I have finally resumed business. Though I was new in the environment, business was not bad. Loneliness was a major issue to contend with, especially when I was at home.

Lizzy, the lady that my dad employed to manage the business for me was doing well in managing the customers. So I was free to be pilfering the customers phone and other things that they mistakenly dropped. None of the customers noticed what was going on. Lizzy suspected me but fear did not allow her to confront me.

One day, a young man came to my shop to buy body cream. He carelessly dropped his phone on the counter and looked away. I moved with the speed of a lightning and grabbed the phone and went to seat.
Later he started searching for his phone and we told him that we didn’t see it. I never knew that one of the customers that came to buy something saw me when I took the phone.

“Madam, bring out his phone and give him,” he commanded me.

“Which phone are you talking about,” I asked in anger.

“I saw when you collected that phone. If you don’t want embarrassement, quickly bring it out now!”

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” I insisted.

“Okay . You don’t know what I am talking about. Let me call boys in the area. When they come in, you will know what I am talking about,” he made a move to go but Lizzy called him back.

“Brother please come back. Let’s search very well. May be my madam mistakenly took it, not knowing that it belongs to another person,” Lizzy pleaded.

“Don’t tell me that nonsense. This lady is a thief. The other day, a customer’s money dropped and she picked it. I decided to overlook that. Today , she got up from her chair to go and pick a phone. She is a criminal”

“Madam please, I don’t want trouble. If you are with my phone, give it to me,” the owner of the phone pleaded.

I shamefully dragged myself to where I hid the phone and brought it out. The owner collected it, thanked me and left.

Afterwards, I busted out in tears. The man who caught me when I stole the phone pleaded with me to stop crying. He advised me to seek help in a church.

As I was still sitting and crying, I heard voices of singing and clapping. I was still wondering what was going on when a young man walked into my shop and handed me a tract and an invitation card.

“I want to specially invite you to an all-night programme in our church today. There will be salvation from sin, deliverance from demonic possession, marital connection, business breakthrough, healing, etc. As you come, the Lord will meet you at the point of your need,”he concluded.

“I have heard you, thanks for the invitation.” I quickly discharged him.

As the young man left, I was laughing in my mind. Everything he said did not make sense to me. My family were not regular church goers, we only attend church ones in a while, when invited for children dedication, harvests etc. by our family friends. I knew that the invitation was not for me so I trashed it.

However, his words kept on ringing in my heart. I tried all I could take my mind off it, to no avail. Later, I went to my waste bin and retrieved the tract and invitation card. I made up my mind to attend the programme, not because I was expectant. The only reason was to free myself from boredom.

The church was a bit far from my residence but I was able to locate it without stress. Already inside the church, I stood and scanned the faces of the members nervously. It took the welcoming smiles of the ushers to calm me a bit. Everyone in the church seemed happy as they were singing and dancing freely.

Then, it was offering time. People moved in a row from back to the front where the offering box was located. I was about dropping my offering money when darkness suddenly enveloped the church auditorium. I saw that as a golden opportunity to strike. I quickly dipped my hand inside the offering box and packed the money. As I was about stuffing the money inside my cloth, the auditorium became illuminated again. I stood there with the money in my hands. I could neither drop the money nor put it inside my cloth. I became a few minutes celebrity as all the phones camera took their turn on me.

That I committed the crime in church did not save me from brutality as an overzealous young man gave me a slap across the face that sent me rolling on the ground. The Pastor of the church rebuked him seriously for the action. He held my hand, and led me to the altar for prayers. The man of God led the church even as they launched into deliverance prayer session. He laid his hands on me and commanded the spirit of stealing to go out of my life.

It was hard for me to overcome the shame of what happened in the church. For some years, I had always been in the news for the wrong reasons; it is either I am in one form of mess or the other. Of course shame and disgrace became my second name. However, that one seems to be the biggest. I wondered what my family members will do if any of those pictures or video clips should get to them. I cried uncontrollably.

“Sister, please stop crying. What happened yesterday was for your own good. Forget about the disgrace and thank God for your deliverance. At least, the devil will not humiliate you again,”the Pastor of the church told me in the morning.

Immediately Pastor said that, I wiped my eyes. Truly, something new happened in my life yesterday during that deliverance session. Since then, I discovered that the thought of taking what does not belong to me disgusts me.

“Sir, I want to appreciate you for everything. I must testify that I feel different now. I don’t know what came over me; all of a sudden, I started misbehaving.”

“Judy the truth is that everything that is hidden from man is open to God. When I was praying for you, the Lord revealed the source of your affliction to me.”

“Pastor please tell me what happened. I want to know,” I pleaded on my knees.

“I will tell you. But for now the most important thing is to avoid the reoccurrence of this ordeal. If you don’t want this affliction to arise again, you need to surrender your life to Christ. He will wash you with his blood and make you whole. By the time you are under the umbrella of Christ, the devil will not toy with you anymore. It is not that he will not attempt to hurt you: even when he comes like a flood, the Lord will raise a standard against it. I will warn you not to relax because enemies are still out there. If they notice that you are free, they will strike again. But if you are in Christ, he will fight for you. Are you ready to give your life to Christ?

“Yes sir. I am ready,” I said in tears.

“Then kneel down lets pray.”

After the prayers, I requested that pastor should tell me the source of my affliction but he said that I should come the next day.

Watch out for the next episode!