to be my friend’s direct boss. I went visiting my friend on two different occasions so he met me through my friend. I didn’t know anything was happening until he called me himself.

Onome: How did you know he was the one?

Tee: The first day we spoke, I felt a connection and relief in my spirit. We started talking at length from the first day we spoke and it was quite unusual of me to get acquainted with a stranger at the first instance. I was feeling strange though but I believed my spirit won’t mislead me because I wasn’t desperate and wasn’t expecting anyone at that period. I kept getting connected to him even before he proposed but I held my peace because I tired avoiding the flesh pushing me to give too much attention. Gradually we got in to ourselves by talking about past and present experiences. His love for God confirmed he was the right person. We were not shy to express our love for God. We shared the word together, we prayed together, we read books together even before he proposed.

The day he made his intentions known, I tried playing games of the heart even though I had known ahead of time… I finally gave him a yes.  We decided to make it work. He imbibed some lessons and ensured we pray every morning and night. When issues come up, we try rectifying it daily because we know nothing must hinder the place of prayer daily.

Onome: How long did you two date?

Tee: A year and six months

Onome: How is it like preparing for the wedding ceremony?

Tee: Well… Based on my personality, I like putting things in place early enough then resting afterwards. After the church gave a date, we sorted counseling almost immediately, we went shopping ahead because we were not sure of full availability afterwards. Fortunately, it favoured us because I got so involved in school activities that I hardly had time for myself. The saving grace was that I was prepared way ahead of time and just like the watch word of boy’s scout ‘Be prepared’, I was and I’m still very prepared.

Getting the wedding gown, native attire, family preparations and all wasn’t easy but the fact that we played our role early because I was moving made it easier. Even till last Wednesday in November I was still battling with school activities.  I wondered what could have happened if all wasn’t worked on early. By early November everything was set to the glory of God.

In summary, preparation for wedding is indeed fun… There is this special feeling that comes with it especially when you go shopping and the marketers ask if it’s for wedding and you smile… Those prayers from every side is a big part of the preparation. It keeps us going.

Onome: Wow. That’s a big lesson to learn. What is the place of God in choosing a partner?

Tee: I tried making all relationships I had work but none worked out because I was concerned about my effort and I left God at the initial stage of those relationships, I only involved Him in the middle and it didn’t work out. But when I decided to give Him my all, the connection came from where I least expected. Imagine meeting your husband when you went to spend some time with your male friend…’no strings attached though’.  An average guy could have felt I came seeing my boyfriend or I’m a flirt or something but because God was involved, there were no assumptions. My friend wanted to redeploy when he was posted there but till date he keeps saying he went to serve there because of me.  He was used by God to make us meet and I can say God actually aligned us together. God was involved because He worked it out in a mysterious way and let me say this God is a very important factor when choosing a partner, He knows you and knows what is best for you.

Onome: .Hmmm… so what is your advice to single ladies waiting?

Tee: Giving it all to God is the best because we can never force what God is not involved in to work out. We should not tell God we can handle our relationships on our own. We should not live in our pasts when God has forgiven us already.

Making God the foundation of our relationships will help stabilize the relationship even when storms of life come in. Choosing right helps live heaven on earth. Let’s also endeavor to read books, it helps us build capacity. Every relationship is unique in its own way, we should not make anyone’s relationship a standard.

Onome: Thank you so much for your time, I know it’s a big sacrifice. We really appreciate you. Once again, Congratulations ma’am.

Tee: It’s a big honour Onome, thank you for having me.

CONCLUSION

“Delight yourself also in the Lord and He shall give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37: 4) NKJV

Sometimes we try to force God into relationships we never started with Him and then it becomes so messy, a good relationship starts with God. Here is to all the singles who are tired of waiting, the ones who are frustrated and angry I hope this story encourages you that God has the best for you and when He aligns you with your partner it is a forever kind of story.

Cheer up and watch grant the desires of your heart while you delight yourself in Him. Once again, a big congratulations to Tee and her husband we wish them God’s blessing as they begin the journey to forever.

Hold on and trust God, I look forward to sharing your story.

Related: The will of God in your love life

 

Your friend,

Onome Omodara

 

 

 

 

 

Leticia was your definition of beauty with a very straight figure – slim and alluring, her legs so long and attractive, she has a stunning beauty and with her great fashion sense she could get heads turning.  It wasn’t just about beauty she is very intelligent too which explains her growth in the banking sector she was employed as a customer care representative but in three years she became a branch manager. As for love Leticia was not so lucky in that department so she embraced her career and hoped that one day her turn would come. Her mother never stopped reminding her that marriage is very important.

Jimi was a young entrepreneur with so much strength, he is very passionate about his business and it’s not surprising his wealth is multiplying daily. This particular day he woke up very angry his accountant had complained about a particular sum of money he was supposed to send into the company’s account. He made the transfer using his token, he was debited but the money was not received in the company’s account, it’s been five days.

He hated visiting the bank but he had to go as the money was urgent, he met with the customer care representative who told him it would take seven (7) working days this got him angry and he insisted on speaking with the branch manager.

He was ushered into Leticia’s office, something about her caught his attention. Was it her calmness or her patience or her genuine concern? He couldn’t place it but he knew he had to get close to her. They exchanged contacts and they became friends.

Six months later, they started dating and they were so in love. There was a particular they decided to grab some groceries at the nearest supermarket it was there Leticia saw her old friend Matthew. She was excited when she saw him, he left the country in their third year in the university, and she hugged him and introduced him to Jimi. She chatted with him for a while and went back to Jimi. On Jimi’s end he was angry why would she hug another guy and even chat with him. This is not the first time Leticia had had to greet a male friend and Jimi would be angry but this time around he was mad. Immediately they got back to the car he slapped her. He claimed she disrespected him by hugging another man.

Leticia made up her mind to break up with him but he came back begging and because she loved him she forgave him. Two months later they got married and the monster in Jimi came alive, he beat her up at any slight provocation, he made her resign from her job and Leticia became a shadow of herself. If only someone had told her about love and marriage, if only she knew what it takes to get a good man she would not be deceived by that fake smile and all the fancy gifts. She was hoping her divorce would work out but until then the universe was definitely against her.

IF WE KNOW BETTER WE WILL DO BETTER

Don’t be like Leticia, I’ve meant singles whose requirement for marriage baffles me. As long as the man has enough money character is a small thing or as long as she is pretty character is minimal. Who gave you that analogy? Marriage is real work and it takes beyond beauty and even love to have a good home. Divorce rate keeps getting higher and I wonder why? A lot of people are married and they are not happy everyday feels like hell and I discover one major reason and the bible has said it all. Hosea 4:6a says “My people perish for lack of Knowledge”. KNOWLEDGE is very important. Marriage is not a place you enter into with assumed knowledge you really need to know.

This is why I’m inviting you for UNBROKEN CONFRENCE 2018 at the Harvesters International Christian Centre Lekki. Unbroken is the annual singles and married conference of the Harvesters church, the vision was birthed 3 years ago to help change lives and cause fulfillment in relationships. With the increasing rates of divorce and separations, dysfunctional homes, marital and relationship unfulfilment, broken relationships and emotionally bruised people, a swift and effective aid must come to the institution of marriage and relationships.

Since its debut, UNBROKEN has significantly contributed to increasingly successful relationships, happier marriages, building Godly homes and UNBROKEN 2018 promises to be even richer as seemingly complex topics will be unraveled.

 

For singles the issues to be treated are:

Why am I sill single?
Why bad girls get good guys?
Identifying the right mate.
Spotting time-wasters.
Dealing with hurts and heartbreaks

 

Married people are left out either as these issues will be dissected:

Sex in marriage.
Can my marriage still work?
Improving intimacy.
How to make your partner happy.
Navigating through the first 5 years of marriage.
Dealing with extra-marital affairs.
Parenting in a tech-driven world.

The line of speakers are amazing. We have Ezekiel Atang, Hassani Pettiford, Mowumi Idowu and Bolaji Idowu.

The venue is at Harvesters International Christian Centre Lekki, Block 94, Plot 22 Providence street (beside VFS) 2nd Round about Lekki Phase 1 Lagos. The date is September 26th -30^th 2018.

SEPT 26th, Time: 6pm
SEPT 27th, Time: 6pm
SEPT 28th, Time: 6pm
SEPT 29th, Time: 10am
SEPT 30th, Time: 7:10am, 8:15am, 10am, 11:45am

You can’t afford to miss it in marriage because marriage is too long to endure. Marriage is a journey of continuous learning. Don’t miss unbroken for anything! I look forward to seeing you