Christmas…A thousand times better

Lemme tell y’all this beautiful story… OK maybe not beautiful but story all the same.

Oh BTW I took this mgbeke looking picture this morning just before church. Walahi adonbilivit. Me? The certified queen of poses. Tz well ooo.

So now that you are done laughing, here is my story.
Like y’all know, I just celebrated my first wedding anniversary.
What most of you don’t know however is that as soon as that post went live, I called my Rev, as he prayed for me, I started crying. Or maybe rehearsing the tears. As he dropped the tears flowed like waterworks. By the time Pastor M returned my missed call, I was bawling my eyes out.
I just couldn’t believe one year later, we are still doing long distance marriage. Ah!!! I cried and cried and cried and cried.
Sha after she finished consoling, I chilled.

Then God shared something with me.

Now my hubby is in a place called BONNY ISLAND. It is an island about an hour by sea from portharcourt.
Eziaha is in The ‘Buj

From the ‘buj to bonny island is a real Israelite journey.

First to the airport in Abuja
Then fly to Portharcourt.
Then go from the airport to the seaport which is nothing less than 1hour and that is me being nice. It can be 3hours. PH is the most annoying city I know. Yes Ngozi Sam-Orji I said so. Lol
Then a boat ride to bonny anything from 1hour to 2hours depending on the sea.
Meaning that I have to always leave with the first flight so that I can get in earliest 4pm. Isn’t that like going by road? A full road trip.

Oh BTW, the boats are varied.

There are the local government boats which are covered but shabby still and well are timed. After noon, you don’t see them again (pictured above with a white cover)
There are open boats. They go all day. (The rest pictured)

Safety on the sea is God’s grace ooo. There are pirates sometimes who steal from passengers and rape ladies on the sea. Sometimes kidnap, sometimes throw bodies into the sea just because…

Then sometimes, the boats capsize too. Eish.

Yup the sea gets plenty rough at times.

Then there are company official boats. These ones are all tush, have pilot boats that go ahead and are more like planes. Very comfy, pretty and all. And of course, relatively safer.

I have pictures but there is something like pregnancy tiredness. I can’t start looking for them on my laptop.
But it is something like the pix above. The interior like this…

But as you imagine, though it is free and reserved for staff and official purposes, you gotta book in advance, and it is usually overbooked and sometimes, my trips are impromptu. So when I don’t get it, I use the local boats. And remind myself that the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.

Now a one way trip costs us between 20 and 30k. Sometimes more. And I have to do this trip at least once a month. Do the math. That’s minus all the other normal expenses as a family ooô. Biko that is some money. Oh and the stress costs at least 1million dollars. I HATE STRESS.

Now this is where the story gets better.
At the same time I was moving to Abuja to work, there was an announcement by hubs company of a direct flight from Abuja to Bonny island. Say what?!?!? So all we need do is place a booking, go to NA airport, the private lounge please, present my identity card and wham, I get my boarding pass, then I chill in the lounge waiting for my private jet, bumping into governors and presidents while I wait, then board the flight and in under 2hours, most times with me sleeping, I land in bonny island.

Lemme take that again…

All that full day land to air to sea journey plus traffic plus delayed flights plus sea hazards etc costing sometimes 30k all compressed to a FREE two hour stress free journey.

It all came back to me that day to just let me Know that through it all, He stayed faithful. Imagine if that route didn’t open? Like someone joked that tz like it opened for just us. Just imagine how much I would have spent on the trips. Imagine how we would have had to be rationing visits and all.

Certainly something I don’t wanna imagine. Just maybe I had started taking it for granted. Maybe I had complained so much I had failed to see His hand there to make things easier. Not to accept the situation BUT to be thankful in it, as in ALL things.

So why my cool story? Good.

I just want us to look back at the year…
Tz easy to say oh I don’t have this or that but imagine if in addition, you were in and outta hospital?
Or your parents or sibs had medical challenges that would have put a dent on your finances?
Somethings would have absolutely sapped your finances but God found a way to ‘insure’ you.
Yup you didn’t get the promotion but hey boo, imagine if somehow, you lost your job?

Mehn, there are some people who would KILL to have the life you live now.

Some people actually don’t have food to eat ooo. Some have medical bills staring them in the face with death lurking.
Some people had their houses destroyed through no fault of theirs.
Some people are internally displaced in their own countries.
School? Forget it. A luxury some would never afford.
Some people have loved ones sick and dying somewhere but they can’t afford the trip down there.
Tz just incredible how little can make a difference in someone’s life. Or in the life of a family. Sometimes just as little as 2k.

Christmas is such an amazing period. But for some people, it is just another gloom jare, made infinitely worse by the plenty celebrations around them.

How would you like to help in your own little way? Very much?
Cool.

My darling Pastor M is championing the #Christmas1000timesbetter cause where we intend, as a church, to feed 1000 families this Christmas. Giving them hampers with stuff they could use this Christmas worth just 2000naira per hamper. You can sponsor one of these hampers.

You can get details on Pastor M’s blog post on GOD WILL DO IT here http://justusgirlsnaija.com/2014/12/10/god-will-do-it/

The account details are
Name: Just Us Girls Concept, GTBank
Number: 0120674522

Don’t even think about what is in it for you. Just see it as a way to show gratitude to God for the numerous smiles He has put on your face and all the tears He has averted.

But we know God now, whether you like it or not, He owes no man. Specifically even Proverbs 19:17 says that He who gives to the poor lends to the Lord and He will repay.

How cool to get a reward from God.

Oya start sending darlings. Please feel free to sponsor more than one hamper.

And just in case I don’t appear before Christmas, Merry Christmas complete with blessings to you and yours…

Love…
E’

PS
The trip to bonny is not as bad as you are thinking especially the sea. Lol. People do it everyday. I did it a lot while dating my hubby back then. I am still alive
Thankfully.

PPS
So I met this lovely blog reader of mine in Bonny island on Saturday. Was such a surprise when she walked up to me and introduced herself. We were in church, the finale of Shiloh. She had such a lovely daughter and when I tried to carry her, I knew why they say we shouldn’t lift heavy stuff. That baby was not even so heavy but this pregnancy something is not a small something ooo. Lol. It was nice meeting you hun. In this island where I always thought I would never meet anyone.

PPPS
Started writing this post on Sunday morning.
Couldn’t complete it till Monday evening, imagine.
Well managed to take a better picture I think…

Time flies sha. Very soon, we go enter February and E’ will be a mom, my goodness!!!
Heavenly excited yo!!! Omugwo persons start applying please…