"Mommy, I will miss you." Joy said crying sadly as Tabitha waved into the long bus.
She was held close by Mrs Peter on one side and Victoria on the other side.
Tabitha went in and fought herself to the middle of the sitting, but the persistent faint tears of Joy made her unsettled.
Seeing to her discomfort while her baby cried, Mrs Peter resisted walking away.
She went close to the bus and saw to Tabitha making her descend from the bus to meet with her daughter.
When she was finally out, in the midst of glaring looks by passengers, she squatted and placed her two palms on the little shoulders of Joy and began to console her.
"Baby girl, mom is going to be back soon, but I won't be totally gone. I will be with you in your mind, and more so, I will ensure I phone mommy Vic to speak with you for the three days I will be in the village." Tabitha admonished.
"But mommy, I heard it yesterday when you told mommy Vic that there is only a little network in the village." She reminded her.
"That's true baby girl, but there is a spot I can always stand to speak with you. I will ensure I speak with my girl okay?"
"Yes mommy. Do greet grandma and grandpa for me." Little Joy said waving to her.
"I will my child." Tabitha answered and stood to go, then she turned back and squatted slightly holding her hands.
"Don't forget little one, Jesus is with you." She said.
"Yes mommy, you told me that Jesus is going with you too. Is he already sited in the bus?" She asked.
"Yes my child. He is everywhere we go." Tabitha answered with a smile.
"Mommy that's MTN network. I always heard them on Victoria's TV saying that." She affirmed.
"They actually borrowed that from Jesus." Tabitha answered yet again.
"Mommy before you go, can I pray for you?"
"That will be awesome my child. Please pray for me."
"Dear daddy in heaven," Joy began to pray.
"I pray for mommy, bless her, bless the car, bless everyone, Jesus don't leave us, stay with me, mommy, mommy Vic, Vicky, daddy Vic and everyone in the whole world."
"Amen!!!" Both passengers, onlookers and drivers in the park answered jubilantly to their amazement.
They instantly began to wonder what sort of a child Joy is.
As Tabitha went back to her sit in the bus, the last awaiting passenger soon arrived for the journey and she waved bye to Joy and Mommy Vic.
"Driver please I am dropping at jumi." A woman beside Tabitha informed the driver.
"Madam I have heard you." The driver answered.
"Your money is 3,500 naira."
"Alright." She answered.
"Madam you are really blessed o, you have such a beautiful daughter." She quickly turned to Tabitha and engaged her in a conversation.
"It is God ma." The Lord has blessed me with a beautiful daughter. I am glad to have her in my life." She answered.
"My daughter use to be like that too, but her father has made our home a living hell, so much that she is now corrupt. Yours must be a happy home with a good husband giving you a helping hand, otherwise raising such a child won't be possible." She said.
"As I said ma, it has not been by my husband. I use to have a terrible life, but since I found Jesus, my peace has been restored, I and my daughter are doing just fine in all aspects."
"You speak as one who is without a husband. Are you a single mother?" She asked.
"Mm, yes I am." Tabitha answered lightly, fighting so hard not to disclose personal data to a total stranger.
"No, no, no, it can't be possible." She yelled looking at Tabitha with a solemn rap of attention.
"What do you mean ma?" Tabitha asked.
"You love your daughter so well. I am sorry if I am embarrassing you, but you look so calm, I can literally see glory all around you. You seems to be a woman who is well taking care of by her husband.
Come to think of it, we women are going through a lot. It is either you go about rachet without a man to look after you or you you are married to a man who is turning your life into a punching bag.
Only a few; those who glow, such are the ones who have a man in their lives who is taking care of them." She lectured.
"Well, ma, that's purely based on your experience, but it is not the basis for reality.
Without having to go far, I am a single mother you just testified about. You can see that I am doing just fine. I have Jesus in my life, I and my daughter are doing well, to me that's enough satisfaction." Tabitha answered.
"My sister, I know why I am telling you all this. I do not entirely blame my husband because I wasn't raised up from a good home.
I and my siblings have no parental care.
My dad divorced my mom when we were tender, and since then, not even our mother could be there for us. She was always nagging, yelling and spanking us from left to right. There was no time we had peace.
We kept seeing different men coming in and going out..., see, it's not something to speak of. Let's just leave it there." She narrated.
Tabitha exhaled heavily, thinking about what the woman was up to.
Was she trying to use all that to dig into her life?
Well, she must channel the discussion on Jesus.
"Madam, I don't know about all these, but the truth is that, there is no situation beyond Jesus. I know I have this new life of mine because Jesus met me..."
With much words, Tabitha shared the message of the salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ with the woman and at the end, she gave her life to Christ and was prayed for.
She requested for Tabitha's number and promised to call her once it was time.
Although at the beginning of this conversation, Tabitha could not fathom where it was heading to, and was even cautious at some point, but at the end, by the divine wisdom of God applied, she brought honor to the name of the Lord and a soul won to the kingdom.
This stirred up her spirit to share more with everyone in the bus as the driver drove on.
This also brought a turn up of salvation experience by the passengers as many souls were blessed and gave their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ.
When she was done sharing her message for over an hour and finally sat down, she began to think carefully over the possibility of what God was using her life to do within the short time she had given her life to the Lord Jesus Christ.
It baffled her, that ordinary her could be used to save the life of a sinner and bring direction to a lost soul.
Later on, the woman she had ministered to earlier arrived her destination and waved her goodbye, promising that she was surely going to call for a more intimate fellowship together.
Her seat was now left vacant.
As the driver drove on searching for a passenger to fill the space, he came across an average aged man standing by the roadside, who quietly asked for the fare and hopped into the car sitting beside Tabitha.
It took only five minutes of drive before she began to speak with Tabitha who was quiet to all his interrogation.
"Beautiful soul, at least I am talking to you. Even if you are not interested, you should at least answer me, for the fact that I am a human being." The man queried.
"Okay sir, but I thought we have greeted. Shouldn't it end there? We are just knowing ourselves for the first time." She tutored.
"But I like your person. As soon as I came into the bus, I had a like for you. Nobody can just overlook you and pass. I would like to have your number. At least we can talk some other time." The stranger requested.
"That won't be possible sir." Tabitha answered with a stern face.
"This is how you people will be doing. Tomorrow now you will be visiting one prophet to the other seeking for husband." The man turned to the other side with an abusive countenance.
"Okay, before I accept your like for me, what really do you want? Can you go straight to the point ?"
"I want us to be friends." He answered.
"What kind of friendship sir? I love men who are direct."
"You are not a child. You know what I am talking about."
"Alright. It's a good thing sir, but before I say yes to your friendship request, may I know who is Queen? How about Dorathy and Jonathan? Your mother's name is Endurance. She is in her 70s now and you are going to visit her. Do you care to know more?" She asked.
"Oga oya, answer her. She is asking you a question. Why are you keeping mute?" Another passenger from the bus pounced on the man with verbal assault.
"Don't mind them. You have jam spirit today. You men are just something else. Imagine, you leave your wife home and you are here looking for another woman in a car you boarded barely ten minutes. " Another passenger threw her bomb.
Within seconds, the man became a ridicule in the bus, such that for the rest of the journey, his head was buried in his Android device.
Tabitha was shocked to the marrow when she regained herself. She couldn't believe what happened.
Indeed, God uses anyone he wills.
It was a journey full of adventures.