THE TESTIMONY

6^th Of May, 2018 started like any other day in my pregnant life, but let me take you through it:

 It was a Sunday morning and I was struggling to wake up and go for first service. I had an awesome time at church; however, on getting home, I started feeling cramps so I took panadol and slept off. I was supposed to meet up with my sister and a few friends for a photo shoot. Woke up some hours later still feeling a bit unwell but hey, I had a photo shoot session and I was not about to have it looking crappy. A bit of powder and professionally done eyebrows later, I was off for the photo-shoot. Little did I know my sister, cousins and friends were planning a surprise baby shower for me.

After all the fun, the pain didn’t seize. I didn’t even realize I was in labor until my sister insisted we go to the hospital. So there I was at the hospital with my party crew by my side. The Doctor came in and carried out his examination, then wheeled me upstairs for another round. There I was lying down with so many machines belted to me not knowing anything was happening, until the main gynecologist came in and broke the news to me. My daughter’s heartbeat was way over 200 and he was suspecting it had to do with her umbilical cord. He quickly notified me that the delivery would no longer be vaginal but through Caesarean Section (CS). Wow!! That was not the plan I had in mind when I got there, but that seemed to be God’s plan for this baby. While still trying to process the news I had just received, God quickly put a thought in my heart before the fear of the unknown would catch up with me as I had always heard bad stories about such.

AJIKE’S STORY:  I recalled a day at the office when my friend (Ajike) shared her birth story with me. She had given birth in Canada and the baby just fell straight to the floor in the house with his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck. With neither a Doctor nor nurse in sight, she just un-wrapped it and rushed to the nearest hospital. At the time we were discussing this, he was barely a year plus and he was one of my favorites. When she told me this, I was in awe and I marveled at what had happened.Little did I know that God had allowed me hear that for a reason.

BACK TO ME: When that thought crossed my mind, I knew my baby and I were going to be ok. For the first time ever, I truly understood what the bible meant in Revelations 12:11 when it says ‘We overcome the Devil by the blood of the lamb and with the help of our testimony’. Because I knew the end of her story, I seemed to have more confidence that mine would be as good and even better.

That day, I learnt the power in sharing a testimony and the true meaning of that scripture. Testimonies are never meant for us to keep to ourselves, but to share with others so we can help build their confidence on days when they need it most. You do humanity a disfavor when you hold on to your testimonies and what God has brought you out from. If my friend Ajike hadn’t shared her story with me, I could have been scared, paranoid and so much more.

There is a Hausa adage that says ‘barawo ne mai raina kyauta’ meaning that it is only a thief who looks down on a gift. In other words, there is never a testimony that is too small to say; only hearts that are filled with ingratitude will look down on what God has done for them and keep it to themselves.

This year, be determined to be like the psalmist) who says ‘in the assembly of your people, Lord, I told the good news that you save us. You know that I will never stop telling it’ (Psalm 40:9 GNTD).