Raped, impregnated and abandoned: Tears-provoking tales of young girls with babies but no fathers

Written by Eric Dumo - Punch, Nigeria

Raped, impregnated and abandoned

Morenike (not real name) sat at a corner of the expansive compound; away from where the other girls were converged, flicking her eyes from side to side as she took deep breaths occasionally. The scotching rays from the sun pounding furiously on her frail frame on the wooden bench where she sat seemed to compound her misery. At only 19, she has seen enough trouble to last an entire lifetime. First raped several times and impregnated by her father at 16, before suffering a similar fate two years later at the hands of another man, the young woman is indeed bleeding from all sides. Morenike's agony is without measure.

Stella Mbanu

"I used to live with my mother and her husband before she died," the petite-looking teenager began, growing increasingly restless as she narrated her heart-wrenching story. "So I was forced to go back to my biological father at Ebutte Meta in Lagos when my mother died. After some time I noticed he (my father) would buy a particular kind of tea whenever he was returning home in the evening and mandate me to drink it after which I would sleep off till the next morning. The first time I drank the tea, I noticed blood on my private part and thighs but I thought it was menstruation. But after some time I started noticing that whenever I drank the tea and slept off, by the next morning I would feel very weak especially around my waist and pelvic."

The pains were not ordinary. Later becoming suspicious of her father, Morenike decided to share her experience with a classmate in school who in turn informed a female teacher. Alarmed, the teacher told the 19-year-old to be more vigilant and try not to sleep too deep the next time her father forces her to drink the 'tea'. What she experienced that night still shocks her.

"He thought I had slept off as usual that night after taking the tea he usually gives me to drink. He had removed my skirt and panties and had wanted to penetrate when I held him back. I was really shocked. He threatened that if I struggled with him, he would kill me and that if I ever told anyone, he would make me run mad because he is a member of the Odua's Peoples Congress in our area and he had a lot of charms. None of our neighbours knew what I was passing through even though it was a face-me-I-face-you compound.

"After two days, I reported the matter to my teacher in school and my father was arrested by some government officials from the Lagos State Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation. It was after some tests were conducted on me that it was discovered that I was already a few weeks pregnant. I was taken to a Home in Ayobo area where I stayed until I gave birth. The baby was taken to an orphanage while my father was sentenced to six months imprisonment," she explained.

While at the rehabilitation home in Ayobo, more problems crept into Morenike's life. A male inmate at the facility for the homeless and needy where they stayed who had been pretending to share in her pains forced his way in-between her legs. A second pregnancy in three years popped up. The young man whom she identified as Jude and whom she described as being responsible for her pregnancy, had never been seen till date. It was salt on an already bleeding wound.

Before you go into a new relationship

Written by: Omotola Oduola - Nigerian Tribune

Did you just quit a relationship? What were your reasons for quitting? Do you think getting into a new relationship is safe enough for you to avoid a rebound because it is said that when your heart is broken you become weak at times, your emotions fail you, thereby making you fall into wrong hands because of your state of mind.

Many people, especially women, often refer to the first several months of a relationship as the honeymoon stage. This is because at the early stages of a relationship, everything seems wonderful and things are just clicking. You get butterflies every time you are with the significant other; you get excited just at the thought of them and you just have an amazing time every moment you are together. But the reality is that despite how easy and great any relationship is, one has to be willing to do things that will allow it to flourish, however easy it is to overlook the importance of having a strategy that will allow you to continually give all towards making a relationship work.

To get into another relationship, you need to ask yourself if you are prepared to trust again, to share your fears with someone you love, as getting into another relationship involves you letting out your imperfect self to someone you think can be trusted with such.

A few things are necessary to get into the dating circle again. Speaking with Relationships, Ighoro Alexander, cleric and consultant on relationship issues, shares a few tips on what to consider before starting a new relationship.

'One of the easiest ways to know a man is his friends'

According to Alexander, "One of the greatest consideration surprisingly and against popular norm is how prepared you are. Sometimes, people go into relationship just thinking of the other person. Without adequate personal preparation emotionally, intellectually, spiritually and mentally, you perhaps are not qualified for any relationship. Beyond that you must consider the value system of the other person. Every man's action has its foundation in values that have been ingrained over the years. Specifically, does he value for spiritual things? By that I mean, does he has the fear of God? Who are his friends?

"One of the easiest ways to know a man is his friends. Principally, you must consider, if he has a well defined and articulated vision for his life. The easiest way to waste your life is to be on the same bus with a man who does not know where he is going. Finally, is he diligent? These, among many, are considerations before going into relationship."

Wish you were somebody else's wife?

YOU take one look at your marriage, shake your head and write-off the whole thing. When a woman is sad and her morale is at an all-time low, self-pity is the first demon that comes calling. It becomes difficult to see anything good in whatever is happening. She can't even remember the good, old times when she felt on top of the world and believed her husband was the best thing that ever happened to her. Those days when she handed down tips on how to make a marriage work so easily... but that was then, she would sigh.

When trouble looms or befalls a marriage or the woman is feeling gloomy, the next practical thing she begins to do is wishing she were somewhere else, somebody else's wife. She wonders how she ended up where she is. Didn't her mother warn her? And she almost didn't marry him o.

Well, a woman has no business envying her friend's marriage. Sounds cute but impracticable, ehn? Not exactly, but it happens all the time.

When things get tough in the home and a marriage seems to be giving way at the seams, the urge to compare your situation unfavourably with another's is quite high. Any wife who wants to be honest with herself will own up, to having fallen into that temptation once or twice.

Such escapist thoughts are the only things that fill her head. It suits her psyche. She adds all unlikely figures together and gets all the odd results. She'd see all the good things in her friend's marriage and not one enviable thing in her own.

If only she knows. If only we all know. Comparing your marriage with another is an unworthy occupation. It is a demeaning venture that does nothing for a woman's sense of self-worth. Why should you think your friend's marriage or husband is better than yours? No two marriages are alike and the recipe that works for one marriage more often than not, won't work for the other. Your friend married one man and you another.

On Facebook, the dead still celebrate birthdays

Written by Jesusegun Alagbe - Nigeria

Akunyili; Agbana

On that Saturday morning, in his Lagos home - before he got up from bed - there were six birthday notifications on his smartphone from Facebook, reminding him to wish his friends happy birthday celebrations. But what baffled him was that one of these friends, who was his course mate at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, was already dead. This made him wonder, "Why is Facebook asking me to wish a dead person a happy birthday celebration? Is Ade still alive?"

But before long, Peter Abisoye got an answer: Ade - his deceased friend - is not alive, but his Facebook account is still active.

"Every morning, I get birthday notifications of my family and friends from Facebook, so I don't even need to know offhand or look at the calendar for their birthdays again. The internet and social media have really brought me closer to them, even though we are separated by distance," Abisoye said. "But what I don't understand is why the social media company keep sending birthday notifications of dead people? You know, many times when it happens, like it happened to me, it makes me remember some memories of the departed ones - both the good and the bad."

After the brief moment of amazement, Abisoye said he got on the page of his deceased friend and wrote: "Ade, you remain one of the best friends I ever had in school. I remember how we used to eat burnt beans together, woo girls together and watch football matches in Adenike area on weekends. Death is so painful, but your memory is not. Live on, brother."

"I got on his page and I posted a brief birthday message in his memorial. Before I realised what was going on, about 20 of our colleagues in school had also followed suit. I guessed they must have been notified as well of Ade's birthday from Facebook. Well, I think it's good to keep the page alive, in memory and honour of the deceased," he added.

But one or two others who posted didn't even know Ade was dead.

"Someone, please tell me this is not true. I spoke with Ade two months ago and he was fine. No wonder I have been trying to reach him all this while and he's unreachable. So sad to hear, Ade," one of them wrote.

Almost every internet-ready smartphone and Facebook user today gets reminders of special events and this was perhaps the same scenario when many fans of the late female gospel singer and composer, Kefee Obareki Don-Momoh, popularly known as Kefee, woke up on Thursday, February 5, 2015 to find notifications from Facebook that she was celebrating her birthday.

Kefee died of lung failure in a Los Angeles hospital in the United States on Thursday, June 12, 2014, after spending 15 days in a coma. She was aged 34.

But not all her fans would want to believe she's dead. One of them, with the name 'PurpleiciousBabe,' wrote on a blog, bellanaija.com, on July 13, 2014, a month after her death, "Trust me, I am still in denial. I can't even mourn her. It's just not fair. Not our Kefee, so full of life and personality."

Orgasm makes people reveal top secrets - Experts

Written by Tunde Ajaja - Nigeria

Getting a partner to reveal a (deep) secret seems to have gone beyond the conventional ways, such as intense persuasion, optimism, kneeling down, gift sharing, nice treat and even a promise of reward, among others.

There seems to be an easier, sweeter, cheaper and more affordable way to get a partner to share such secrets. A study carried out by some scientists from the University of Connecticut, United States, showed that having orgasm during sex could make people to reveal important information, like their deepest secrets.

Notably, it is not uncommon to hear people having sex say things that they would not have said ordinarily or make promises that they might not even remember after that session, possibly due to the ecstatic feeling associated with sex. Perhaps, this is the main reason why people say the worst time to ask if a partner loves you is during sex.

Orgasm, the principal word in the findings of the study, is the climax of sexual excitement, characterised by intensely pleasurable feelings centred in the genitals and (in men) experienced as an accompaniment to ejaculation.

Both men and women can reach orgasm, maybe at different times, because men have been found to reach that euphoric destination in a shorter time than women do, and theirs, according to findings, might require some additional efforts like clitoral stimulation.

Regardless, with the findings of the study, it thus appears that there is no end to the benefits derivable from sex. This is because previous studies have pointed out that apart from procreation and the enormous pleasure that sex offers, it is a good form of exercise.

21 Things Your Boyfriend Will Never Admit

Culled from The Guardian - Nigeria

Those boyfriends of us are darlings, but no angels. There are a few things that they keep hidden from us. Here are the 21 things your boyfriend will never admit.

1. I will NEVER say you became fat, even it's true

2. And I think some of the clothes you wear aren't nice

3. I often don't know what you're talking about, but I just nod yes

4. And sometimes it's really annoying to hold your hand

5. I will never tell you what I really think about your family

6. I find your best friend / sister / neighbour / ... quite attractive

7. Sometimes I dare to look at pretty women

8. And yes, sometimes I fantasize about someone else

9. I don't say no to sex, even though I didn't really want

10. And no, I really don't want to talk after sex

11. Yes, sometimes I will lie to you about your cooking

12. But I also don't have an idea of what I'm doing

13. Sometimes I like to watch a chick flick

14. But I also want to do something alone

15. Sometimes I text with a girlfriend, without telling it to you

16. And yes, sometimes I tell things about you to them

17. But I hate it when you are too well with a man

18. Sometimes I freak out if you don't immediately respond to my text

19. And yes, I'm afraid you're going to dump me

20. Because: I see you becoming sweeter and sweeter and sweeter and sweeter and sweeter...

Yes, he beats me; yet, I love him

Written by Fola Ojo

Fola Ojo

She got out of her 1994 Nissan Sentra, hobbling. Some visible, though vanishing bruises around her left eye couldn't be concealed even with the heavy make-up she had on. She moaned and grimaced a bit as she shook my hands.

"What happened, girl?" I asked her curiously. "Nothing, Fola, nothing", she said, forcing a smile.

"What do you mean 'nothing'? You are shuffling and hobbling, and you want me to believe that there is nothing?"

She continued to force a dying smile that revealed a dying spirit and esteem inside of her. She was in pain; more of emotional discomfort than physical. What happened to my friend, I kept asking myself? Was she involved in an automobile accident or in a skiing mishap?

I quit trying to probe her; I felt she needed the privacy.

Four hours went by on that evening shift before she mustered the courage to open up to me.

"It's my husband, he hit me; he said he was going to kill me. I fought back, but you know him. He is stronger. I am tired, Fola. I am tired of this constant beating...but...."; she shook her head.

"But what"? I asked

"I love him, Fola. I love Andy. Yes, she beats me; but I love him."

WEDDING RING: African Clerics On Its Myth And Significance

'I Prefer To Use The Word Of God To Join Couples Rather Than A Ring'

Clerics

(Pastor (Dr.) Jacob E. Umoru, President, Lagos Atlantic Conference, Seventh-day Adventist Church in Nigeria)
ACTUALLY, from my understanding of God's word, wedding ring is not the true test of love. The foundation of marriage is still in the word of God. So, I prefer to use God's word to join couples rather than a ring. Ring is just outward, but once the word of God is accepted and practised, that will help the marriage to stand rather than ring. Sometimes, we use the ring and sometimes we don't. The reason is that if it is in a country where wearing wedding ring is a law, and you don't follow the rule, you may

be accused of not obeying the law. But ordinarily, we don't use the ring, which is not biblical. Wedding ring does not stop one from infidelity. It doesn't bestow the true sense of faithfulness, which is in the heart. This is why I believe that if people believe God's word and fear Him, ring or no ring, they will still honour God. They will be faithful to their marriage.
I am not going to condemn anybody, as those who practise it do so in accordance with their faith. We have a lot of problems in the world today because we dwell more on the outward. But God looks at the inward and if we accept God's word as well as obey Jesus Christ, we will be more faithful and not focus so much on the outward. Even with their wedding rings on, some people still go ahead to do whatever they like. I think the best thing is to be faithful to God's word and our hearts. Sometimes, people don't want to wear it because of the inconsistency. Some drop their wedding rings because they feel they are being caged. So, personally, I prefer that people hold fast to the word of God, which is the foundation of marriage.
--------------------------------------------
'It Reminds Couples That They Are Committed And Responsible As Well'
(Rev. (Dr.) Kayode Opadeji, Snr Pastor, First Baptist Church, Ikeja, Lagos)

AS you are talking with me right now, I am wearing my own. It is important and is a sign that has no beginning and ending. Here, we tell our members that their love has no beginning and no ending. In other words, it is expected that there shouldn't be any condition attached to it. Once you marry that woman or man, the two of you have to live together till death do you part. So, that understanding is from the Bible, which expects that a couple should live together forever even though some people may opt for divorce. This is not right because the Bible says in Malachi 1:16 that God hates divorce. So, we expect that the love that exists between couples should not give room for outsiders or third party to interfere. Aside this, since rings are made of gold that cannot rust, as it remains the same forever, a marriage should also be like that. Love should not disintegrate or diminish, but should remain the same. I have been wearing my wedding ring close to 19 years now.

Is your wife still with you?

There's more to being a husband than just paying the bride price and buying a designer wedding gown. It even goes beyond performing your conjugal duties. Too many men these days are too busy doing so many things that they do not notice how dissatisfied and unhappy their wives are. They just move from day to day believing their marriages are perfect just because they are good in bed and are picking the right bills. Great. Every woman loves a man who leaves her 'finished' in bed. Every wife loves a cheerful giver, in and out of bed. It is easier to call a man who provides 'daddy' or 'my lord' than the one his wife has to give subsidy. It's the truth, like it or not.

A good husband is the one who notices what goes on around him. He's the man who can sense when his wife is upset with him and by that I do not mean when she fakes a headache or tells him 'don't touch me' when he wants to get value for the bride price he paid. Women are strong beings. They can multi-task. They can be in extreme pain and still go about their duties like nothing is happening. Whether the pain is physical or psychological, a wife most likely will make time to shop, cook, go to work, attend family events, play her role in church, Asalatu…. the things women hide under layers and layers of concealer, foundation and powder? Only God can decode us.

Help! My mother is denying me!

Written by Yetunde Arebi - Vanguard, Nigeria.

I have no parents. I mean, I do not know my father or mother. I was not adopted by anyone so, sometimes, I feel like I just dropped from heaven. I always feel lost and alone, even though I am now married and my husband tries to console me and makes me feel wanted all the time.

As I child, it took a while for me to know that I had no father like the other children. I lived with my mother with a few other people in the house. She was a rich business woman and it took a while for me to realise that the other girls who were older than me were not her children.This was because of the frequency with which these people came and left our house. They all came to work for her or learn to trade, so they always left after a while.

A few people called my mother by my name, Mama Nkem, but most of the people, especially family members called her by other names. I learnt that my mother had four other children who were much older than me and lived abroad.They have all returned to Nigeria now.

My mother used to travel very often too. Most times, she went for her businesses and also to see my brothers and sisters. They too used to come home once a while but we were never close. it was as if they resented me for a reason which was not clear to me at the time. I used to think it was because of the wide age difference between us. My mother too never related well with me. It obvious that I was a problem to her and she never liked me. She did not treat me differently from the other people that worked with her. She would rain abuses and curses on everyone and I was not spared. Her favourite abuse for me was eyen anana ete (bastards) and that I will never do well in life and would die in the forest. And she would beat me for every little thing.

I did not like her and sometimes wondered if truly she was my mother. However, over time, I began to discover things that gave me great concern. I would wonder why I had a different name from my other siblings and why they too also have different names. For instance, the first two children bear the same name while the third and fourth have different names.

When you add my own name, it meant that my mother had children by four different men.

This added to my resentment of her person and would always wonder why she would continue to blame me for her own mistakes.However, I eventually discovered that my name was actually my mother’s maiden name. This meant that I did not have a father and it bothered me to no end, especially since she always called me a bastards and treated me like one of her helps. I think it was at this point that I started thinking about my identity and who my father was. But I did not have the courage to ask my mother for fear of what her reaction would be.

ARE THE MEN STILL CLAPPING?

11 people were hanging on a rope under a helicopter. There were 10 men and a woman. The rope was not strong enough to carry them all. So they decided that one of them had to leave, otherwise they were all going to fall. They were not able to agree on who that person would be. Until the woman among them gave a touching speech. She said that she would voluntarily let go of the rope because as a woman, she was used to giving up everything for her husband and kids or for men in general. She said she was used to always making sacrifices and getting little or nothing in return. As soon as she finished her speech, all the men started clapping...

All the men, of course, dropped to their untimely deaths and she flew away alone in the chopper. Well, what can a woman do?

That is the power of a woman, the brand only smart men recognize and acknowledge. If there had been at least one of those 10 excitable men who could see beyond that woman's 'moving' speech, he would be alive today. But don't we all know that men don't do much thinking when they see women they want?

In my mind's eyes, I could see the woman in that joke wearing a very short skirt, no bra and a top with a plunging neckline. How do you reason with a man drooling over ample cleavage? If you scream 'Praise the Lord', he won't shout Halleluyah because he is far away in la-la land. The woman in that joke, I'm sure, also had smooth skin, probably fair skin. All 10 men simply threw their thinking caps in the air or how else do you explain why they all forgot that they did not have third hands and that once they started clapping they were going to drop to their deaths?

Virgins at the village evening market - the Nigerian situation!

It is that time and season again. Everywhere is a beehive of activities. We are being tantalized and titillated. They are whispering the sweetest things in our ticklish ears and promising us they will love us forever. Or haven't you heard them? Of course, you have. It's like the evening market in the village. The village damsels are all powdered and smelling nice. Their wrappers are tied in ways that show off their well rounded backsides. They bare their youthful skin, their necks tilted at angles that leave the men panting.

When young men go to evening market, it is not to buy vegetable or local seasoning. It is usually because their libido is running wild. Their blood is hot, their loins burning, seeking to be assuaged by a damsel's you-know-what. Somehow, most of the maidens you see in this market are also not here to buy pepper or dry fish. They have, most times, left home without their mothers' consent, sneaking through the back into the dark. They also want to spread their wings and experiment. The girls enjoy the sweet lines the boys are armed with. Away from the flickering light of the oil lamp, they sneak into darker corners to nurse their desires. Under the cover of the night, far from the real buying and selling, the young men sell their lies. A few young gullible girls drink to their hearts' content the dripping honey-coated lies, moaning until the mourning morning after. A few maiden heads have been reported broken in those couple of hours.

The hot loin cooled , the man goes home grinning like the cat who got the milk. And indeed, didn't he? The virgin sneaks back in, confused, close to tears, wondering if she hadn't sold her honour and future for a few minutes of indescribable ecstasy.

What people do in the name of God

Written By Chidi Nkwopara, Owerri, Laju Arenyeka, Osa AMADI - Vanguard Nigeria

Stella Nnedum craved for all good things including good health for her fiance, Michael (surname withheld).

She wanted him to know that she cared for him. She also didn’t want anything to stand in their way to the altar and so she worked to make him strong and unwavering. But she feared that if Michael adhered to the advice of some people around him he could change his mind about their marriage. And one way to get things done was to lure him to a seer, a prophetess of some sort who would guide them and probably make sure he ignored all distractions that could threaten their planned marriage.

Michael did not believe in seers. He did not even believe in witchcraft, fetish or any voodoo phenomenon.

It was difficult to convince him to follow her to a seer. But like it was in the beginning of time with Adam and Eve, Stella succeeded in luring Michael to the seer in Olodi Apapa Area of Lagos.

"Some people would be against their marriage and they would work for it not to happen," the seer told them, warning that something bad could happen to them if they did not start praying immediately as some people were already after them. The seer also told them that only prayers could see them surmount the forces against their marriage. She even said that they were not meant for each other but prayers could change everything "as there’s nothing God cannot do".

And for the back pane that Michael was having at the time, the seer told them that it was the handiwork of his people from the village and that he needed to come regularly for prayers to be healed. Michael and Stella left and promised to return for prayers.

Did the seer succeed in creating fears into this couple so that they could always visit and sow seed during prayers?

If Stella fell for it, Michael did not.

When they got home, Michael bared his mind to Stella: "I did not give any background to the seer on my back pain and she goofed big time. My back pain is as a result of an old sports injury that comes and goes from time to time. And here was somebody telling me that my people in the village were sending pains to me? And all the story about the forces against the marriage is for us to be coming regularly for prayers after which one must make offertory. This is how these people operate. They live by creating fear into people, prophesying falsely and reaping victims off"

Protecting his manhood

Today, I am worried about our sons, today's young men. I am truly worried and every mother should pause, take a closer look at her sons and daughters and answer this question: are you empowering your son for the journey ahead of him? Answer truthfully, after all you are alone and you don't have to let anybody hear you. I think Nigerian mothers have not done well raising future husbands and fathers. Let's admit it, we have not scored above average, that is if we achieved average at all.

Take a closer look at your beautiful daughter and your handsome six-footer son. Who is better prepared for the task ahead? I know some of us had realised this and have done better than others but most Nigerian mothers need to buckle up. Our sons are not what they should be and we cannot have the society, the country we desire when we put unprepared men and overgrown boys in positions of authority. I'll explain myself.

In too many homes, the wives are the bread winners. Too many women are paying the rent and picking bills that make a man the man. We do not need figures from the Office of Statistics because I know every woman in this country knows at least one family where the man is not truly the head. He is just a figure head. And every man who is a figure head is a sad commentary on his mother. Every young husband who waits for his wife to draw her monthly check before the monthly shopping can be done is a figure head, a proceed of a failed mother. That is harsh, right? Yeah, I know there is a place for God in what man becomes in life. It is from Him all blessings flow and only He gives power to make wealth. But did you, madam, even teach your son that simple fact or are you too busy preparing your daughter for marriage in addition to her getting the added advantage of attending the same Ivy League schools like his brothers? A son attends Babcock University in Nigeria or Imperial College in United Kingdom with a daughter but the daughter is trained to cook, pamper a man, be nice to in-laws and bring up children, all while she's getting a degree. The son learns how to play basket ball and wash a car. The daughter learns how to bake and how to make hair and do make-up. Girls with Masters degrees see nothing wrong in going to learn dress making . Boys dust their CVs and write glowing stuff about themselves and send out thousands of job applications.

The nature of God, ever seen...

Sent by Gabriel Dzisoo - Ghana

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair
cut and his beard trimmed. As  the barber began
to work, they began to have a good  conversation.
They talked about so many things and various subjects. 
When they eventually touched on the subject of God,
the  barber said: 'I don't believe that God exists.'   
'Why do you say that?' asked the customer. 
'Well, you just have to go out in the street to
 realize that God doesn't exist.
Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? 
If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain.
I can't imagine a loving God who would
allow all of these things.'
The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument.
The barber finished his job and the customer
left the  shop.    

Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an  untrimmed beard.
He looked dirty and unkempt. The customer turned back and entered the barbershop again
and he said to the barber:
'You know what? Barbers do not exist.'   
'How can you say that?' asked the surprised barber. 'I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!' 
'No!' the customer exclaimed. 'Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no 
people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside.'

'Ah, but barbers DO exist! That's what happens when  people do not come to me.'

'Exactly!' affirmed the customer. 'That's the point! God, too, DOES exist! That's what happens when people do not go to Him and don't look to Him for help.    
That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world.'

Tiny Frogs

Sent by: Joseph katekpe - Sierra leone

Once upon a time there was a bunch of tiny frogs.... who arranged a running competition. The goal was to reach the top of a very high tower.

A big crowd had gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants...

The race began....

Honestly, no one in the crowd really believed that the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower.

You heard statements such as:

'Oh, WAY too difficult!!'

'They will NEVER make it to the top.'

Or:

'Not a chance that they will succeed. The tower is too high!'

The tiny frogs began collapsing. One by one...

Except for those, who in a fresh tempo, were climbing higher and higher...

The crowd continued to yell, 'It is too difficult!!! No one will make it!'

More tiny frogs got tired and gave up....

But ONE continued higher and higher and higher....

This one wouldn't give up!

At the end everyone else had given up climbing the tower. Except for the one tiny frog who, after a big effort, was the only one who reached the top!

THEN all of the other tiny frogs naturally wanted to know how this one frog managed to do it?

A contestant asked the tiny frog how he had found the strength to succeed and reach the goal?

It turned out .... that the winner was DEAF!!!!

The wisdom of this story is:

Never listen to other people's tendencies to be negative or pessimistic.... because they take your most wonderful dreams and wishes away from you -- the ones you have in your heart!


Always think of the power words have. (There's life and death in the power of the tongue )


Because everything you hear and read will affect your actions!


Therefore: ALWAYS be POSITIVE!

And above all: Be DEAF when people tell YOU that you cannot fulfill your dreams!

Always think: God and I can do this!


Most people walk in and out of your life... but FRIENDS leave footprints in your heart.


So:
If you fall down 10 times, stand up 10 times!!

The blind girl who hated herself...

By   Jacqueline Ofori-Akua​moah/Ernest Osei-Bonsu - Ghana

A STORY TO LIVE BY

There was a blind girl who hated herself because she was blind.

She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always
there for her. She told her boyfriend, 'If I could only see
the world, I will marry you.'

One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her. When the bandages
came off, she was able to see everything, including her boyfriend.

He asked her, 'Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?'

The girl looked at her boyfriend and saw that he was blind.

The sight of his closed eyelids shocked her.

She hadn't expected that.

The thought of looking at them the rest of her life
led her to refuse to marry him.

Her boyfriend left in tears and days later wrote a note to her
saying: 'Take good care of your eyes, my dear, for before
they were yours, they were mine.'

Note:

This is how the human brain often works when our status changes. 
Only a very few remember what life was like before, and who
was always by their side in the most painful situations.

LIFE IS A GIFT

Today before you say an unkind word

Think of someone who can't speak.

Before you complain about the taste of your food

Think of someone who has nothing to eat.

Before you complain about your husband or wife

Think of someone who's crying out to GOD for a companion.

Today before you complain about life

Think of someone who died too early.

Before you complain about your children

Think of someone who desires children but they're barren.

Before you argue about your dirty house someone didn't clean or sweep

Think of the people who are living in the streets.

Before whining about the distance you drive

Think of someone who walks the same distance with their feet.

And when you are tired and complain about your job

Think of the unemployed, the disabled, and those who wish they had your job.

But before you think of pointing the finger or condemning another

Remember that not one of us is without sin.

And when depressing thoughts seem to get you down

Put a smile on your face and think: you're alive and still around.