Here comes the 101st Edition of this contest and I chose to answer question two inspired by @tibaire which says:
2๏ธโฃ Let's talk about a resilient woman, it can be your friend, family member, co-worker, etc. What is her life challenge and what did she do to overcome the trial she faced?
There is something peculiar about this woman and I can't help but share this story. If only you would take your time to read to the end, then you would see why I chose to share her story. Without further ado, this is her story.
This is my friend, her name is Louisa.
I met Louisa back in 2016, and we both attended the same Fashion Institute.
Louisa was married and had her first child in 2017.
This is her first son, his name is David.
David is a cute vibrant boy whom I was so fond of, along the line she had a second son and she was extremely happy.
Louisa was a Togolese who lived in Nigeria and she was married to a Nigerian who was based in America.
She had to stay with her parent for the time being to work her way overseas to meet her husband. Everything was going fine with her life until this fateful day.
One Sunday evening, she returned from church and wanted to prepare her first son who was about 2 years old for school the next day, being an industrious mom, she went to a nearby store to get noodles for her child which she was going to prepare the next morning being Monday, David wanted to accompany her to the store but she asked him to stay behind with his aunt who was living next door to theirs.
That was the greatest mistake of her life.๐๐๐๐
In about 30mins or there she came home, she wasn't bothered about the whereabouts of David because she felt he had gone to meet his aunt next door.
She went into her house, dropped the noodles, arranged his schoolbag, and did all the necessary things needed for the next day to avoid the morning rush routine.
She decided to go get her son when she went to her aunty's house, the story changed, her aunty claimed she hadn't set her eyes on the boy, Louisa searched the whole house but couldn't find David.๐๐๐
She became worried, she called his name but there was no response, after many hours of searching, she decided to report the matter to the nearest police station, but you know the police will only declare a person missing after 24 hours, it wasn't 24hours yet.
Louisa posted on her WhatsApp status about David missing, when I viewed the status, I quickly put a call across to her to confirm, and then I got worried too, I made sure I went to her house that evening.
We took different routes to search for David๐ฉ, neighbors joined us but we couldn't find him. Three days passed and yet no one could tell the whereabouts of our beloved David.
Well, to cut the long story short, the fourth-day neighbors started to perceive an unpleasant odor around the neighborhood. Lo and behold it was the corpse of our beloved David oozing๐๐๐.
Guess where he was found? In a soak pit in front of his aunt's house, nobody knows how he got in there, maybe he fell in there on his way to her flat, we just couldn't tell how it happened.
She was heartbroken and depressed, how will she tell David's dad, that David was no more? How could she learn to live without her vibrant son? So many questions.
Well, I took it upon myself to give her words of encouragement, especially from the word of God, because that is the only place we find true comfort, I kept visiting her every day and on days I couldn't visit, I made sure I called her to encourage her, she mustered up the courage to tell his dad who was in the diaspora the situation on the ground, thankfully things didn't get out of hands.
What did she do to overcome the trial she faced?
Louisa realized there was nothing she could do to bring David back to life, she decided to be strong for herself, and the baby left with her which was David's brother.
She vowed never to let the other baby out of her sight, wherever she went, she went with him.
She limited the way she entrusts her child to another person and she showered the only baby left with her with so much love and attention.
Note too, she remained in her parent's house and didn't let the thought of guilt consume her, though she withdrew from her aunt living next door, she resumed her fashion business to get her mind off the situation on the ground.
What I admire most about her, was her being so resilient after this life-changing event.
She found the strength to carry on, in a situation where many would have lost control, it wasn't so easy to get back on track but Louisa was determined to be happy. Whenever I visited her I never heard her complaining about that same story, she had a positive outlook and she always wore a smile.
This is the screenshot of one of the conversations we had, I was always there to encourage her, even on WhatsApp.
God came thru for her.
It got to a point, I stopped seeing her in the neighborhood.
A screenshot of our conversation.
Her visa was approved and my friend relocated with her baby to the U.S to meet her husband.
She and her beautiful family.
In time She got pregnant again๐๐
And guess what?
All these screenshots are to prove to you that this story is a true-life story.
She and her new baby boy are at the hospital.
God replaced what she had lost and gave her in grander style, this new baby is automatically a U.S citizen. Isn't that beautiful?
Why did I share her story?
I chose to share this particular story to encourage anyone going thru some sort of trial.
Every problem has an expiring date, learn to be effective in difficulties, stay strong, and stay positive, this too shall pass.
You are not defined by your pain, please never think of ending it all, be like Louisa who finds the strength to get back to her normal life, find friends who you can trust, and let it all out.
Pray! God heals the broken-hearted ones and it is only his blessing that can make you truly happy.
What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, When it is over, you would realize how strong of a woman you are.
And if you have a friend going thru some sort of challenge, please always encourage them and check up on them, it goes a long way to healing them.
All images were sent to me on WhatsApp by my friend. Except for the screenshots.Thank you for stopping by, it is your girl Amie Geoffrey.
@merit.ahama and @princessbusayo I invite you to join this contest. We would love to hear from you.