Better Pt 3

https://ojrozzay.wordpress.com/
School was a rush when it resumed. Everybody was trying to get everything ready at the same time, and one could literally hear the buzzing in the air because of all the activities.
Rachel had determined to make this her best semester, and so she decided to face her studies like never before. Most of her determination came from the fact that she did not want to see the sacrifices her mother made on her behalf to go to waste.
Rachel, being the 3rd out of 5 children, had lost her eldest brother and her father to a fatal car accident when she was in ss1. It was a devastating blow, and for a long while, it seemed their world had ended. Her mother was inconsolable for the first three weeks, and then almost retreated into a shell afterwards, but then they found God, or rather, God found them. A completion they never thought they lacked filled them, and they had never turned back.
They were well to do, because their father owned an establishment that her mother was now running. But the hole caused by their absence was so large that sometimes she still found herself waking up in the middle of the night to cry. She had found it very difficult to forgive the driver of the truck that ran into her father and brother's vehicle, but after Christ found her, he gave her a strength to do what she would normally have been unable to do.
She had promised her dad when he was alive that she would do well, and she still intended to keep her promise.
The first few weeks of school was uneventful, but one day as she was leaving the hostel to go to class, she looked and saw about 6 girls gathered at a corner, giggling. Of course, she had learned to realise this probably meant a rich looking, handsome man was nearby, so she promptly turned he other direction and started walking.
The sound of her name made her turn round, and she saw Makeela's cousin walking towards her. She also heard the disappointed groans of the girls. She ignored it.
"Rachel, right? " He asked, walking up to her.
"Yeah, you're ... Makeela's cousin. Sorry, I don't remember your name."
"That's not important right now. Have you seen Makeela of recent? "
Rachel looked up thoughtfully.
"No. In fact, now that you mentioned it, ..."
Makeela usually had a bad habit of running off during the semester for a few days at a time. Normally she would call Rachel, or one or two other persons to inform them where she was, but then Rachel realised that she had not heard from Makeela in over a week.
Peter was tense, and he bit his lower lip. Makeela used to call him too whenever she went on any of her escapades, because she trusted that he'd keep it from her parents. He really did want to, but he knew that more than half of what she told him were lies, and he didn't even know how to introduce the topic to his uncle and aunt. He had confronted her on the issue various times, but she'd simply brushed him away. At least he had been relieved she called him, because at least, he'd know she was okay.
But now, unlike her calling him once every two days, she had not called him in almost two weeks. Anybody he asked of her where abouts didn't know where she was. He had prayed and trusted her safety to God, but he could barely hold the panic rising in his chest. And he also felt guilty for not informing her parents. He resolved there and then that he would try and raise the issue when next he saw them.
God, he prayed, keep her safe. He had been trying to preach to her, but she didn't want to become a christian. She had mentioned some of the people who called themselves good christians, and Peter winced.
He hadn't stopped trying though, but right now, what was most important was her safety.
He looked back at Rachel.
"Do you know of anyone who might know where she is? "
"No", she replied.
Peter was silent for a while.
"Anything wrong? " Rachel asked.
"I hope not", he said softly.
"Anyway, here is my number. Please call if you hear anything from or about her. Oh, and please I'll need yours. I don't particularly like answering unknown numbers."
"Sure ", Rachel replied.
They exchanged numbers, and then he turned and left.
Rachel took a deep breath.
Lord, I pray Makeela is safe. Please keep her safe.

posted from Bloggeroid

Better Pt 3

https://ojrozzay.wordpress.com/
School was a rush when it resumed. Everybody was trying to get everything ready at the same time, and one could literally hear the buzzing in the air because of all the activities.
Rachel had determined to make this her best semester, and so she decided to face her studies like never before. Most of her determination came from the fact that she did not want to see the sacrifices her mother made on her behalf to go to waste.
Rachel, being the 3rd out of 5 children, had lost her eldest brother and her father to a fatal car accident when she was in ss1. It was a devastating blow, and for a long while, it seemed their world had ended. Her mother was inconsolable for the first three weeks, and then almost retreated into a shell afterwards, but then they found God, or rather, God found them. A completion they never thought they lacked filled them, and they had never turned back.
They were well to do, because their father owned an establishment that her mother was now running. But the hole caused by their absence was so large that sometimes she still found herself waking up in the middle of the night to cry. She had found it very difficult to forgive the driver of the truck that ran into her father and brother's vehicle, but after Christ found her, he gave her a strength to do what she would normally have been unable to do.
She had promised her dad when he was alive that she would do well, and she still intended to keep her promise.
The first few weeks of school was uneventful, but one day as she was leaving the hostel to go to class, she looked and saw about 6 girls gathered at a corner, giggling. Of course, she had learned to realise this probably meant a rich looking, handsome man was nearby, so she promptly turned he other direction and started walking.
The sound of her name made her turn round, and she saw Makeela's cousin walking towards her. She also heard the disappointed groans of the girls. She ignored it.
"Rachel, right? " He asked, walking up to her.
"Yeah, you're ... Makeela's cousin. Sorry, I don't remember your name."
"That's not important right now. Have you seen Makeela of recent? "
Rachel looked up thoughtfully.
"No. In fact, now that you mentioned it, ..."
Makeela usually had a bad habit of running off during the semester for a few days at a time. Normally she would call Rachel, or one or two other persons to inform them where she was, but then Rachel realised that she had not heard from Makeela in over a week.
Peter was tense, and he bit his lower lip. Makeela used to call him too whenever she went on any of her escapades, because she trusted that he'd keep it from her parents. He really did want to, but he knew that more than half of what she told him were lies, and he didn't even know how to introduce the topic to his uncle and aunt. He had confronted her on the issue various times, but she'd simply brushed him away. At least he had been relieved she called him, because at least, he'd know she was okay.
But now, unlike her calling him once every two days, she had not called him in almost two weeks. Anybody he asked of her where abouts didn't know where she was. He had prayed and trusted her safety to God, but he could barely hold the panic rising in his chest. And he also felt guilty for not informing her parents. He resolved there and then that he would try and raise the issue when next he saw them.
God, he prayed, keep her safe. He had been trying to preach to her, but she didn't want to become a christian. She had mentioned some of the people who called themselves good christians, and Peter winced.
He hadn't stopped trying though, but right now, what was most important was her safety.
He looked back at Rachel.
"Do you know of anyone who might know where she is? "
"No", she replied.
Peter was silent for a while.
"Anything wrong? " Rachel asked.
"I hope not", he said softly.
"Anyway, here is my number. Please call if you hear anything from or about her. Oh, and please I'll need yours. I don't particularly like answering unknown numbers."
"Sure ", Rachel replied.
They exchanged numbers, and then he turned and left.
Rachel took a deep breath.
Lord, I pray Makeela is safe. Please keep her safe.

posted from Bloggeroid

Better Pt 2

Makeela smiled as her phone rang.
“One second. Hello?”
Her face broke into a beaming smile.
“Really?... When?.... Wait, you’re where?..... Now?”
Makeela turned to look, then spotted somebody and began to wave furiously.
“Turn around……. Yeah, I’m waving. Come over. Okay.”
She hung up.
Rachel looked towards the direction that Makeela had been waving in, and saw someone strolling towards them. She squinted, then looked at Makeela.
“Who?”
“Cousin.”. Makeela said as the person’s face came into view.
In fact, there were two persons. As they walked towards them, Rachel studied their appearances. The taller one was dark skinned, and the other one, who was just one or two inches shorter than the darker one, had very light skin. Both men were very good looking. One of them entering the room was likely to turn a lot of heads. Both of them entering a room would definitely turn a lot of heads. The lighter skinned one had a pair of glasses balanced oon his nose. They both were well built and had broad shoulders.
Rachel assumed the lighter skinned one was the cousin, until Makeela turned and hugged the other one.
“ Hey there, how are you doing?” he asked.
“I'm good, Peter. Hello Ayo.” Makeela replied.
The glasses guy waved and smiled slightly.
Peter turned to look at Rachel, then spoke to Makeela.
“Well, won't you introduce us to your friend?”
Makeela smiled.
“Rachel, this is my cousin Peter, and this is his good friend, Ayo.”
Rachel smiled as she shook hands with both men, Peter’s hand holding hers a beat longer than necessary, she thought. However, she had long learnt not to take people at face value, and her face showed nothing.
Makeela looked at her and sighed. Turning back to her cousin, they started talking and walked off a little ways, leaving Ayo and Rachel at the car. Rachel blew a gust of air and set her jaw against the roof of the car,, trying to see if she could hear what the pair were discussing.
Ayo had been looking at her, because she looked strangely familiar, but he could not place where he had seen her. Suddenly it hit him.
“Um, excuse me, but you wouldn’t happen to be Rachel Babatunde, would you?”
She looked at him
“Yes, I am”
He smiled as he remembered. In fact, he wondered why he had ever forgotten.
“Five years ago. ‘Strait Out’ Mathematics competition. The, um, guy you defeated in the last round.”
Rachel squinted at him, then smiled as she remembered
“Oh yeah. You’re that guy that interchanged the ‘+’ and ‘-‘ signs.”
They had been to a Maths competition when they were in secondary school. He had been in SS3, while she was in SS2. At the finals, only he and she were left, and were given a question to solve out.. Somewhere in the calculations, he had exchanged a ‘+’ and ‘-‘ sign. He quickly ran to submit before she did, and was shown his error.She had finished at that moment and won the competition. He had been so sad, he broke down in tears in front of everybody.She walked up to him, they talked for a while, eventually settling things amicably before they left.
“You remember?” he asked.
“Why won't I? Ive never seen a boy cry before, and over such an issue. No offense.”
“None taken. I was the best Math student in my school, and the subkect itself was my passion.It really hurt to have the prize I set my eyes on snatched from me by some random geeky looking SS2 girl. No offense.”
Rachel laughed.
“None taken”
Ayo was still looking at her.
“ Wow you’ve changed. You really did look like a geek then though.”
Rachel shrugged.
“But you changed. How did you meet Makeela?” Ayo continued.
“ We’re roommates and coursemates in the same school.”
“Mhmnn”, he replied, just as he saw Makeela and Peter coming back.
“Nice talking to you.” He said, stretching out his hand.
“You too” she replied, taking his in a firm grip.
He looked down at her hand, and smiled with a corner of his mmouth
“What?” Rachel asked
“Nothing”, he replied, letting go.
Then he took a deep breath.
“You still shake hands like a boy”
Rachel raised an eyebrow.
Makeela chose that moment to interrupt their conversation.
“Hey Rachel, Ive got to go. Can you please drive me to my house? “
“Sure”, Rachel replied as she opened the dor and plopped down into the drivers seat.
Makeela entered the passengers seat and shut the door.
“Bye Pete!”
He smiled.
“Bye M. Good bye Rachel”
“Goodbye”
Ayo caught her eyes at that moment and nodded at he smiling. She nodded back, and started the engine as the men began to walk away.
As they pulled out of the parking lot, Makeela turned to face Rachel.
“Soooooooo?” she asked expectantly.
Rachel glanced at her, her own face an expressionless maskl.
“What?”
With an exasperated sigh, Makeela slumped in her seat and turned to face the road.
“You’re hopeless.”
Rachel grinned as she drove away from the church into the busy road.

posted from Bloggeroid

Better Pt 1

https://ojrozzay.wordpress.com/

posted from Bloggeroid

Better Pt 1

Rachel looked at the procession again as Janet passed by, beaming with smiles and looking radiant. Her arm was interlocked in her husband's, and she looked the epitome of overjoyed in her beautiful white gown. She waved at Rachel, who smiled a little sadly, as she entered the car after her husband, laughing and trying to put her dress into the vehicle after her.
Rachel kept looking as the car with the 'just married' sticker on the bumper reversed and drove away. They were going straight from the wedding reception to their honeymoon in South Africa.
She took a deep breath as she spun round, headed towards the church building, thoughts roaming her head. She was just 22, but that was the third time she had been called to be a bridesmaid for her friends wedding that year, and seeing her friends getting married off had always tugged at a corner of her heart.
Rachel entered the church, trying to find the rest of the people she came with. She told one of them, who happened to be her roommate in school, to help watch her bag as she went outside for the final procession.

"Rachel!"
She spun at the sound of her name, and smiled to see who it was. Makeela bounced down the aisle as she came to meet Rachel with her handbag.

"Thanks, Keela! " Rachel said, taking the bag from her, but Makeela wasn't even listening, her head in the clouds.

"Sweetheart, did you see that? "
Rachel laughed. Makeela had been going on and on about the wedding since it began. She could never contain her excitement for anything once she took interest in it. The current list included chocolates, telenovelas, anything beige, clothes, shoes and now weddings.
Rachel and Makeela, though roommates, were not close friends. However, having her around almost always seemed to cheer Rachel up, or at least make her smile. As of recent though, Makeela had been becoming more distant. Rachel prayed her roomie wasn't getting herself in trouble.
Makeela was still talking.

"Oh, did you see Janet's dress? It was exactly like the one from the movie 'Wedding Bash'. It was so gorgeous! I'll be sure to have one better than that in my own wedding though. I would order one for yours, but I doubt you are getting married. Ever."

"Be sure to invite me for yours. " Rachel said, still smiling.
She turned and started walking towards the church entrance, Makeela behind her.

"Yeah right. You're not dodging this. You are too strict, you know. I've told you to loosen up more than once. Have a life! Date somebody! Anybody! " Makeela said. She flipped her long black hair and stared at Rachel as they walked. Makeela was a beautiful halfcaste, with her mother being American, but she sometimes felt that Rachel was prettier than she, with her profiled face, high cheekbones and cream chocolate skin.
"You'll always be the bridesmaid and never the bride,"she continued.

"Hey, we're still in the university, I'm still 22, and I still have a long way to go in many things I have to do. Besides, speaking of university, what are you going to do when projects begin? "
Makeela mock glared at her.
"Don't change the subject. "
Then she smiled and continued.
"But I have no idea. I'm not worried though."

Both Makeela and Rachel were studying petroleum engineering in the same university. They were on holiday and just about to resume their final year.
They started walking down the church compound towards the parking lot when Makeela started talking again.

"But seriously, are you ever going to get married? Sure, maybe some guy is going to find you attractive, but you'll probably drive him back with your lack of emotion. Or preach him to death."
Rachel laughed.

"I told you, I still have a long way to go. I got studies and other stuff, though who knows what God has planned. "
Makeela bit her lower lip, still smiling.
"Are you sure you are even a girl? I've never even seen you look at a guy."
Rachel shook her head in exasperation. Makeela was out to get her today.
"I don't want to enter a relationship. "
"Cuz you hate guys? "
"No, but think about it. If I'm not intending to marry someone, why enter a relationship with the person? Sure, a girl wants to be loved, but what's the point of starting a relationship that'll go nowhere? " Rachel asked.
"Sure. That's just an excuse given by a scared girl."
"No. Not scared. Not just ready, and it's not time. When it's time, you'll be the... um, one of the first to know. "
Makeela smiled as her phone began ringing.

posted from Bloggeroid

Truth- an excerpt from Frank Peretti's " Veritas Project "

"And therin lies our hope. We are a free people because we live according to what we know is right or wrong. If Truth is taken from us, then Right and Wrong are taken from us as well. If we don't know Right and Wrong, then we can't, we won't control ourselves, but will look to someone else to bring order through brute force and raw power. We will be controlled by a tyrant, and we will no longer be free- and don't count on that tyrant to be kind or merciful. He has no sense of right or wrong either and will do to us whatever he wants.
The Knight-Moore project was an experiment to discover what would happen to people when there is no truth, to observe and record what people can do when pushed to the extreme with no ultimate moral foundation. It was an attempt by people hungry for power to find the most effective way to rob people of their freedom. The conclusion: take away Truth, and a tyrant will rule.
Small wonder then that Jesus said,'You shall know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free'.
And where else can truth, real Truth, come from, than from God, who is Truth by his very nature..."

posted from Bloggeroid

From the diaries of...

From the diaries of Jeremiah.
I sit in a caravan, on my way to the city of Chaldea, the land of the Babylonians. I have not seen Baruch since I left, but I believe the Lord that he is well.
It has been three days since the fall of Jerusalem. Blood and fire painted her streets as the word of the Lord was fulfilled.
I weep for my people. For more than twenty three years, I spoke to them, warned them of the coming destruction. Their sin had gone up as a stench before the Lord's throne. I spoke to them, but they thought that maybe because they were of the chosen seeds of Abraham, the children of Israel, of the promised branch of Isaac, that the Lord would overlook their sins.
My eyes flow with tears.
Oh Jerusalem. Jerusalem!
The blood and bodies of your princes and prophets, of your priests, children, young men and maidens fill the streets, unstaring eyes gazing on the face of unseen assailants.
The Lord warned you, Jerusalem. He spoke, but you did not listen. Your royalty and priesthood could not save you from his wrath unleashed against sin and disobedience.
Oh Jerusalem.
Jerusalem...

posted from Bloggeroid