WHAT IF….. Rev Seth Agbeli Kunkpe

WHAT IF

Off late, we started noticing some strange attitudes in her. She will not come to the house early after work, and when she comes back too, she will keep a straight face as if to say let nobody approach me. She has been with us for about a year now, and this attitude is just putting me off, and I just need to act. She is a niece to my wife, and I am careful not to create the impression that I don’t want my wife’s family members coming close to us.

What is now making me sick is how she looks unconcerned when my wife is talking to her. Peaceful and calm as my wife is, she will do nothing. As if to say, it’s just national service, when you finish, all this nonsense will stop.

However, I didn’t want to wait until the national service was over. This disobedience is driving me nuts, and I can’t take it anymore.

Last Friday she got home at 2am. At around 8 p.m., we started calling her line to no avail. She was not picking until the phone was switched off.  We reached out to her parents, who lived far down south, and they said they had never heard from her.

I am not going to take this anymore, I told my wife. Let your people call me any name. I don’t care. I will not allow a spoilt brat to annoy me with her indiscipline. We couldn’t sleep until 12 midnight.

WHAT IF

Read: Call me Abi, not Abigail-Full Story

We were just 2 hours into a frustrating sleep when I heard a knock at the door. Who is that ? I asked? It’s me, Sir. You who? as if I could not recognize her voice. It’s me, Akpene. I opened the door for her and staired at her until she entered. She greeted and passed as if nothing had gone amissed. That was when I lost it.

What do you mean, greeting and just walking past without any explanation?

What NONSENSE and STUPIDITY is that? I was about just issuing the next cheque of ‘What ‘when her auntie came into the leaving room. I paused and issued it with a higher volume.

What kind of girl are you?

You come in late, and you can’t say anything sensible. Does this time look normal to you?

Have you gone nuts? What if something happens to you? Do you think it will be funny?

It was at this point that my wife took over. Akpene! Where did you go after work?

She looked straight into her auntie’s face, and I could sense reluctance to speak. I took over again without hesitation!

Akpene, if you don’t answer this particular question, I can assure you that you are leaving this house first thing tomorrow morning.

Leaving my house was definitely going to cause her greatly unless she wanted to squat with someone in town. That was when she opened her mouth and said she went for a party!  Party! and you have the effrontery to come home at this time. You are leaving this house tomorrow morning.

WHAT IF

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I thought we would close early, and besides, the vehicle got broken down on the highway when we were returning. The auntie continued the interrogation when I angrily left them to sleep.

The next day, she came to kneel before me in the sitting room to apologize. I behaved as though I was not paying attention to her.

Later that day, I asked my wife whether she was the one who advised her. She said she didn’t and that she came to apologize to her too.

I told her my mind and that I would only accept her in this house if her father came and we decided on certain things concerning her. I was frank and sincere, and I did call her father and requested his presence.

After the meeting with her father and together with her in attendance, I made her sign a bond of good behaviour (yes I did ) and threatened to dismiss her if she tried any nonsense.After that event, I realized some changes in her. It is about six months now and so far, so good

As I reflected on Akpene’s behavior and my response, I realized that things would have been different if I had carried out a thought that crept into my heart the very day she came to our house.

I must confess. The very day I saw Akpene, I liked her. Just like any man, her beauty struck me heavily. A few weeks in our house, I caught myself thinking about her to the point that I had to start avoiding her anytime she was around.

WHAT IF

Also read:Saving Your Marriage before it Starts. Rev Seth Kunkpe

One particular day, I thought of telling her she was beautiful, but I held my mouth. At another time, she came back from work, and I wanted to hug her to say you are welcome. For one reason or the other, the thought left me when I stood up, so I only shook her instead of hugging her.

In my mediations one early morning, I came to myself, and I had to sincerely tell the Lord that I was mentally trespassing. I told the Lord my secret admiration of her and how I wanted to stop because if it hatches, I will not be able to deal with the consequences.

I felt peace after that quiet moment, and since that day, I became a normal human being.

As all this was on folding, I started asking myself.

What if I simply told this girl she was beautiful? Harmless as you think it may be, won’t it have any effect on me disciplining her? What if I started hugging her after work and holding her hand, especially when my wife was not around?

What if I started taking her out with or without my wife’s approval ? Wouldn’t it have broken down order in my house?  Honestly speaking, I didn’t make any of my thoughts known to her in any form or shade, but you see, I realized that I would have shot myself in the foot when she started disobeying.

I realized that my boldness came from the fact that I didn’t disrespect myself before her. That would have broken discipline in my own home.

WHAT IF

Also Read:Nucy’s Dairy:  CHOICES

Indeed, when thoughts land on the heart of a man, you have the responsibility of either letting it dominate you or kicking it out of your life. What if I started sending her amorous text messages or even proposed to her?  Though I had no intention of going that far, you can never say never when your heart starts deceiving and giving you unthinkable ideas. Before you say jack, you will be in muddy waters.

My name is Mr Idowu. This is how I survived the deceptions of the heart. I had to remind myself over and over again that I have a wife, and contentment is a sign of maturity. I survived, and my home is at peace. She is still with us and she is behaving well.

I can’t forget to let you read this verse. Though I am not so good with bible verses, at least these ones helped me:

James 1:14-16 , Job 31:1 and 1 Thess 5:22

Job 31:1 I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman.

1Thess. 5:22 Abstain from every appearance of evil

I wish you well

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I hope you enjoyed this fiction. See you in the next article.

For the love of God, society, and young people.

Blessings

Rev. Seth Agbeli Kunkpe

Lasting Impact Ministries

Pen From Afar…. Writing to Make Things Right