The First Year

 Unlike the normal dreams most couples have and enjoy during their first year of marriage, mine was not like it. The first year was filled with so much drama, hardship, and many unexpected twists and turns. One of which I would be sharing with you today. Without further ado, I'll begin:

My husband had proposed and our wedding plans were in full swing with the date set for the 20th of December. However, a month or two to the wedding, he and his cousin woke up in the middle of the night to see the tail lights of his car moving, while the keys were in the house with him. Before that, his laptop and phones had been stolen from that car. They searched for the car all over but it was to no avail. I thought that would be the end of bad luck as we would be getting married and the bible says “he who finds a good wife has found a good thing” so I was sure with me in the picture (fire branded, prayer warrior wife) things would be different for us or so I thought.

A few weeks after we returned from our honeymoon, reality began to hit. The dashboard of my car which we were sharing caught fire on Area 1 Bridge for no apparent reason. While we were trying to sort that issue out, the air conditioning (AC) unit in the house caught fire two weeks later and after that, thieves came to the house while we were at work and took all our electronics. 

Although we were trying to encourage ourselves in the word and any other way, the thieves came back again, removed the burglary from a window, and took almost all my gold and any other nice jewelry or shiny thing they could find. At this point, I was almost a completely broken person. I kept wondering what my husband or in-laws would think since the bible says “he who finds a wife has found a good thing and favor from the Lord (Pro 18:22).” What type of wife had they married? A bad omen or what? I even found it difficult to quote one of my favorite verses “for we know that all things work together for the good of those who trust God and are called according to his name (Rom 8:28).” I shared my thoughts with my husband one night and he looked at me sternly and said I should never think such. He asked me if we were married when his car got stolen hence I should never think I was anything short of good and favorable in his life (paraphrased).

One night after returning from a powerful prayer meeting session at church with plans on enjoying the weekend, we got into our room and the breeze flowing was amazing. I could not believe how nice the weather was without the fan on or any cooling device. I was just about to get all excited because I like cool places when I realized that the cool breeze was as a result of another window that had been yanked out of the wall. That was the last straw; I sat still thinking about all that was happening. My husband was as shocked as I was and mind you, I was about 5 months pregnant then so this was just not what I had been imagining for my first year of marriage or a blissful home. I was glad we were alive and God had ensured that we had never encountered the thieves as they mostly operated or visited the house during the day when we were at work or had gone out. 

We had already paid for a new accommodation that week as we realized that where we were was not safe but goodness, this was a lot! What was even more troubling or baffling was the fact that our house was surrounded by people even though we did not have a front gate and fence, as the landlord was still working erecting them. There were people behind us, beside us, and everywhere so where were all these people when this was happening? I wondered.

Long story short, we moved out the following day and moved into our present residence. Dare I say that for the first few weeks, I would sit anticipating a call from my husband about thieves or something gone wrong as I was almost becoming accustomed to the trend but to my relief, the call never came! After a long time, I stopped anticipating thieves and the long stream of ‘bad luck’. 

One fateful day, I sat at home thinking and thanking God for how our lives had changed from being robbed constantly as well as the aforementioned. It was then God began to talk to me. He asked me “Serah, how many security people/outlets do people encounter before entering your house?” ‘I said 3’. He said, “compare it to your other house”. I said “the old house had no security; we had a fence but no gate in front.’ He was trying to make me understand that you can control what you allow into your space to some extent. If extra security measures were able to keep us safe, then it means that in some sort of way, it is within our control.  God then went ahead to say, “Ironically, humans take so much time to protect things that will one day be destroyed but fail to channel the same amount of energy into taking care of things that are eternal; a place like your heart, as it is one of the most valuable places in any human, especially my children.” He said, just like the things you lost in your old residence, many of you place guards on trivial things but allow your minds to wander wrongly, your eyes to behold any form of iniquity and your heart to conjure all kinds of evil, your lips to speak idly and negatively, etc. Because you have not set enough security on those places, the Devil, your adversary who roams about looking for whom he can devour will gain quick and easy access into those places and destroy you, as this is his ultimate game plan. And so he sends worry your way, fear, anxiety, things that make you covert, seek to commit adultery, fornication, situations that make you want to lie or steal, and so forth and you fall easily, simply because you did not adequately protect those areas. 

Yes, we had a fence around our former residence but we did not have a gate where it was needed so, despite the people and walls we had on three sides, we failed to protect the entrance and gave easy access to the thieves.

The writer of proverbs 4:23- 27 knew what he was saying when he said “Guard your heart with all diligence … ( vs 23 NLT)” another translation (ESV) hits the nail on the head when it says “Be careful how you think. Your thoughts make you the person you are.”

When the Covid-19 pandemic started, there was so much fear in my mind because of the things I read and heard, I began to imagine the worst and though I tried to cast such thoughts down and make them submit to the word of God, it kept happening until God reminded me of the aforementioned and the need to guard my heart. Hence, I stopped reading and watching. I knew the basic things I needed to know about how to stay safe so the other things were not necessary as the devil was using them to set fear, anxiety, and worry in me; the very things God didn’t want for me.

So, dear people, take a cue from me and diligently protect every access point to your heart in this season and always.