Isabelle had been swimming through poverty swamps for aeon, and now she started to think that God was partial. Born in a city dominated by the rich class, Isabelle wondered why everyone in this neighborhood lived in affluence whilst she lived from hand to mouth with her mother; helping her mother to clean houses and wash clothes for the wealthy to earn a peasant living. She never knew her father. The father, a taxi driver, died in an auto-crash when Isabelle was eight months old in her mother’s womb. Her mother endured the brunt of early widowhood with no one to come to her aid, not even her family. She did her best to make Isabelle happy, and managed to see her daughter through secondary education. Isabelle fell critically ill just a year after graduating from a public secondary school; an ailment that threatened her life. Her mother saved her with love. Isabelle needed blood to stay alive. The depressed mother, who had not eaten for more than 24 hours, determined to save her daughter’s life, offered to donate the blood. Being a hospital enshrouded with quackery, without taking cognizance of the poor widow’s state of health, took her blood, and she died few minutes after donating her blood.
Isabelle left the hospital, now a healthy orphan. A tornado of sorrow had just greeted the wind of hardships that she’d hitherto lived with. “Where will I go from here?” This was a question that slapped her with an excruciating silence.
She was a beauty, envied by her female friends who felt she attracted the men to herself; but a delightful sight to men who saw her to be a good sex object to exploit. Isabelle would not pitch a hole on the solid Christian faith she’d imbibed; a faith her late mother properly nurtured her into. She retired to her late mother’s job to stay busy and alive.
Now seventeen years of age, Isabelle got stung by a highly venomous loneliness, and she needed somebody, a guy, to heal her of this loneliness bite. It was that apt time to consider one out of these numerous men that had consistently made advances at her. Isabelle started having relationships. The first three guys she’d dated left her broken-hearted because she was too keen on keeping her virginity till that wedding night which only lived in her dreams. And here was Ken, the fourth, threatening to leave her again. She wasn’t prepared to lose Ken. Not anymore. ‘Perhaps sex was all that keep relationships’. She thought. And so she gave in to the pressure. Ken joyfully deflowered her and boastfully told his friends he was the ultimate man.
The relationship with Ken which had been sustained by sex was broken with the news of pregnancy. Ken abandoned her as she would not agree to abort the innocent baby. And now her world was crumbling.
“Why is life so hard and cruel to me?” She asked herself. She thought something was wrong with herself; perhaps she was an evil child. Why did father have to die while mum was pregnant with me? Mum died because of me. She thought to herself. “The world hates me, it offers others with good things, but to me it gives nothing. Am I cursed?” she thought.
All by herself, she took care of herself and her pregnancy with her earnings from washing. Nine months later, she gave birth to a baby boy. Life became so difficult for her, taking care of herself and the baby. Through it all, she never abandoned her faith. She was a regular member in the church. Her friends who knew she had a beautiful voice and sings well, advised her to join the choir. Isabelle was reluctant to joining the choir because she was shy. But with more pressure from her friends in the church choir, she joined.
One beautiful Sunday, Isabelle gave an excellent rendition of a song in the church that got all eyes and attention in the church gummed to her side. The voice was beautiful, powerful and spiritual. When the church service came to an end, she had a pretty good time shaking hands with people who thronged at her, expressing their delight in her voice. One of them was a music producer who had just found somebody whose voice would be excellent in music business.
He soon signed her into his records, and Isabelle became a superstar, doing so many inspirational, gospel and love songs. Few years later, she got married to the wonderful man of her dream. Isabelle is today blessed with a beautiful home; four children and a wonderful husband.
She remembered her thought that God was partial and that the world was offering her nothing while it offered good life to others. But now she has realized that God is impartial. Now she says; “God gave every human a gift to give to the world: until you give that gift to the world, the world would offer you nothing. The world only offers appreciation to the gift you give to her. That appreciation is the material possession you get. If the world has not offered you anything, it means you owe the world. Give the world the gift you owe her, and the world will appreciate you with your heart desire.”
