A beautiful bride Roberta has shared her beautiful life experience! Roberta is an IT professional who has worked with top IT firms in
Nigeria, she is also cinematographer, entrepreneur and the founder of
African Startups TV.
The beautiful lady got married to her prince
charming in April 2017. She did not attain all the successes she has
today because she had it all rosy from start. Her story will motivate
and inspire you. It is quite lengthy but do well to read through.
Read below:
Yesterday
we gathered to watch our wedding video, everything was okay until we
got to the place where we were signing the marriage register and the
videographer used Frank Edward “Let the whole world know” the lyrics of
the song got to me especially this part “When it was me against the
world, You came and You fought for me, smashing all my enemies and gave
me the victory.
You’re my light in the darkness, my ever present
help, I’m gonna let the whole world know, You are the Way maker, You are
building dreams not failures, You make it all work for me, You are my
everything”, I just noticed water gushing out of my eyes cos the song
brings memories, the same memory that played back in my head as I walk
down the aisle, it stormed my head and I didn’t know if I was smiling or
crying, it is in watching the video that I got to know a lot of things
that happened as I match in, because I think I wasn’t myself, I had
terrific memories, memories that only me and my mum understood.
You
see, my mum was all teary through-out my wedding, the little time she
came closer to me, I told her please smile, then she went all teary
again and water started gushing out of her eyes, I understood totally
for exactly 12 years ago just like yesterday I came to Lagos after all
hopes of survival failed, I was in SS 2 and life happened so terribly
that it seems that it was the end, I remember packing my bags off school
heading back to the village, on my way back I would branch the house of
my best friends to say a final good bye, there were more than friends
Ndy Eshiet, Mmeyene Eshiet and Eshiet Iboro, I remember that as I turned
back to leave Ndy Eshiet cried and handed me some money and ask me to
keep in touch.
As I journeyed back I saw a GCE form advert a
voice said, use the money to get the form, I followed that voice, got
down purchased the form, I would later sit for the exams and passed all
papers without a C (All As and Bs). Thinking what can I do and asking
God questions, then I have an aunty that comes to Lagos often, she came
to visit my mom but met her absence so I engaged her instead, can I come
with you to Lagos this time, I just want to get out of here for now so
my head will rest, she said no, your mom won’t let you, I said don’t
bother about that side, I’ll sort it, I would later convince my mom to
give me 3 months to go think out of the box, she never agreed but I made
her weak enough to allow me part.
Fast forward I am sitting
inside a big BRT like bus coming to Lagos, I will peep outside at
intervals, then I started thinking about life, put my head on the small
bag I had on my leg and started praying or no, started asking God
questions and fighting him, God Didn’t you say your children will be the
head and not the tail?
Didn’t you say you will make my future
bright and beautiful? But God they were all lies as I have been thrown
off school, I managed to take GCE, God you lied, just admit it that you
lied and we can now all come to conclusion that what you told me in the
alter that day wasn’t possible or visible anymore, I ask a lot of
nonsense questions, then I started asking God to forgive me all over
again, I didn’t know when I cried out inside the bus, I cried so much
everyone ran to my seat and ask what happened, I couldn’t speak I just
told them I was praying and everyone were like then why are you crying.
I
kept quiet and started talking to God, if I have ever heard the voice
of God before then, it was never as clear as when he told me “I will
establish you in Lagos”, then I wondered how possible because have heard
a lot of bad things about Lagos, we have had neighbors and friends who
had gone to Lagos and they were all amount to nothing from what I know,
so I kept asking God how possible, me I just want to stay 3 months to
clear my head.
Fast forward to few months in Lagos, I finally
spotted my church in Itire, been looking for it for long, it just seems
to be the only place that gives me that connection with God, as I
finally spotted the church I was so excited I ran in Sunday evening, the
1st person I saw was a brother standing in front of the church, he was
from my village, I didn’t know him as I have not lived in the village
for long but with my face he told me I should be from the Edu’s family, I
would later agree with him and he would shake his head after asking me
what I am doing in Lagos and I said house girl.
He asked how he
can speak with my mom, he would later find a phone number to reach my
mom and on that day he called my mom the first thing he said was I want
you to recall this girl from Lagos immediately if not, you have just
agreed to waste her, in fact she is wasted already, I will provide the
transport fare, I want to hear that she is gone like tomorrow morning.
Even though he had gone faraway to talk to my mom I could still sense
what he was saying from afar and finally he came with the phone and my
mom was on the phone, before I could say hello, she was deep in tears,
she couldn’t even talk, she summed up courage to say, I want you to
return back like tomorrow, Brother – said he will give you transport I
gave her time to talk, she started listing the names of people that
have gone to Lagos and have all become a ghost of what people thought
they will be in life and how she didn’t want my life destroyed, unwanted
pregnancy and all sort of things.
I summoned up courage and I
said to her, God said He will establish me here, mom went mad what!
Which God told you that, it’s not a good God that want to destroy you o,
where did you see God that he told you such nonsense, I will swear for
you next time you call out any God in this matter, how can I suffer for
years to raise you people and now you want to put me to shame, I
summoned another courage and said, mummy don’t worry yourself, I know
what God has told me and I promise you that I will be different and if
me and God ever had a different choice or change of mine I will come
back but for now, pray for me…
I cut off the phone, even though I
never knew how I am going to come out of my situation, God knew, He
went ahead of me and today He has proved Himself beyond every doubt in
my life, So when God started answering my prayers, one of the things
that were in my mind were God help me not to forget how you’ve helped
me, made me and how your grace have found me, the promise i made to my
mom and self kept singing in my head all the time and even though i
wasn’t in anyway desperate to proof anything to her, i knew that one
day, that day will come.
So after my traditional wedding I looked
at my mom and she went all teary and said thank you, you were right,
God indeed did speak to you… So who am I not to let the whole world know
that God is a way maker…
I want to use this opportunity to
thank everyone that made my wedding a memorable one, especially those
who flew in from Lagos Olabode Efuntoye Babatope Makun Tmak, Ebere
Ogbonna Ujunwa Ogbonna, my mummy in the Lord Mrs Opaleye Olusola
Folakemi etc. Uyo District Overseer Rev Inyang, Ministers of the gospel,
Uyo Music Director, Uyo Chief Organist Samuel Uwak, Uyo Choir you guys
were wonderful, my Uyo friends Ini OkonChristian Udo God bless all of
you, my childhood friends the everlasting Eshiet Iboro and Christian
Edet, our Sunday school children choir soloist Inimfon (Umoh Itoho-Ukeme
tag her) my matron Blessing Abraham and everyone that turned up even
though some of you do not even know me, I am most grateful.