JESUS APPEARED TO ME! MY REAL LIFE STORY...

"Jesus, have mercy on me, please don't let Oluchukwu die, please, he's just a child, have mercy. Don't let my baby die. Help us..." This was my mother crying out to Jesus as my late kid brother's health took a terrible turn. What started as a mild fever had turned to an ugly convulsion after less than 5days. 
My mum had taken Oluchukwu to the village healthcare centre, but they couldn't offer any helpful treatment for lack of funding and my mum couldn't afford any medication no thanks to our miserable financial state in the village.

Oluchukwu was my favourite sibling, a shinning star who was cut off just before his 6th birthday. During the wee-hours that marked his demise, my mum had woken my older brother and I up to assist her in any way we could. As the fever grew worse, we moved from the bedroom to the living room where the convulsion suddenly started. His temperature grew extremely high and his tiny muscles contracted.

At this point he couldn't speak to any of us and I could tell he was in great pain. As his little eyes stared at me, I could tell he was begging me to help him.

"Jesus, I am a poor woman. I don't have anyone to help me, please don't Oluchukwu die..." My mum continued praying as we battled to keep Oluchukwu alive. I also prayed to Jesus as I remembered several teachings of Jesus healing and saving people in inexplicable ways. I prayed to Jesus to save my Oluchukwu and I silently wished I could take his place and help him fight and survive,  but He slowly shut his eyes forever in death. As my mum screamed and wailed, it suddenly started raining heavily. Amidst tears of sorrow I remember looking at the clock just to remember the day I thought Jesus failed us(so I thought back then).

This was the beginning of my days of straying from Jesus. I was a very practical child and I thought since Jesus let my brother die, he either wasn't real or didn't care enough about us. I was just 10yrs old, but that experience was the sculptor of my rebellious years as a teenager. 

Once upon a time we lived in the city and though we faced a severe hardship we were always happy. When we couldn't go to church no thanks to lack of transportation fare or clothes to wear, my mum made sure she shared the word of God with us. Sometimes we survived on drinking garri (processed cassava flour) just once a day for weeks, but we were always happy because we were true in all our dealings as a family and we believed Jesus would bless us someday. Now this is not to say my parents weren't hardworking. My father was a hardworking welder, but he barely made enough to take care of us. Sometimes he was jobless due to the economy then and he had to sell some of our properties just to realise money for our feeding.

Back in school, my siblings and I were record breakers in a very good way. I was involved in most notable activities in my primary school (Laja Private School) and I was a happy child. You could barely tell my family was facing a hardship most of the time, except for the headmaster who knew who the school fees offenders were.

Several events led me to a very dark place where I was at point zero in my life. I'll continue this my story some other time, but I want you to know that Jesus is real and he saved me. Even though I was a wretched teenager scared by countless ugly experiences, Jesus reached out to me, he called me by my name and healed me. 

I hope and pray that Jesus will reach out to you today. Please leave your comments below and of if you'd like to share anything please comment below or send an email to ifuennada@gmail.com .
Life is beaut-Ifu!