Just this morning I was developing an outline for this post in my mind and I honestly wasn't sure if Steemit was the platform to share my many experiences over the years ; I kept on remembering different instances in my life I would have made a mistake however the still small voice in my heart kept leading me in the right direction.
So you can imagine how i must have felt when I came on the platform and saw this contest by @jerrybanifield It only just confirmed to me that the universe is ready for me to put my experiences out there.
I will share instances where the Holy Spirit led me out of dangerous situations,it is my prayer that my experiences would help you become more conscious of the promptings in your heart and also follow his leadings.
SAVED FROM MAJOR ARMED ROBBERY ATTACK BY THE LEADING OF THE HOLYSPIRIT:
It was the year 2012, I had been posted to Lagos state for my National Youth Service; "a compulsory one year scheme for Nigerian graduates to serve the nation in different roles. The scheme requires participants to be posted to other parts of the country different from the participants primary place of residence."
I was deployed to work in a financial institution on the island while I lived on the mainland. Commuting from my mainland residence to the island was a long distance journey coupled with the infamous time consuming traffic in Lagos city; I would wake up by 4.00am to get ready for work so as to meetup with the 8:00am resumption time. Though the official closing hour was 5pm we didn't leave the office till about 7pm by the time I commuted back to my side of town, it was 9.30pm. I would usually get home by 10pm.
Anyhow on this particular day, I had gotten to Cele bus stop at about 8pm; I was excited,because it was one of the earliest times I had gotten to that part of town; usually I would take a bus going to Century bus stop another twenty to thirty five minutes drive from Cele bus stop all things being equal that there was no traffic.Well on this particular day, I heard in my heart not to take the bus but rather take the motorcycles that also ply the route.
You see I preferred taking the buses as they were safer than the motorcycles. In that part of town criminals used motorcycles to commit various types of crimes ranging from theft,kidnapping and ritual killings. So as much as it was in my power I avoided motorcycles,it didn't help matters I usually get to Cele bus stop at 9pm; so you can imagine how conflicted I was when the still small voice in my heart asked me not to take the bus but motorcycle. I struggled with the thought for a while but decided to obey anyhow,I reasoned 8pm wasn't too late so nothing could happen.
As I boarded the motorcycle,the man decided not to take the major road,he chose to pass through certain shortcuts I was unfamiliar with,I was scared. I began to question the sensibility of obeying the Holy Spirit. I was relieved when in less than 15 minutes we got to Century bus stop what a sigh of relief I had. I took another bike home and went about my business.
The next day my guardian informed me that there had being a major armed robbery attack on commuters. The robbers went from vehicle to vehicle collecting phones and valuables. You see at point I got to the bus stop I didn't know that the state government had commenced repairs on the major road I would have normally taken, so the repairs resulted in causing a gridlock for those returning from work. The robbers took advantage of the gridlock to rob unsuspecting road users. Had I taken the bus and ignored the prompting not to take the bus, I would have been a victim of that armed robbery attack.
##SAVED FROM CHANDELIER ACCIDENT##
As a baby in the cot, my mum says that on a particular day, she heard a voice tell her to remove me from the cot, She said as soon as she took me out of the cot, the chandelier in the sitting room collapsed and fell directly into the cot I had been laying down on. Had my mum not obeyed the prompting in her heart, I could have died during that episode.
##SAVED FROM A RAPE EXPERIENCE##
Looking back now, the incidence was very funny but then it wasn't as I could have gotten raped by a male friend, I escaped just by the whiskers. I was fourteen and had just gotten admission into the university; I met this particular fellow lets call him John on my way back from church service. He was a youth corp member(a compulsory one year scheme for Nigerian graduates) serving in my city. He was young i think 21 at the time. For my 14 year old mind he was buff. Hahahahaha seriously i liked him. We quickly became friends though he never asked me to date him. I usually didn't visit him at home as our conversation was by text and phone calls. This was before the days of whatsapp lol. We would have long calls just talking about sweet nothings. I guess i was carried away by the fact that he was a graduate and I caught his fancy.
One particular day, i was on a semester break; I got a text from John that he had a fever and would love for me to come and spend some time with him. At first i was startled by the text message because like seriously 'i am not your nanny' On a second thought i convinced myself that a 'friend' was ill and all that was required from me, was my presence . I got dressed and went to his house.
The compound had a block of flats and was purpose built like a hostel. So you had university students, corp members, young professionals in the building. When I got there, I had some misgivings as each flat was blasting loud music, it was deafening but then why over think stuff i was only visiting a sick friend.
John was excited to see me,however i became confused because my supposed sick friend was hale and haerty. He even went to the nearby kiosk to get me biscuits and drinks. I kept my cool and went with the flow. He explained to me it was best we stayed in his room, as the common area was rowdy and not convenient for a special guest like me. We went into his room, I sat on the plastic chair, while he laid on the bed. We talked about his experience in university and how he was coping in a new city,just light stuff. Mind you all the while I was in his room, the other flat mates where playing really really loud music.
The conversation graduated from innocent stuff to 'Do you have a boyfriend?' 'Have you ever had sex' etc. Initially I felt i could handle the whole scenerio, I however became uneasy when John stylishly lucked his room door and hid the keys. Being a naive 14 year old, I didn't have the balls to confront him; I assumed he wouldn't harm me. Well i was wrong!
John began to caress me and even when I objected he ignored me and continued to caress my body. I accessed the situation and knew i was in trouble, nobody would hear me scream because loud music was being blasted everywhere! I would be blamed for going to visit a male friend alone in his room; my options at that moment were very slim. I could either give in consensually and loose my virginity or risk being raped violently. I made a prayer to God to help me and I heard in my heart to begin crying. I was amazed at the thought, here i was with a guy engrossed in the heat of passion, no one could help me even if i screamed and my only inspiration was to cry. I heard the voice again, 'CRY' It all the muscles in me i began to cry profusely, at first John ignored me and continued caressing, however the more i cried the more he got turned of. He began to beg me and even ordered me to leave his room saying he did not want further embarrasment. He said I was embarrassing him lol. I quickly got myself out of his house very shakened as I had cried myself a storm! I was greatful i obeyed the prompting to cry because my 'friend' could have raped me and gotten away with it. I am great ful i wasn't raped eventually.