The Creator's Pen

IN A TOWN LIKE OURS, hospitals don't attend to you unless you're filthy rich. They have few rooms and staff to accommodate everyone. Mama was sent away and given a few drugs because we didn't have enough money to pay for private treatment. She retired to the house, then Ike and I started taking care of her, Papa was trying to get more money by selling his palm wine. He moved to the market for more visibility, this made us see him less often. We all thought papa would get enough money before the sickness worsened. It was the third week, mama laid in her bed looking up at the ceiling, it was hard to know what she was thinking, and how she was feeling. Her eyes squeezed at every breath she took, her neck had grown longer. It was a miserable sight to behold, and there was nothing we could do. We called papa to leave his stall and come home quickly, we knew why he had to come, but we were not bold enough to accept that truth. Papa entered the room, and mama wasn't moved by h...

EVERY OTHER DAY THAT FOLLOWED, I couldn't wait for the next conversation Denrele and I would have, he was a breath of fresh air. He was fun to talk with and kind, his voice had a way of making me feel comfortable. I always thought I was radical about my Christian faith until I found a match. He told me about how he found God and has been committed to his local church for the past 5 years. His pastor could call on him anytime. I was astonished that I could find such a strong believer in a random business conference. I'm glad I did. We would talk at length about our plans for the future, just as friends. There were days we would share what we learned at church or in Bible study. He always gisted me about the arguments in his church unit. There was a day they argued about being saved by works and grace or just grace through faith alone. He asked me about my view on it. I also wanted to impress, so we went at length. I quoted Ephesians 2:8 as the icing on the cake, we couldn't ...

IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME, I would have done it without thinking, so I wouldn't have met someone like Denrele. The hurt he made me feel was one I never imagined. Denrele and I met at a business conference a year ago. We sat across each other, and I caught his gaze a couple of times, I didn't put him to mind until he stood up to ask questions. He was a tall good looking man, I noticed his demeanor was cool and his voice was deep. I didn't seem to fancy him, well, I thought so. He asked notable questions about the business world and made contributions concerning the stock exchange rate, he was smart. I took interest in his contributions. The part where I knew he was really something was when he gave a Biblical example and wasn't shy to talk about his relationship with God. In a generation where we are forced to be timid about our devotion to God, he proved those voices useless. Our love for God isn't something to be ashamed of anywhere we find ourselves. He finished a...

It was the third day, the stones had rolled away She had gone to look for her Saviour at the tomb, he wasn't there Haven't they suffered him enough, did they steal his body too? Lo and behold, he was there. Not as a dead man.  She recognized her Saviour when he called her by name She went with gladness and told the others  They saw and they believed it too The most powerful had glorified The Son Death didn't hold him, it could never. Then he was in their midst, proclaiming peace to them The same way he has given us who believe  Christ is risen, death is dead To all who believe in him, a new life is here.

Earth was silent, the world knew what they had done It became clear who the saviour of the world was They thought they did well but rather they had crucified the Lord of Glory. An ignorant generation If only they could turn back time The betrayer knew what he had done, he sought solace but found none He hung himself in his own space, that was the end. Greed gives nothing than regret in the long run. They meant it for evil but it turned out for good. Prophecies of the old were being fulfilled. Our liberator descended into the lower parts of the earth(hell) to gain victory for the souls. The plan all along was coming to fulfillment Just a little while more To be continued...

It was time, he knew. What could stop the inevitable?  Just a desire but that wasn't strong enough. The faces who loved him grew cold, it wasn't intentional, but for a purpose. The ones who hated him rejoiced for what they were about to do The first hit laid the first stone of many that were still to come, could there be a plot twist? Well, there was none. The charges were brought, he was pronounced guilty I could never bear someone lying against me, but he did, and he deserved none of it They started to strike him before the journey, what a strength. He took up the cross and walked, walked and walked, my Saviour was tired to the extent that he allowed Simon to lend a hand He felt what any human would feel He was pierced and nailed to a cross. What an excruciating pain Nonetheless, he told God to forgive me and that was because he thought of me throughout that day He knew it was for me, he had nothing to gain but eternal life for me He gave up the ghost and the world went dark....

Let me tell you about Bode. Bode was a cool and interesting guy I knew from high school, we were in the same class but didn't talk much. A lot of people loved to hear him speak then, of course, he had charisma too. Every Friday afternoon, he had a spot where he would share stories of his experiences in the United States, people would surround him to hear and gasp in admiration. I never understood why they loved listening to the similar stories he told all the time, especially during lunch break when hunger has taken over most of us.  The last time I stuck around to hear his stories, I realized that it wasn't just the story that made people love listening to him. Anyone could make up the stories, even I could, but nobody seemed to care if I had stories and that's because I didn't "put myself out there." There was a way Bode told those stories, he knew his stories were awesome and he was confident enough to tell everyone anytime he wanted to share them.  Many pe...

Story time😅 I was not a fan of pictures in secondary school, not to seem cool but because I was shy, so I didn't fancy it. After I graduated, some of my classmates sent a lot of pictures to our group chat, and I didn't even get a glimpse of myself in one. Then I stumbled on a particular picture, I was in it, but guess what? I had covered my face so it's not even obvious that I was in the picture. It pained me because my orientation about photos had changed. Since then I made sure I rarely miss taking pictures with my friends or even acquaintances (if need be) because I learned that pictures are to help build up memories to look back at and smile. A single picture or video can make you remember a million things and that's beautiful. Now I try not to miss opportunities to snap with people especially my loved ones because it's never a waste of time. So even if you're shy or you feel it's unnecessary, still try it once in a while, you'll be happy you did, l...

In the parable of the lost sheep, asides from seeing someone who cared about just one sheep and left the 99 others to find it, It depicts a very intentional man, who is even able to know when 1 out of 100 sheep went missing, it's very much possible that the sheep are identical, this means he must have counted them frequently to know if there was one missing, it's not an easy task to count a 100 sheep but he valued each of his sheep and made sure he would know if any one of them went astray. (Matt 18:12-14) The lost sheep parable was to represent how God cares about a lost soul and will rejoice when that soul is found. Because he is a very intentional God. You might think God isn't trying to find you but he is, it's probably you who thinks you're not a big deal to God, He has done the best thing he could to draw you back to him, by sending his Son to die for your sins which separated you from Him in the first place, so that you can be found, no sin can make you wande...

... I turned to see who that was, I saw my brother carrying my luggage, but his mouth wasn't moving, then I figured it was a voice in my head. I began to feel sad. What if they just said all that because they felt obligated to as my parents? I started doubting again. Williams pushed the door open, dropped the luggage, and ran towards me with his expression giving away his excitement. He started to tell me how my parents kept on praying that I would come soon. " Omo they made me design that cardboard so I could always take it to the gate each time someone knocked, just in case it was you." He said then shook his head at how old-fashioned our parents seemed.  That softened my heart the most. They were waiting for me each day, this removed the fuel from my doubts, they had forgiven me before I came home. They were expecting me. Now history repeats itself with my brother, I saw the kind of person I was reflected in Williams, though I'm furious with him, I have to make su...

... After 6 months I almost got caught again, I knew I couldn't escape what was coming at me next, I barely escaped from the police officers, I was running out of luck, what if my life had ended with a gunshot on the streets, would that be all? I cried so much that night in my room, I had moved out from my friend's place and rented a room, I had stolen enough to cater for the rent. I cried so much with no one to disturb me, I came to a harsh realization that I couldn't live like this any longer. A crazy idea found its way to my mind, your parents will take you back if you try I didn't know where that came from but I started to think it through. How would they take me back without any hesitation or disappointment? I thought about it for two days before I made up my mind to give it a try "It won't kill me to try" I said to myself. The next day, I boarded a motorcycle to Agege, where our house was situated, I wore a black gown, I tried to look as miserable a...

I walked into William's room and got a wild shock. My hands were still on the doorknob when he saw me. He startled and jumped from his chair at the right side of his bed and hid the iPhone 12 under his pillow, I had seen it already.  My heart started racing and my mind was unsettled. How is my baby brother with an iPhone 12, how? I thought. A ting of jealousy surfaced, I had always dreamt of having an iPhone so I could live the "model life" and feel cool among my peers but I never had one, I disregarded the distracting thought immediately, there was a more serious issue right in front of me. He just clocked nineteen, two months ago. His friends were not rich enough to gift him a phone like that. The only job a boy his age could do to get a little change in this area was washing the neighbor's cars and he is too proud to do that. He got up, looking nervous already, rubbing his hands on his bushy hair. "Jessica, what's up" he tried to smile but it looked ...

One thing I've noticed in life which is cool is how we have is the ability to rekindle or recreate most things we once had, we get to reignite things, when things damage or lose their value, most of the time, something can be done, sometimes it's either you just don't have the capability(money wise) or you didn't know you could. For example, when you don't feel creative or you don't feel like you have so many ideas, you can read books, check posts of creative people, like magic, you start feeling more creative, it's that simple. If you don't see a reason to love on your friends or family like before, you can remind yourself why you liked them in the first place, check your fun chats, call them to gist, remember memories, you feel that spark again. love can be rekindled, creativity can be rekindled, even fire can be rekindled. If you feel you don't see the beauty in God like you once did when you started your journey, you just need to gaze some more a...

You drew me and now I can come to you You knew me, the first step was yours I never knew that pyramids of bad thoughts could drown away from my mind by the grip of your hands You held my hand and walked me through life I have not gotten over that and I never will I'm beautiful because of you I found my wonder because of you I'll never let you go, you're faithful all the way, I don't need to worry about you letting go Insecurities and pain were molded away the day I knew you had me in mind An everlasting bliss awaits me someday because I know you keep your words You're mine and I'm yours, forever.

 After dinner, we stayed in the parlor and talked about school life, we talked for over 3 hours, during that period, we talked about what the future would hold for each of us and he said something that never left me.  "I might be perplexed on every side but never crushed". It sounded so strange but nice, I wondered if Shakespeare had a new book I never heard about. I asked him what he meant by that "Oh, it's just a boast I make in Christ" he laughed "Why and how do you do that?" "I have the authority too, I make boasts in Christ Jesus. "Wait, for what I was confused. "How would you boast in someone you are supposed to be afraid of, Kunle?" "We are not supposed to be scared but be joyous always because God is not out to get us but has shown us his lavish grace" "And how does he show his 'lavish grace?" I shot back "His grace is lavish, chill, I'll show you but his primary way was sending his son to di...

 She ranted about how most of her tracts were damaged. Now I get the gist, they were tracts she used to talk about the goodness of her "God" and how he was kind and gracious, telling us to join her in walking with him. But sorry to say, a woman who slapped me without no hesitation for a tract about "goodness and kindness" irks me and gives me no inspiration to join in that journey, I would rather join the drama club in our school, and that isn't a nice place to be, trust me. She kept on shouting at me for about 10 minutes, I wasn't bothered about the time, I just wanted to leave. She told me to wait, for about 5 minutes, and left, when she got back she led me to the Dean's office not caring if I was alright. I got to the Dean's office and as I stepped in, I saw him frowning, I wonder the exaggerations that have been made about what I did, as I stepped in, my legs trembled, I don't know what happened next but I was sure of one thing, I found mysel...

The realization yet stung me again, I didn't have a ray of hope, the only people who seemed to have hope were the "holy people" and I've had enough of their "holy talks" about putting hope in God. Nevertheless, my life kept directing me to a place I didn't want to think of; After this what next? What exactly am I doing after school that will make me fulfilled? I asked Chidi, my long-time friend, that same question a few days ago and he said "God will take care of me". I regretted asking him that question because he would start his "sermon" again, but I probed further and asked "how?" then he said, "All things work together for those who love God and are called according to His purpose, that's one thing I've learned with God, he never leaves me stranded". Do you mean the God that left me clueless about life without parents, would care about what my future will become? I laughed and said "okay". He ...

When the stars come out, I remember God's promise to Abraham When I see tap water gushing out, I also remember the rivers of living water that flows out of me When I see a bride's veil, I remember how there's no more veil separating me from Jesus When I hear rain sounds, it makes me remember the storm Jesus conquered And I know in this I would also find peace My reality found in Christ is worth more than gold The promises He made to me spirit and life So much to treasure Worth more than gold

I've been baptized Not the regular dipping in a pool but an induction into the spirit by Christ I was immersed in spirit and fire, not by human hands I can't remember my old ways The immersion took me hook line and sinker I inhale the revelation of Jesus and exhale the old symbols The new supersedes the old  I'm now a beneficiary of Christ's redemptive work By the Spirit I've been washed Never to be dirty again