Church Girl Part 2

At 11pm, her bed time, they were still chatting. The last time she stayed up this late chatting with anyone was when she was planning her late mother’s birthday party with her sister. It turned out to be her last one. In a year, she had degenerated to shell of who she was. Her cheek bones popping out, her otherwise flawless skin now so rough like an elephant’s back. Wrinkles all over despite her relatively young age- she was in her late forties. She was now a shadow of her former self. Every time she’d look at herself in the mirror, she would break down. A few days to her birthday, she passed on. They buried her on her birthdate. It was weird, they sang her favourite hymn- In Christ Alone- as they lowered the casket. The words, ‘from life first cry, to final breath’ never made so much sense like they did now. That song has remained with her. When they sing it in church, she tears up, it has some finality to it, like death.

On Mondays, she prefers the early morning shift. She reports to work at 6 am. Mondays are sacred for her since her high school days. It was when she was in high school- a day school- she knew she wanted to be a nurse after witnessing an accident on her way to school. The medics got there first. Stuck in traffic, she liked how they handled the whole thing. She wanted to do the same. It is the doctors who get most credit, but the nurses are also heroes in their own way. They care for the patients. They observe the patients. They give them hope. Make their stay in hospital bearable. And when death comes knocking, they prepare them for transition to eternity. But at 12:30am, she was still chatting with him, half asleep.

But before they could say goodnight, she told him ‘you can come to my house one of these fine days for devotion.’

Again, this got him off guard. Never saw it coming. He liked the fact that so far he couldn’t predict her but a bit worried that he was not in control. He replied, ‘I will, if you promise to put on the full armor of God.’

She sent a smiley face emoji and said,’ Good night handsome. See you soon.’

It took him a few minutes to take it in and reply, it was a long time since someone called him handsome, he was no Justin Bieber. But this girl had decided to stroke his ego. He decided to flow with it. He replied, ‘you too beautiful.’ He meant it, she was very easy on the eye. Maybe the reason she was an usher. He wondered why she was still single…. And for the rest of the night, he wondered how it is to date a church girl, in this case, a God’s house gatekeeper.

In the morning, he woke up to a text from her. “Hi boy, is it too early to say good morning?” Sent in at 5:05am. She is an early riser. She loves the sound of the birds chirping every morning, that, and the fact that on most days, she has to report to work early. Him on the other hand is a night owl; he thrives in darkness. He is most productive in the calm of the night. He is a Business Dev guy by day and a chef by night. The day job feeds his lifestyle and the night one feeds his soul. At night, the recipes come to him, he writes them down. He is most creative at night. Like many creatives, he cannot remember the last time he saw the sunrise despite his bedroom window having a spectacular view.

Still feeling groggy, he had woken up to take a routine morning leak, he read the text again, and it woke him up. He was now super alert. He didn’t expect to hear from her so soon. The second time this was happening in as many days.  He must have made an impression. He texted back, “Hi Sunshine, it can never be too early to hear from you….” Then added, “must I wait until Sunday to see you?”

She doesn’t reply until midday. She loves mind games. She knew that would rip him apart. On the other end, the guy was panicking. Did he make a move to soon? Did he offend her? Did she feel like he was coming out too strongly? So when a he got a text from her saying “Sunday is too far…,” he did a small jig. Relieved. Smiling even. His face lit up. His breathing was heavier than normal. He remembered the movie, “In Love With a Church Girl,” was he about to become that guy? Was he falling for this girl he barely knew and has only seen her several times at the church entrance and has talked to her once? Is this how love looks like? He had never felt this before. Is it something sacred he’s feeling or is it the Spirit that she talked about that’s moving?

He then texted back and said, “yeah, tonight will be too soon, Wednesday too mainstream, but Friday we can run this town.”  In his mind, he had other motives because that is how he did it. Get a girl. Excite her. Hit it. Then bolt. That is what he had done with the five other girls he had met in the past two years.  He replied with a cheeky emoji and this time it didn’t take her long to reply. She loves being in charge and the only way to ensure she has this under control was to invite him to her place. Her territory. She told him, “Cool, dinner at my place on Friday. Gates close at 7pm, if you show up after 7pm...’’

Now becoming bolder, he asked, “What will happen? Will I miss heaven too? I will keep time ma’am.” This time he puts a love heart emoji and then asks... “What should I bring?”

“Bring your full armour…” Then laughed.

“All right church girl.”

They didn’t text talk again for the rest of the day.

He is both anxious and excited.

Anxious because he thinks she might call him and cancel their Friday date. And tell him something like, ‘the spirit warned me about you.” And he would feel worse than Judas.

Excited because this is the first time he was involved with a church girl. He didn’t know what to expect, she seemed different, three days in, and she hadn’t sent him a bible verse. He liked it that way. Though he has sketchy knowledge of the Bible, he cannot keep up if she decided to go down that route. The last time he memorized a bible verse was when he was in Sunday school. John 3:16.

Many years after going off track on the straight and narrow, he started shopping for a church. There was this gushing need to reconnect with God. He was a church boy, but he lost his way. Lately, he had been feeling empty and needed a place he can refuel. The church seemed a safer bet. He led a peaceful life then, he wanted to go back home. His friends recommended this one. “As a sinner, you will feel at home there.” They teased him. And true to it, he feels that he belongs.

And now even before encountering God, he met a girl. On one hand, he cannot believe his luck but on the other hand, Is the devil following him to church? Or is he the devil?

Image source: raygates.me