As I intensified in prayers concerning the person that made me to be stealing, I had a revelation concerning it but I never believed that it was real. I decided to go and meet pastor and begged him to tell me the person that God showed him. I just wanted to confirm what was revealed to me.

“Judy since you surrendered your life to Christ, I have been watching you and I am impressed by your spiritual growth. I pray that God will continue to uphold you.”

“Amen, thank you daddy. I owe my life and everything that concerns me to God. I also want to appreciate you for allowing God to use you for my deliverance.”

“All glory to God. Sister Judy, I purposely with held this information from you. I did that for your benefit. If I release such information to you when you are not spiritually matured, you will misuse it. Even now, I must warn you not to bear grudge against anyone. If you do, you are opening the door for the devil.”

I promised Pastor that I will never bear grudge against anyone. Afterwards, he went ahead to tell me who made me to be stealing.

“It was revealed to me that the source of your ordeal was one of your mother’s friends, Mrs. Don.”

I was shocked because that was still the person that was revealed to me. I used to see that woman as an angel who could never hurt a fly. Mrs. Don that calls me her pet, treats me like an egg.

“Daddy, did you say Mrs. Don?” I asked again.

“Yes. Mrs. Don was envious that your mother married man that is richer than her husband. She was also not happy that you perform well academically than her daughter. But the worst happened the day that your mother rebuked her daughter for being disobedient. She went to the extent of telling the girl to emulate your good behaviour. That got Mrs. Don angry.”

Immediately Pastor said that, the picture flashed back to my memory. I could remember that incident vividly. We visited the Don’s and met mother and daughter in a heated argument. We ranged the doorbell but they were so engrossed in the fight that they didn’t mind us.

“Lucia, so you expect me to cook, serve you to eat and afterwards do the dishes for you. This nonsense will end today. I will teach you a lesson today,” Mrs. Don rebuked her .

“Mummy, that cane should not touch me oo. If you beat me, I will run away from this house and you will not see me again.” That settled the argument. Mrs. Don kept quiet immediately. That was how Lucia carried the day.

When they finally opened the door, my mother couldn’t sweep what happened under the carpet she confronted her friend.

“Is it your daughter that you are quarreling with as if she is your co-wife. She even threatened that if you beat her she will run away from the house and you kept quiet. What kind of upbringing is that?”

“Ore what do you want me to do. I can’t kill her. After all she is my only child.”

“The fact that she is your only child should make you to intensify effort in raising her well. How can you have a grown up daughter, She can’t do house chores. To crown it all, she has started insulting you. Can’t she emulate the good behavior of Judy my daughter. At age 13, she can cook, and perform all other house chores. Academically she is very sound. Ore, you have to do your homework so that this girl will not cause you embarrassment in future.”

“Daddy that was the encounter my mummy had with her. Not long after the incident you talked about, I started stealing. It was this same woman that was taking me to places, seeking for solution.”

“Sister, the heart of man is desperately wicked. That is why the bible told us to be as wise as serpent. As a child of God, you need to be spiritually alert because you don’t know who is who.”

“Daddy, could you believe that this woman visited me after my deliverance. She told me that she want to take me to a place where they would pray for me so that my deliverance will be permanent. I told her that Jesus has already made my deliverance a permanent one because he paid the price on the cross of Calvary and said that it is finished. She tried to convince me but I did not bulge so she left in anger. She even threatened me that if the affliction reoccur, I should never seek her help. Afterwards, she stopped visiting me frequently, the way she used.”

“Affliction will not arise the second time in the name of Jesus. If she tries anything stupid, it will backfire on her. Judy, I thank God that you know your stand in Christ. If not, the bondage you would have entered will be worse than the former. Many Christians are in serious problem today because of the places they go in search of solution. Even when God has delivered them, those tormenting them will come back to carry them and tie them down again. Imagine a situation where you are sick and the only doctor available to treat you is someone wishing you death. Whenever a child of God decides to seek solution outside God, such person has mortgaged his/her life. Satan only offers temporary solution.”

“Daddy, I have realized that giving my life to Christ was the best decision I took in my life time. Of course I remained grateful to God for drawing me close to him. That decision opened my eyes to the hidden agenda of the enemy and gave me deliverance. If not for Christ, I would have remained under the bondage inflicted on me by unfriendly friends like Mrs. Don. It beats my imagination how someone would inflict that level of pain on someone she claimed that she loves. This woman was the only person that continued to show me love after my daddy rented house for me in this environment. She was always visiting me then.”

“Judy, that is the irony of life. Most times, people that freely expresses love do not truly love. But those that truly love, from the depth of their heart do not always express it. I pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to guide us.”

Immediately I left Pastor’s office, I got a phone call from my mummy that she was at my house. I quickly rushed home to see her.

“Omo mummy,” she hailed me even as I ran to give her a warm embrace.

We went in and she started unboxing all the goodies she brought for me.

“Mummy, when was the last time you saw Mrs. Don” I asked.

“My dear. It’s been a while you know that she has packed out from our area. I don’t even want to see her.”

“Ha! Mummy are you still angry with her because she made my daddy to flog me?” I enquired.

“My dear it not only that. What happened that day made me to remember what she did in the past. ”

“What could that be?” I asked.

“Don; her husband now, wanted to marry me. I was not really interested in him. When I told her, she tried to discourage me from agreeing to marry Don. She told me that Don was an evil person. I never knew that she was saying those things because she thought that Don was rich. When I turned down Don’s proposal I later found out that she was in a relationship with him. I was angry initially but I later had to forgive her because I never loved Don. Another was that Your father was already coming for me.”

I was stunned,” She did this kind of thing and you still continued your relationship with her?” I asked.

“My dear, she pleaded for forgiveness . I have to forgive her especially that the man I married was better than hers in all ramifications.”

“But mummy you forgot that it would make her envious. Do you know that it was Mrs. Don that made me to be stealing?”

“What!” My mum quickly stood as if she was getting ready for a fight”

“Please sit,” I urged her.

“Judy tell me that you are joking.”

“Mummy that is the truth. I have been praying that God should reveal to me the person that made me to be stealing. When the revelation came, I didn’t believe it. Because I love her so much and I believed that she loved me too. But When I met our pastor to ask him to tell me the person that God show him, he mentioned the name, Mrs Don. Our Pastor has never met Mrs. Don, but God revealed it to him.”

“Ha! This woman is wicked. Satan will punish her. If I ever set my eyes on her, I will deal with her,” Mummy threatened.

“Mummy that is not the way to go. Please, try to avoid her and leave the battle for God. He will fight the battle for us.”

When my mummy left, I decided to go and make my hair. On my way coming back, I met her.

Immediately I set my eyes on her, bitterness crept into my heart. The stabbing pain of betrayal ate deep within me and I felt like snuffing life out of her. I wished there was a way to repay her for all the pain she caused me. But then, Pastor’s voice re-echoed so loud in my mind.‘Even now, I must warn you not to bear grudge against anyone. If you do, you are opening the door for the devil’

I was still struggling in-between the two opinions of moving on or going to greet her when she lifted her face and saw me.

Watch out for the next episode