2 Corinthians 12:9 'Your Grace is more than sufficient...'

Pretending to be asleep, as her boyfriend who smelt of alcohol and weed crept into bed at 2.30am, Eyamba didn't consider herself particularly close to anyone. Not her parents and certainly not her Aunt and Uncle who had adopted and cared for her since she lost her parents when she was 9.

***

Eyamba: That simply won't do Aunty Grace, I wanted the limited edition clutch purse, not last seasons tote bag! 

Aunty Grace: (*sighing*) I don't understand darling. I mean they are both Bottega Veneta bags! 

Eyamba: (*rolling her eyes*) well its done I guess. I've got to go now, Chuks will be home in a few minutes and dinner isn't even close to ready. 

Aunty Grace: I don't know why you are still with that boy! I mean the way he treats you and has absolutely no regard fo..... 

Eyamba: Goodnight Aunty grace 

Aunty Grace:(*sigh*) Goodnight sweetie. Love you loads.

Eyamba: Don't forget to transfer the money, I'm running low and I want to buy a 2.5yr anniversary present for him. 

Then she hung up, without waiting for her Aunt's reply. She hurriedly got up to re-powder her bruised left eye. She would make Chuks a wonderful 5 course meal to make up for her bad behaviour that morning, she really shouldn't have asked him why he came back home soo late!

But that was 6hours ago. Now she sat staring at her phone, consoling herself with the fact that he had at least called to say he wouldn't be home that night, even if the call came 5hours after he was supposed to be home for dinner, using his other woman's phone.

*** 

3 days later, with no apology, no explanation of where he'd been nor why he'd been there, Chuks asked...no ordered Eyamba to get ready because that night, they would be going out with a few friends of his. Even though that night was her aunts 60th birthday, she rationalised that she could always make it up to her, after all she'd been there for all the other boring family occasions which is more than could be said for any of Aunty grace's kids. But she would spend tonight with Chuks and his friends, prove herself to him. Aunty grace would understand.

*** 

But as she lay drifting in and out of consciousness on that hospital bed, she wished she had never said yes to Chuks, that night or...... ever. When she 'came to' and the police asked her what happened, she was too embarrassed to tell them that the man she had been living with for the past year, who beat her up causing 2 miscarriages, who had probably cheated on her from the first day they had started dating, who was responsible for her loosing her job because he assaulted her boss after smoking what must have been a whole tree because he was convinced she was having an affair, the man she spent all the allowance Aunty grace gave her on, the man she always blew Aunty grace off for.......had stabbed her because he felt she had disrespected him in front of his friends!

Eyamba: where is Aunty Grace? 

Fidgeting nervously, everyone in the room looked every where else but at her. 

Uncle Akpan: errr....hmmm she's had to go away. 

Eyamba: when will she be back? 

Uncle Akpan: huh...hmmm well sh... 

Joy: oh please just tell her dad! Tell her what she did to my mother!!! 

Eyamba: Tell me what? What happened to Aunty Grace? 

Moving towards the bed, her uncle gently stroked her right hand as he told her what everyone else was afraid to say.

Eyamba couldn't even cry. She just lay there, thinking of her life. Aunty Grace was dead. She died due to complications caused by the kidney transplant operation she had undergone all for the sake of saving her life due to the stabbing!

Ever since Aunty Grace had taken her in, she had treated her even better than her parents had. She had lacked nothing! Till date everything she wanted, Aunty Grace provided. And what had she done in return? Taken, and taken, and taken and taken but gave nothing in return. Not her love, not her time....nothing! Her aunt, because of the love she had for her, despite her old age and the risks of the operation had risked (and lost) her life to save hers. How could she have chosen Chuks all those times over Aunty Grace?!

***

Before you judge Eyamba, must of us make that choice everyday. More often than not, we choose the world over God.

Imagine Eyamba's love for Chuks as love for the world and Aunty Grace's love for Eyamba as representing God's love for us. Hardly a day goes by when we don't  ask God to bless us with this thing and that other thing, yet we spend our time and resources on a world that doesn't even like us! Yet the one who loved us enough to DIE for us, we ignore. 

Jer31:3(NLT) Long ago the Lord said to Israel: "I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself. 

1John5:3 Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. God has given us the privilege of seeing another month in this new year, how many people do you who don't have this privilege?! Take time out to examine yourself , your attitude towards God, ask Him to reveal to you what you should do differently. Please  don't take the Lord for granted, He's the best friend you've got