SATURDAY NIGHTS WITH SPARKS

I ALMOST DIED AND NO IT WAS NOT THE DEVIL

When I was in my last trimester, about 7 or 8 months pregnant. I had a bad case of cold. I lost my sense of smell and taste even long after the cough had gone.

You know how Lagos is, you wake up 4:00am and leave the house by 5:00am to avoid traffic. My husband had boiled water for me on the gas for my bath when he woke up, so I went to check if it was ready. I saw the kettle on top of the gas cooker, it was warm, the fire was out but the gas knob was ON!

I kept wondering if we had run out of gas. So I turned the knob off. I knew the water was not hot enough for my bath and wanted to put on the gas again. I could not perceive anything.

My hand was on the knob when I decided to ask my Husband whether he knew the fire was out (The singular act probably saved our lives), I dragged my big tummy back to the room and asked him, he jumped out of bed and came to the living-room. The shock on his face was crazy. I kept asking what the problem was, he turned to me and asked if I wasn’t perceiving gas. I said no... nothing.

He flung all the windows and doors open. He was literally shaking. Apparently, when he put on the gas, for some reason, after he left the kitchen, it had gone off but the gas kept leaking. According to him, the whole house was saturated with gas.... and his heavily pregnant wife in a marriage of less than 2 years did not perceive it.

He kept looking at me, holding me and shaking his head. 'What would I have said? What excuse would I have given that my wife and child died in a gas explosion? They would have said that an Igbo man has used her for blood money' He kept lamenting.

He didn’t even think of the possibility that he could have died as well. Thank God for saving our lives.

 

Moral of the Lesson

v  The devil didn’t come to my house to cause a gas leakage. It was a result of an oversight and carelessness on our part.

v  God is omnipresent. Satan is not. God is everywhere and sees everything. Satan is not. In fact, the Bible describes him as a lion going around looking for who to destroy, which means he cannot be in more than one place at a place.

v  Don’t give the devil unnecessary accolades because when you keep accusing the devil of all these things, you grow his portfolio in your mind and subconsciously start forgetting how BIG AND MIGHTY our God is.

v  Don’t be a Christian because you are afraid of the devil. Be a Christian because you love God.

About the Author
Here is what Andikan Inyang also known as 'Sparks' has to say about herself......................

As a Chemical Engineering graduate, former Immigration Officer and present day banker.....and most importantly, a foodie, I hide behind my pen.......therein lies my strength. I hope to pursue a career in writing and explore the world of poetry. So help me God.