LOST IN THE WOMB

CHAPTER SIX (FREEDOM)

In the first week I started living with my mom, I noticed that she didn't eat any other food than Pap and unsalted yam strictly in the evening, which, of course, suggested to me that she had been fasting since we arrived from Ibadan. During one of her private prayer sessions, I decided to eavesdrop on her. My heart felt like it had been cut to bits when I heard her repeatedly said prayer point, "God, take control of Tunji's heart. Deliver him from every force." A shawl of mixed feelings covered me and my heart torn. Tears secreted from my eyes like the splashing of water from a rock. I'd never had anyone pray for me in that way, with such vigor. This magically erased the disdain I had for her to the infinitesimal drop.

Every morning, she would wake us up for devotionals, and I began to see God differently, albeit I still struggled with the strange force. The more I resisted the force, the more temptations it exposed me to. Sometimes, I fell into the temptations, but the force had begun to lose the absolute control it had over my mind.

The Word of God struck me to the deepest parts of my being and I began to explore it the more. Freedom started becoming a reality, and I began to believe that I was never a biological mistake; I was never a biological accident. The love I received seemed somewhat undeserved, but without it, perhaps I would never have had the courage to fight the force that had fought me from childhood.

During one of our devotionals, I learnt that I could experience God personally; a personal relationship not mediated by any man. I searched out my rights in God. I consistently confessed the realities of the identity until the force lost all control over my mind.

It served as the seal of my freedom, and the continuation of my distress. In spite of the freedom I had gotten, I experienced a myriad of failures that made me doubt if I was actually born for greatness. With stern desire to pursue higher academic grounds, I was unexplainably denied of every opportunity I took. I saw how others succeeded in the things they did, not because they were better or sound than I was. I was there, clueless of what the future held, until I learnt that champions aren't those who never fall, but those who refuse to remain on the floor. I wasn't going to accept the status quo, and I would never let my background be the determinant of the future, ergo, I took the deliberate step to explore myself. Personal development became the order of the day.

Months rolled by, and I gradually found myself scaling the hurdles. I saw myself maximizing opportunities until I became an authority to be reckoned with.

I let go of the past and purified the dirtiest part of my heart to find forgiveness for those who had maltreated me. And invariably, I wonder if you'd still get to read this book if I had forever been lost in the womb.