tears he cried at night. His salt and pepper hair was proof of all that he endured in those times when solace would only come after he would strip himself naked and cry out to God.
His eroded skin, protruding jaw bone and lemon yellow teeth was evidence of the extent to which he forsook health and common sense to be wrapped up in the bosom of despair.
He spoke of the terrible accidents that he had been involved in that left him with a greater appreciation of the disabled among us and some memorable souvenirs - a steel rod in his knee, a metal plate in his foot and a slightly hunched posture. None of these however were able to leave as deep a wound or as indelible a mark as the scar he harped on for the 90minutes in which we conversed...that of lost love. His voice lowered to a strangely soft monotone as he recounted the anguish he endured when he lost his love of four (4) years.
He told me of how much he had loved her, so much so that he gave up the life of sin to call her God his God. He recalled their time spent at church in service to God and the many hours they spoke to each other late at night on the phone like typical lovebirds who could not bear to be apart.It was a love that had long superseded the physical into the spiritual. With each passing day he yearned to know more about her, as a person, as a soul.
He spoke of the perpetual battle between love and vanity and how people often opt for the latter much to the peril of the former and wind up in misery.He spoke of a woman's selfish love and how a ring, status,and fancy car often mattered more than issues of the heart and soul and giving love time and room to grow. How she sold her body to men in her life's quest for the highest bidder and tragically... how he loved her in spite of her malfunctions.
He tightly shut his eyes (to shield me from any bitterness I presume) as he told me of that time five (5) years ago when she abruptly stopped talking to him and was two (2) weeks later wed to a man unknown to him and the people of their faith...pregnant.
He told of the unfathomable horrors that overtook him for years as he grappled with the unthinkable news.
What really grabbed my attention and gripped the very ventricle of my heart was when he confidently spoke of a loving God, who cushioned him through it all and brought him through unscathed, in his right mind, still firmly standing for Christ.The God who rescued him twice from death, snatched him from claws of emotional peril and gave him a reason to smile again.
He said, 'Listen friend, I have stopped questioning the ways of God, all I know is that His way is always the best way...He took what was meant to destroy me and used it for my good.'
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