BONE OF MY BONE III

Pro 18:22 Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.

Brother J needs a wife. When he was five, his parents divorced and his mother relocated to London. That was twenty two years ago and he had been all alone since then. His parents had since remarried and settled down to life with their new families, like a pendulum he is swung here and there but mostly kept at boarding schools for convenience. He yearns for a family of his own, where he will belong and wouldn’t need to be tolerated. Brothers and sisters in Christ made him feel loved and cared for but a spiritual family has its limits.
Finally, he resolved that the only way to have a home is to get married and was immediately faced with the problem of choice. He listened to many teachings on the subject of marriage and courtship by seasoned men of God, and could only establish two facts: (1) God’s choice is the only choice and (2) There is no standard foolproof formula of getting God’s choice. When he saw some of his well respected ministers of God getting divorced, he became sure that finding a wife is easy, it is finding God’s choice in a wife that is a mystery. So he prayed fervently and told God that he will stop searching for a wife on his own. But God should go to the length and breadth of the world and locate his wife for him. And when she arrives, the sign that will prove to him that she is ‘God’s choice’ is that she will present him the Holy Bible as a gift.
Sister M is a Christian whose denominational affiliation forbids marrying outside of her denomination. She was drawn to Brother J for so many reasons, chief of which is his cheerful disposition and conservative nature. They became fast friends and on Josiah’s birthday, she presented him with the Holy Bible. It was nothing short of answered prayer.
Albeit this, her denominational requirement remained a big stumbling block. After two years of courtship, she demanded that he switch to her church so that they can get married but he was not comfortable with a denomination that does not believe in taking drugs, dancing, singing and making a joyful noise in church etc. Sister M insists she can and will only marry from her denomination and he said he is not ready to switch. She says he does not love her for love requires sacrifice and he insists that heaven is too big a price for love. Love turned sour, Sister M demanded a refund of every penny she has ever given to Brother J, after collecting the refund, she continually embarrass him wherever and whenever they meet with hisses and curses. It was a messy affair. Brother J insisted he prayed and got a sign. I laughed and told him even the devil demanded a sign from Jesus to prove he is the son of God which he never got. What if they had gotten married before she showed him her true colour?
I insist that you cannot afford to ignore the basics in the name of spirituality! Everything counts when it comes to the choice of a life partner.

Prayer: Father, from today, let all my actions be guided by the Holy Spirit in Jesus name. Amen.