WHEN MANNA STOPPED FALLING

 

 

Hello Muses,

I have been away for longer than I planned I know so instead of an apology I decided to write a short story just to say I love you and thanks for checking in on me.

Enjoy.

 

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The rain was not the reason for Nwakaego’s bad mood. She couldn’t blame it on the thunder and lightning. She liked neither but she had tolerated them for years. They were an inevitable part of living in Nigeria; known for high rainfall and unexpected weather changes. What she could not tolerate any longer was being broke constantly.

“I don’t understand,” she said to Bolanle. “I am a giver, I have served as a church worker for years, I have a great job and I try to live on a budget. Why am I always broke?”

“If you find the answer Ego let me know,” Bolanle replied. “The worst thing is this life of celibacy is not helping matters. How can you expect a guy you are not giving ‘honey’ to keep sending you money?”

“My dear it is not even safe. I want my dignity intact.”

“I agree.”

“What then do we do about this ‘brokeness’? If we can’t get a grip while single what will happen to us when we get married?”

“Ore…won’t the brother deliver us from hunger?”

“That is true. At least no one will say we are gold diggers. By then we don marry the guy. All our debt is his and all our liabilities as well.”

Both friends laughed. The sour mood was dispelled.

“When they will be chanting ‘all I have I give to you’ their assumption will be all their love.” Ego laughed and slapped her thigh.

“Money is a love language my dear.”

“I tell you!”

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Ego was on her way to the gate of the estate they lived in. She and Bolanle usually hitched a ride to work with a colleague who drove a blue Toyota sienna she had inherited from her late parents. Veno was the out-spoken, vivacious and adventurous one of the group. They were staff of Debonair Printing Services where Ego was a graphic artist, Bolanle an accountant and Veno a member of the sales team. Ego and Bolanle who had been friends from the university shared a one bed room flat while Veno lived a street away.

She took out her phone to call Bolanle who was still at home.

“Are you not done? She will soon be here.”

“If she gets there, please delay her. I had to do the number 2.”

“That’s just nasty!”

“Shuo…are you not the one that cooked beans last night? Fi mi le jare!”

“Who begged you to eat? You should have eaten bread. Please make it snappy.”

She ended the call and began to scroll through her instagram page. The picture she put up the night before was getting a lot of likes. Her face beamed in delight.

“Madam good morning O!” one of the security men hailed. “Na you we know O! Remember your boys never chop.”

“Good morning. God bless you.” She deftly ignored his plea for money. It was a game they played every morning and had become somewhat of a ritual.

“Aunty na you wey God wan use bless me na.”

“I know. As He blesses me I will also bless you. The thing is that you don’t wait for him to bless me first. You want me to manufacture the thing from nowhere.”

“No be from nowhere. Na from that your fine bag. As e big so…I know say better go dey.”

Ego laughed despite herself. “Boniface, you need to try your hand at stand-up comedy. You crack me up!”

“Crack ke? Abeg O! Make my fine aunty no crack. Just dey fine as you fine so.”

Ego shook her head and moved a distance away when he got distracted trying to open the gate for another tenant. She waved at the driver absent-minded as her thoughts were on his last statement. Her chocolate brown complexion, oval face and pointed nose may well qualify her to be called pretty but she wished she had Bolanle’s hour glass figure or Veno’s fair skin. She had never liked her figure because she was top heavy. Though she wore clothes that de-emphasized it, it often made her self-conscious.

Just as Veno pulled up, Bolanle showed up at the gate panting with the effort of walking so fast. They exchanged pleasantries and piled in, a mass of handbags, laptop bags, lunch bags and make up bags. They even had a bag for chargers, slippers and other odds and ends. As Veno had once commented, their bags were so many they could fool robbers into thinking they were transporting cash.

“Na die be that O!” she had said. “Because if them search us see say money no dey and the laptop sef na old model dem go just waste us.”

“God forbid!” Bolanle had said.

“We are under the blood biko!”

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“Why have we not been able to get Veno to join our church sef? Each time we go to church by bus I wonder if my Christianity is effective at all?” Bolanle was applying her make up in the ladies room.

Ego washed her hands before replying. “Your concern is not for her soul but for the convenience of rides in her car. Sister… attitude check needed.”

“God forgive me.” She leaned forward to check her teeth. “But Ego, how can we win her to Christ when it looks like she is doing better than we are?”

“How is she better than us?” Ego frowned.

“I didn’t say she is better than us but be honest, doesn’t it grate at you that she has a car, makes more money because of sales commissions, has a boo who buys her great stuff and still gets money from sugar daddies about town?”

Ego sighed and crossed her arms. “Last month I had to borrow money from her to buy aso ebi for Oga Ben’s daughter’s wedding. She didn’t say anything but the look she gave me was very loud.”

“See what I was saying? I haven’t paid for that aso ebi O! I am planning to lie that I have a family event on the same day. My debt is getting out of hand.” Bolanle shrugged.

“How much is it?”

“I am afraid to even say it. The vow I made for the orphan project in church cleaned me out last month. I am seriously broke.”

“This is getting out of hand!”Ego cried. “I thought that as we sow into the word of God, he will send people to bless us. All these testimonies of strangers giving people money, getting jobs you never applied for, winning lotteries and so on, are they lies? My own miracle is taking too long.”

“I don’t know what to believe any more. Give…I gave; Sow…I did; Work…I am working…Confess positively…I have been shouting ‘money come’ every day. The thing tire me!”

“Maybe God is testing us?” Ego wondered.

“When will this test end? I can’t remember a time I wasn’t broke and I have been a Christian for 10 years.”

“You sure say we no go dodge church today? That guest pastor that is coming is it not money he is coming to raise?”

“Abi? Let us go home and watch TV. God understands abeg.”

With that, they packed their make-up bags and made for the door.

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“Una no dey go church today?” Veno asked as she spotted the pair at the parking lot.

“Maybe some other day: I’m tired.” Ego yawned and stretched to convince her.

“I have work to do at home,” Bolanle added.

Veno snorted. “Una sure say Pastor no go vex? Anyway, I have a date so boo is picking me up. I just came to get my change of clothes.”

“Your guy is nice. He seems to have a lot of time for dates; I mean it’s Wednesday night,” Bolanle remarked.

“He has to be sharp before someone else swoops in!” Veno laughed as she lifted a bag from the back seat. “Do you ladies want to take my car to church? I will be spending the night at his. I can always pick it up tomorrow.”

They shared a glance before chorusing. “Yes of course!”

“Great! Please pray for me to have favor. I intend to ask him for my rent.”

“You will be favored in Jesus name,” Ego prayed.

“He will even double it!” Bolanle added.

“Amen!” Veno shifted her load to her left hand as she handed Ego the key. “By the time I finish with him tonight, he will hand over his ATM card!”

“I trust you!” Bolanle gave her a hi-five. “Take it easy please.”

“Later ladies…”

“Later…”

They watched her strut away bags in tow.

“Bolanle…”

“I know what you are going to say. I feel terrible as well.”

“Let us just go to church and beg God to forgive us. I feel so silly. See how we celebrated the wrong thing just because we needed a ride? This broke state must end today.” Ego slammed her hand on the car. “It is either God tells us what we need to do to make more money or we die there.”

“My dear…I agree with you. Desperate times call for desperate measures.”

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The music was moving, the ambience was heavenly, the message was rousing and the fellowship warm but Ego could not stop thinking about the fact that her account was over-drawn and she didn’t even have money to put in the offering basket. She had attended finance seminars and even tried investing in a few deals which had gone sour; it was perplexing why she never had enough at the end of every month.

“Sister Ego!”

She turned to see who was calling her. Bolanle was chatting with the head of her department.

“Even accountant is broke…” The voice calling her finally stopped before her and tapped her arm before she snapped out of her reverie.

“Good evening Sister Ego.”

It was Roland. He was in charge of the church’s press.

“Hi.” She let out a breath.

He was tall.

He was handsome.

He was rich.

He was godly.

He was single.

What more did a girl need?

“Hi. I really hoped you would be in church today. How are you?” Roland was saying.

“I’m fine. How are you?”

“I’m doing ok. So my fiancée’s dad is into charity…’

“He’s off the market! Ouch!”

“He sent me a text tonight that someone came to him with a proposal to sponsor a training program for some indigent kids who want to learn corel draw. You were the first name that popped into my mind.”

“Oh! What will it entail?”

“It covers 40 children from each public school in his local government area. I know it is something you have been doing. It’s rather urgent as he has to choose someone to run the program tonight. Could you forward a proposal and curriculum to my email in 30 minutes?”

Ego scratched her head. “I can come up with a proposal but the curriculum will take a few days.”

“Days? This guy is a politician. If you want their money you strike while the iron is hot else they will give it to someone they owe a favor. Besides he told me I had to send it tonight as a favor because I told him you are the best at what you do.”

“Thank you for mentioning my name but please beg him for me. I can take tomorrow off work and get it done.”

“I’ll try but I can’t make promises.”

“Please…beg him for me. I will do an excellent job.”

“Sister Ego, you told me months ago you were praying for a second source of income.”

“Yes O!”

“Do you mean that since that time you did not actually prepare for the miracle you have been waiting on? Did you register a business name?”

“Errrm…No.”

“Did you write a business plan?”

“No.”

“Where was the money supposed to come from? Are you one of those believers who thinks someone will walk up to them and say ‘God bless you. The Lord ministered unto me that I should sell my car and give you the money because thou art a faithful servant in his vineyard’?” Roland had his arms crossed, gaze fixed on her.

She squirmed. “Is there anything wrong with that?”

“I bet you also believed all the money you have been giving in church will come back to you in multiple folds?”

“Is that not what we are taught…Pressed down, shaken together and running over shall men give into your bosom?” She was defiant.

Roland shook his head, smiling gently. “How does money flow?”

“I wish I knew. I have been working hard hoping for raise to no avail. I wish I could get a better job.” She sucked her teeth.

“No matter what you are paid, if you don’t understand the language of money, the spirit of mammon and kingdom finance, you will always be broke.”

“Huh?”

“I learned the hard way so bear with me if I am very direct.” He motioned to a chair.

“Hey people!” Bolanle joined them. “Good evening.”

“Hi Sis!”

“Join us. Bro Roland was about to give me a lecture on money.”

“Instead of lecture you can epp us with cash…” Bolanle laughed, half-joking, half-serious.

“What I am giving you is better than cash. It will save you from Pentecostal frustration.”

“Pentecostal frustration…”

“Yeah…doing all the things the holy book says without seeing results but being too afraid to complain so that thunder will not fire your head.” Roland rolled his eyes.

The ladies burst into laughter.

“I didn’t know you had a sense of humor,” Bolanle said.

“He must have got it from his fiancée…” Ego cleared her throat with intention.

“Are you engaged?” Bolanle got the message and played along. “A big congratulations!”

“Thank you. I fell very lucky.”

“I can imagine.” Ego swallowed.

“So…what was it you were going to teach us?”

“I’ll be brief. Money flows in the direction of value. The more value you provide, the more money you attract. If you provide value to a few people, you create few channels for money and vice versa.”

“Okay.” Ego nodded.

“It doesn’t matter how much money I am giving away, if I don’t create new channels, there will be no pressed down running over nothing.”

“Huh?”

“You will keep giving offering and getting poorer unless you open up more channels.”

“I have a job as a graphic artist,” Ego interjected.

“I am an accountant.”

“Good. It’s good you have a salary so you can use it to fund your ideas. Your present income is a reflection of what value your boss places on your services. But in the spirit realm, your financial worth is a function of the value you place on yourself. And your value increases by how many people you serve.”

“Hmm…” Bolanle murmured.

“What did Jesus say, ‘He who wants to be the greatest must be the servant of all’. Today I asked Ego for a proposal and a curriculum to qualify for an opportunity to make millions but she was not ready.”

“You took me by surprise,” Ego protested.

“That’s it. You should have been expectant. You have seed in the ground. This talent you have should have already been in the market. You should have been training people even if for free but that would have given you a testimonial and you would have a curriculum you could send to me at the snap of your fingers.” He snapped his fingers in emphasis.

Bolanle nodded. “That’s true. I have been thinking of creating a budget app unique to Nigerian shopping patterns but finance has been a challenge.”

“Do you have the idea written? Have you developed a business plan? Who have you approached to sponsor it?”

She bit her lip. “It was just an idea.”

“No it wasn’t. It was a portal opened to you so that you can receive your harvest. Instead of running with it, you have been waiting for miracles…24 hour miracles.” Roland checked his watch. “I actually met my fiancée at a course I took in Lagos Business School. She was the facilitator. Her parents are wealthy but she has carved a niche for herself by building a company from scratch.”

“Rub it in…” Ego pinched Bolanle.

“Ladies I’ve got to run.” He rose. “Put your ideas to work. Serve as many people as you can. From the money you make, save some, give away some, invest some and spend the rest on yourself. Manna has stopped falling.”

“Thanks Roland.” Ego rose and shook his hand.

Bolanle reached for a hug. “I appreciate it.”

He waved as he left.

Ego punched her friend on the shoulder. “You had to get a hug. Didn’t you hear he is engaged?”

“My sis…leave that thing. So that girl wants to take the most eligible bachelor in this church just like that? Make I collect hug na if the full thing no go reach me.” She laughed.

“God will give us our own. Don’t worry,” Ego said.

“Yes O!”

“Let’s rush home so I can put together the proposal he asked for. Even if I lose this opportunity it won’t happen next time. I need to be ready so the next time an angel shows up I will not be found wanting.”

“Shebi you know say na angel God send so?”

“Yup! I know it alright!”

 

 

THE END

 

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Cheers,

Dr.N

 

(P.S. I may not put up something every week but you can always send me an email via drnsmusings@yahoo.com or on twitter @nenabekee).