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"🎶When my heart is overwhelmed
Troubles feel like they won't end,
I will hold on to your peace and rest in you..... Situations standing tall, and the mountains very high, I will never lose my faith I will trust in you." Prince Ire sang, capturing every mind on the seats with his voice. They've heard amazing voices all their lives, but they missed out on one and they couldn't help but watch him as he continued. Though he had never done such before, he sang from his heart like he would have taken every other song so passionately. "🎶Oh oh oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh oh.... I will hold on to your peace and rest in you. Oh oh oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh oh.... I will never lose my faith I will trust in you." Slowly, Prince Ire's hand was balled into a fist directing it towards the drummer who stopped the drum, including the instruments.
For some seconds, Prince Ire held the microphone with his eyes closed again. He had been long he stepped into the church since he came back to Nigeria but there were some christian songs he couldn't live without listening to. Slowly, he came in with another song. "🎶See the way you love me." That first statement brought almost everyone on their feet. At that moment, they couldn't just sit and watch any longer. They were into his voice, into the song and their spirit became lifted. Prince Ire moved forward with his eyes still closed as he continued. "🎶see the way you care for me. You carry my matter for your head o...E na'eme obi na som." He was no longer the only one singing. The whole congregation had joined him in singing with their happy voices. "🎶like a little baby. You watch over me. You no dey carry me dey play o.... E na'eme obi na som."
🎶Ah ah ah ah
Ah ah ah ah.....
Obina som oh ooo...
E na'eme obi na som.
The instruments stopped again, and slowly, he added another song. "🎶 All things are working for my good. He's intentional. Never failing..." The drum and the instruments came in slowly with it, and immediately everyone joined him in singing the next part. Slowly, they took it together again. "🎶I know that all things are working for my good, he's intentional, never failing....I don't have to worry cause, it's working for me!"
"Common!"
"It's working for me!" The whole congregation yelled. "I believe it's working for me..."
"Yes!"
"It's working for me!"
Prince Ire smiled. He was finally enjoying himself and slowly he laughed. "Let's take this," he said slowly, but suddenly his voice came out louder. "🎶First it was fragrance!"
The way his voice vibrated through all the speakers of the church caused everyone to yell, became even more excited and very filled to sing again.
He stopped, and repeated again. This time around the sound coming from the drum set was loud, making repeated hits for the song. "Haha! 🎶I say first it was fragrance! Then it turned to fire!" His eyes were no longer closed as everyone joined him singing. "🎶My worship is my weapon. This is how I win my battle!"
The excitement coming from the congregation helped him to really enjoyed himself too. He wanted to keep singing but he knew his time was going. At first, he didn't want to say much. His initial plan was to sing at least one song and added little to whatever Moyin planned on saying. But instead, the opposite happened. He was excited and wanted to keep singing. Everything he went through really pushed him to sing more than he wanted to. Somehow he realised it had been God all through. He realised God was merciful to him. His mom did her best to talk to him and his siblings about God several times. Some years ago, he could remember telling himself his mom's own was too much. He could remember telling himself prayer was nothing. God does not exist. Life has nothing to offer, and everything his mom kept telling him wasn't necessary. But few years back, God chased him down. And here he was, becoming a man he never imagined he could become.
"Wow! I've never seen Uncle Ire sing like that." Prince Goriola said to Ara who was beside him. "You know I've heard him sing many times so passionately that I concluded his love for music is not from this world, but right now, I hope to be like him to always outdo myself in anything I do."
Aramade smiled. Happy to hear that coming from Prince Ire's younger brother. Prince Ire insisted Prince Goriola followed him cause he wanted him to be part of the programme and listen to everything that would be said by the invited guests. It was obvious he never wanted his younger brother to walk in his steps or follow the same path he walked. Some minutes after, everywhere was quiet. Everyone took their seats, and immediately Prince Ire's voice came out through the microphone.
"Some years back, I was that guy who was in love with drugs. Any kind of drug that would make me forget about my worries. Somehow, I found myself in this cave because of how I thought back then. There is so much negativity thoughts can cause us. There is more too much of high expectations from people can turn us into. There is even a lot more we suffer from when we hold grudges against someone or people. That mentality that some people owe us is really spoiling a lot of things for some of us." Prince Ire said. "Trying to get back at my parents because I thought they owe me lots of things which they never get to give me made me party so hard, stay under the influence of drug and alcohol everyday to make them unhappy. Living with no dreams, no vision, no worries, no plans for the future. Just living for nothing." Prince Ire came down, walking close to the congregation.
"Just like me, a lady has turned into an option she shouldn't. You think the future will understand you? Or you think life will be fair on you? That you slept with the father of your future husband because things were hard for you and you needed to cater for yourself? If you had known he's the father to the man you will end up settling with, you would never had done it? No, no, no." Prince Ire shook his head. "I wish life understands that I ventured into drugs because my father was never there to care for me just the way I wanted. May be life would have pity me and not let someone take advantage of me to accuse me as a murderer for something I never did. The truth is, life will always take advantage of your excuse."
Prince Ire stayed silent for some seconds before he continued. "At eighteen, I had a car of my own. I sold it, cause I knew I would get another one. At nineteen, I got a bentley, but I decided to kill myself with it which I didn't succeed. Somehow, I knew what I was doing was killing me. I knew what I was doing was bad. One time or the other, I was ashamed when I saw other kids doing well because deep down, I knew what I was doing wasn't right. Same goes to you. Blaming your parents for failing to provide for you when all you wanted to have was human hair of something thousand used by a girl whose parents are high class of people, while your parents sells under the sun and make twenty to fifty thousand naira every day or weekly. That's even if some parents make up to that weekly." Prince Ire said, seeing how some faces suddenly looked sad because he was telling the truth. He might have sounded harsh, but that was because he didn't know any other way to have said it.
He continued. "Out of it, your school fees, your siblings, your foodstuffs. Rent, handouts! Are going with it. How many things do you think she can afford to give you out of that fifty thousand naira? Now you want something her salary can't even afford to give you, and because of that, you start holding grudges because she bought a new sandal after many years of wearing the old ones. Start clinching with some friends you said you will never get involved with, blaming your mom, your parents for doing so. Who is ungrateful? Who failed to realise these people are giving their best even though it's small. And at the end, who says life is not fair?" Prince asked. After then, he allowed Moyin to share what he had in mind too.
"A particular year," Moyin continued from where Prince Ire's stopped. "I ran away from home because I had many complaints against my parents. They never cared, they were too busy, the way they disgust me, the way I wish they didn't give birth to me. May be it would have been better if I had no mother at all. If they never gave birth to me." Moyin became emotional. "Today my mom is late. My Dad is late." His eyes were instantly soaked with tears, but he managed to say the rest in had in mind. "Now I realise how much I need them in my life. I was confused by what is happening in my friends homes. I wanted my mom to be like this so so mom. You know nowadays we put all the blame on parents, that we all turn out to become who we are today because of them. Good or bad. We blame them for everything." Moyin stood side by side with Ire.
"But the truth is," he continued. "Our lives are in our hands. What we become is because we choose to become with it. They can't be blame for everything happening in our lives. We judge them too quickly forgetting they are occupied just to give us the best they can."
The whole church was silent listening attentively to what the two guys were saying. Prince Ire who didn't wish to say much finally concluded. "From what I've learnt, the past will always catch up with the future. Everything we are doing right this moment is waiting for us years to come. So, to everyone here, let's live our today well enough by making good decisions, following peace with all men, and serve God more. I wish I knew God those days, may be it would have been a different story." Prince Ire said. "I really appreciate everyone who came out today."
The congregation honoured him with a round of applause. He had really touched them even though he thought he didn't say much. Moyin moved closer and hugged Prince Ire. He released him and said through the mic. "I'm glad we are alive to tell this story."
Prince Ire smiled at him. "I've realise even in our dirt, God still chases people down for his glory. You are a blessing to me. Thank you Moyin. For being a friend back in the days, and now." The two friends hugged each other again before Prince Ire stepped down among the congregation.
When he got down, he took his seat beside Aramade. He threw her a quick glance. "How was it?"
"I'm so proud of you bro!" Prince Goriola answered instead, causing Prince Ire to smile, but he still needed Aramade's response. He looked up at her.
Ara smiled at him. "Thank you for blessing many souls with your story today. We love you sir."
A bigger smile replaced the frown on Prince Ire's face. He couldn't hide how Ara's response made his day.
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Hallelujah somebody 😄 God is good🙏
How about now, we are moving to chapter 79🤭🤭🤭🤭