Sometimes, it's important to just need to sit in silence and listen to the Lord, praising Him, and glorifying His name for all that He has done for you. And that's exactly what I was doing.
I knelt on the hardwood flooring and my hands lifted up into the heavens, for as long as I was still breathing, I would worship him for he had shown me so much compassion, grace and love that he deserved all the worship.
You were the Word at the beginning
One with God the Lord Most High
Your hidden glory in creation
Now revealed in You our Christ
What a beautiful Name it is
What a beautiful Name it is
The Name of Jesus Christ my King
What a beautiful Name it is
Nothing compares to this
What a beautiful Name it is
The Name of Jesus
You didn't want heaven without us
So, Jesus, You brought heaven down
My sin was great, Your love was greater
What could separate us now?
A wave of warmth washed over me, filling my heart with peace. At that moment, I knew with certainty that the Lord God Almighty was all around - within. Tears of joy spilt down my cheeks at the incredible grace and overflowing love the Lord held for each of us. In an instant, all words fell away as I knelt in prayer, sensing the very Heart of the Creator beating as one with my own. Time itself seemed to still as I was lifted into a state of pure communion - one soul uniting with the Source from which all souls flow.
The Lord embraced me wholly, meeting me exactly where I was —in my struggles, my questions, my yearning for Truth. In that embrace, all worries dropped away.
Thank you, Lord...
Was the song of my heart.
****
After much contemplation and prayer, I had decided where Nio and I would go for the first time.
"An orphanage?" Nio asked dumbfounded though his expression remained stoic.
"Yes," I did not elaborate further, because I just wanted him to see the beauty of the Lord behind what seemed like ashes.
As we made our way through the bustling streets of Rome, a hush fell over our car. It was a peaceful silence, one that allowed me to take in the sights and sounds of the city around me. And yet, despite the noise and chaos of the traffic, my eyes were drawn to the sky above.
The arch of the rainbow painting the sky with its vibrant and dynamic colours, stood as a stark reminder of the covenant the Lord had made with every living creature upon this Earth, that He would never flood the Earth once again and a powerful and great reminder that the bigger the storm the bigger, the brighter the rainbow would be.
As the rainbow disappeared behind the horizon, I noticed that we had entered a deeper and older part of the city, it was less boisterous and more er but didn't diamond come out of the rough?
"Where to now?" Nio asked sceptically at the place I had decided to bring him. He knew that it was out of the city but not the exact location.
"Take a turn to the right and then you will drive straight into the clearing that you will see," I explained, knowing the area as well as the back of my hand; having seen and analysed it multiple times on social media as the Holy Spirit had pressed upon my spirit to give to the less fortunate and what better way of doing so than providing food to the orphanage? It was not much but it would be something that would bring the most amount of joy and peace to my heart so I knew that this was the perfect place to come and bring along Nio, not only to bring him closer to the Lord but to give him something out of his comfort zone.
Before I knew it, Nio's car was parked outside an old medieval-styled building. Little children played around the acres of land the building was established on.
As usual, Nio instructed me to stay put and as the gentleman he was, he cut the engine of the luxuriant car he was driving and rounded it before opening my door. This time around though he did not hesitate to offer me his hand which I gladly accepted, and the same tingles grew in the pit of my stomach but now at least I did not have to hide my feelings, because he also had confessed his love for me, which I still found staggering and perplexing. After all, who could've thought that someone I secretly loved, also held the same feelings for me?
"What is your little mind thinking of, amore?" Nio asked with a raised brow, a flicker of amusement dancing in his grey orbs.
What was the point of lying? I smiled, "How someone I loved, also loved me back."
"And here I was also counting myself lucky for finding such a gem of a woman that allowed me to love her and loved me back," that very rare occurrence happened, he genuinely smiled, and I took my time observing his handsome features, how he did not look like he carried the world on his shoulder when he smiled and let loose a bit.
"Not lucky but blessed," I muttered, still taken by his intricate features.
"Yeah, blessed. You do know that it is creepy to look at someone like that, right?" Suddenly he stopped smiling and I expected him to get angry at my staring, and I prepared myself to apologise when he said the most unexpected words, "But if you are the creep, then I do not mind." His grey orbs held only the sincerest of truth. He sure knew how to make a girl swoon.
However, I think that those words might have been a slip-up because as quickly as they came, they were gone and the walls that he was slowly breaking apart were cemented once more.
"Are you okay?" I asked, touching his arm in comfort and concern.
"Yeah," he said nonchalantly as though he did not see how closed off he was all of a sudden.
I did not push him further but rather prayed for him, what you could not help with then God could definitely take charge off after all he was the peacemaker and the lover of our souls.
Lord, please calm his heart, please take away his worries and anxieties. Let your everlasting peace engulf him like a fluffy cloud. In Jesus' mighty name. Amen.
Now all I had to do was watch the Lord help him through whatever it is that he was going through.
As we approached the entrance to the orphanage, we were struck by the sight of a well-maintained pathway leading up to the building. Despite the exterior of the building appearing to be run-down and in need of repair, the joyful sounds of children's laughter echoed throughout the yard, indicating that their living conditions did not diminish their spirits.
As we walked along the pathway, we couldn't help but notice how tidy and well-manicured the grounds were. The orphanage staff clearly took great pride in maintaining a clean and welcoming environment for the children.
Despite the challenges faced by the children living there, the sounds of laughter and the sight of smiling faces were a testament to the resilience and strength of the Lord, living within those little ones. It was clear that, despite their difficult circumstances, they were able to find joy and happiness in the simple pleasures of life, through the Lord that lived within them.
As we entered the building, some children stopped to stare at us, some in confusion, and some even scared. We were greeted by the warm and friendly staff, who were clearly dedicated to providing the best possible care for the children in their charge. It was heartening to see the positive impact that the orphanage was having on the lives of these children.
"So, you are here to donate?" The owner of the orphanage; Caterina asked, looking at us with anticipation, her eyes bright and wide as she waited for our response.
"Yes, though it is nothing much but we hope that it will make a difference," I replied smiling up at the older lady who was grinning from ear to ear. I had saved up a bit of money and stopped eating out in hopes of helping those in need, especially innocent children for the Word of the Lord said in Hebrew 13:16 that we should not neglect to do good and to share what we have, for the Lord is pleased with such sacrifices.
"Oh, thank you so so much!" Overwhelmed with gratitude, she expressed her heartfelt thanks with tears welling up in her eyes. Her emotions were palpable as she conveyed how much the gesture meant to her. She was deeply touched by the kindness and generosity that I was able to extend to her with the guidance of the Almighty Lord, and it was clear that the impact of this act of kindness would stay with her for a long time.
As she stood up from her seat, she opened her arms wide as a gesture of appreciation.
At that moment, it was clear that what I took as a simple act of giving had created a ripple effect of positivity and goodwill that would continue to spread far beyond that moment. It was all for the glory of the Lord.
"It is all the works of the Lord," I said, embracing her in a warm hug.
"Thank you, Jeshua," she whispered under her breath, slowly releasing me from the hug.
I took a seat on the chair in front of the wooden desk, as she wiped the tears that had spilt on her cheeks and took her seat.
"We haven't received any donations in months and have just been pushing by, but with your money, there will be a huge difference."
Caterina removed a paged document from her drawer, initialising it, and signing where necessary, "Please sign and initialise this document, it is just a formality to acknowledge your donation and so we have valid proof of your donation."
I nodded as she explained and took a glance at Nio, who was silent the entire time, his eyes were focused elsewhere, as though he was thinking through something, I just hoped that it was nothing too serious.
"Here you go," Caterina said, handing over the document along with a black pen.
The document was not too long, the only page that required a lot of time was the payment page, and as I was about to write the amount of money I was going to donate, Nio took hold of my hand— halting me from my writing.
"Yes?" I asked curious as to why he had stopped me from writing.
"I would like to donate five thousand pounds," he said shocking not only myself but Caterina. If my mouth was not touching the ground, then I don't know what was.
Caterina's eyes were as wide as saucers, "What?" She uttered in bewilderment at the shocking amount of money that Nio was willing to donate.
"Yes, in fact, let, me write down a cheque right now," he said, seamlessly removing the chequebook that I did not know he carried around. He signed off the cheque and handed it to Caterina who took hold of it with shaky hands, still shocked as I as she read the numbers highlighted on the cheque.
Once the whole process was over and the shock had dissipated we shook hands with Caterina who was only filled with the greatest gratitude.
"Can we please see the children?" I asked as she walked us out of the office.
"Oh! Of course, of course! Please come this way," she led the way to the outside of the building where the children were still playing.
"Why are we going to see the children?" Nio asked lowly, so Caterina did not hear a single thing as she walked ahead of us.
"Just so we can get to know them," I simply replied but it was not that simple, it was a way of Nio seeing the Lord's merciful hand upon the children and seeing how he was not a dictator but a friend and father.
"Children, please gather up, I would like you to meet some people," Caterina said in a light tone and a soft smile as children of all creeds ran, walked and even crawled towards her. Babies were held by other members of the staff.
"This is Destiny and Antonio, today they donated, so you will finally receive your medications and school supplies all thanks to them," she said wiping away her tears.
I turned away from the children as tears were also about to spill from my eyes and in no time they slid down my cheeks, I was overwhelmed with feelings of pain for the innocent children who had the most difficult upbringings but could still smile and laugh.
A warm, calloused hand gently wiped my tears away, and I looked up to find Nio looking at me with worried eyes, the rarest emotion I had ever seen on his face.
"What's wrong?" He asked as he linked our hands together, rubbing the back of my hand in a soft and slow rhythm.
"Nothing-" I started but he shook his head, indicating that he only wanted the truth from me.
I sighed, "It is just so heart-aching to see the difficult upbringing these children have, I mean, they do not have parents and now they cannot even learn because they do not have school supplies." My voice croaked at the end as fresh tears formed in my eyes.
"I can always give them more money," he suggested, but that was not what I wanted.
"No, you have done more than enough, thank you, but you can give them happiness and a bit of love, can you do that for me?" I asked looking into the grey eyes I had come to love.
He looked conflicted on what to say, "I guess that I can try."
"That's all that I could ever ask for," I squeezed our hands, giving him a smile
"Everything alright?" Caterina asked walking up to us.
"Yes, sorry. I just grew emotional," I said looking up to her as she nodded with an understanding smile and led us back to the expectant children.
"Who would like to show them their talent?" Caterina asked, gently staring down at the children.
A minute passed by and we thought no one would volunteer until a beautiful young girl that looked to be Avelina's age shyly rose her hand up, taking hesitant steps forward.
"Oh, Elena, please come, come," Caterina encouraged her with a huge smile.
She shyly peeked at us from behind her long lashes and I gave her a warm smile. I dared to take a glance at Nio, who to my surprise was softly smiling down at the girl.
"L-look around. All you s-see is majestic, beautiful, u-unique, it has a beginning and will have an e-end, but its Creator has no end, He is everlasting, take a look at the skies and see His faithfulness, see how they proclaim the works of His hands, ask the animals and they will tell you that the Lord has created all that you see, finally lift your eyes and look to the heavens. Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of His great power and m-mighty strength, not one of them is missing."