IS HE THE ONE? Episode 1 – Rejoice James Jev
It was on a bright Saturday afternoon.
That fateful day, when I first saw him.
I had finished doing my chores, and took a quick bath.
I couldn’t afford to run late for the choir practice.
We normally paid fines for late coming, and I didn’t have a penny to spare.
Walking as fast as my legs could carry me, I arrived at the church auditorium.
“Thank goodness!” I heaved a sigh of relief.
It was two minutes to the time when the choir would begin the rehearsals.
I was glad.
We settled down, and few minutes into the rehearsals, a young man stepped in.
All heads turned; it wasn’t a regular face.
“My God!” I found myself whispering. The whisper was loud enough to the hearing of the two people sitting beside me though.
I’m sure that they were as amazed and impressed as I was.
This young man was fair to look upon. He was the perfect definition of a ladies man, except for the fact that he was light comlexioned.
The only empty seat left, was the one beside me.
He greeted those around and took his seat, right beside me!
I felt nervous.
He smelt nice too. I believed it was an expensive cologne he used.
The scent was out of this world.
“Hey, good afternoon, sister” He greeted with a smile.
I was blown off by his humility.
He greeted me first.
“Good afternoon. You’re welcome” I replied with a smile too.
I had to be polite and friendly.
We all went back to the rehearsals.
I stole some looks at him from time to time.
I could hear the woman in me whisper, “He is so handsome”, but my spirit man was there to call me to order.
“Concentrate on what brought you here. Don’t get distracted” I could hear my spirit man say.
“Okay.. okay.
I will” I tried to concentrate.
I felt that most African parents learnt most of their discipline techniques from the Holy spirit.
The way he cautioned me at times, sounded the same way my Mum cautioned me.
Everything went on fine, until the music director decided to do what I least expected.
“Sister Martha, can you come out and lead us in this song?” He took me by surprise.
I knew that as a chorister, I had to be prepared at all times, but I wasn’t ready for this.
“Why had this man chosen to embarrass me today?
God, what do I do?” I shivered.
“We have rehearsed the song over and over again, sister Martha.
You should be able to lead us” He further said.
Like an Agama lizard, I nodded in the affirmative with a weak smile on my face.
My legs shook as I walked forward, and my head felt like it was spinning.
My fingers trembled as I reached for the microphone which the music director was holding.
“What is wrong with me? I’m definitely not feeling this way because of this new guy” I tried to convince myself.
This wasn’t my first time of being attracted to a handsome young man, but today, everything felt awkward.
I could feel the hardness of my heartbeats.
I was tensed.
The keyboardist played an interesting intro, and the drummer did a great job with the beats.
We had a good sound system as well as skilled and talented instrumentalists.
The music director gave me a sign to let me know when I was supposed to come in.
Again, I nodded.
I closed my eyes and held the microphone a few inches away from my mouth.
With the little courage and confidence I had mustered, I opened my mouth to sing.
My hands were still shivering from nervousness, and my voice sounded shaky.
I began to feel hot despite the fact that the auditorium was well ventilated and was provided with good standing fans.
I sang for about two minutes before I noticed it.
I gently opened my eyes.
The look on the faces of the other choristers said it all.
All the while, I had been singing off key.
Little wonder the song wasn’t really flowing the way it was supposed to, and the other members of the choir couldn’t respond as they ought to.
Almost everyone had a look of displeasure on their face.
My shoulders dropped in discouragement and disappointment as the MD asked me to stop.
“Sister Martha, you didn’t get it right.
The key you chose to sing with, was different from the key that the instrumentalist played on.
I think you really have a lot of work to do.
You need to learn how to recognize and sync with keys.
I wanted you to take this song, to be honest.
However, it looks like that’s not going to be possible anymore.
We are supposed to sing this song for tomorrow’s ministration.
Please, try to work on yourself.
You can do better” He told me.
I felt embarrassed.
Sister Kate, and Sarah weren’t helping matters too.
They silently laughed me to scorn. It was obvious that their aim was to mock me.
The look of disgust on the face of sister Josephine, one of the best worship and praise leaders in the church, made me feel like running out at once.
I walked to my seat in shame.
I had no idea what my problem was.
Right from my childhood, I had always loved to sing, and I loved to listen to great musicians sing.
But music on the other hand, seemed to hate and distance itself from me.
Whenever I opened my mouth to sing, I always heard something different from what I had expected.
I wondered why I never sounded as good as others.
I knew that was the reason why I was seldom asked to lead the choir in songs.
The few times I had led the congregation in praise and worship, were moments of disaster.
The last time I led the people in praise, the pastor had to signal the music director to replace me with another music minister.
It was that bad.
I wished I could be better and stop embarrassing myself, but I didn’t know how.
I sat back quietly, sadness written all over my face.
I had embarrassed myself in front of everyone, including the first timer beside me.
I was ashamed and could hardly lift my head high.
I fidgeted with my dress and got lost in thoughts when I felt a gentle tap on my arm.
I turned to see the handsome guy handing a piece of paper to me.
Obviously, he had written something on it.
His face was without any expression in particular.
I didn’t know what he had on his mind.
My heart skipped a beat.
I was afraid.
Was he about to add to the embarrassment I already felt?
Was he going to insult me?
Yes, I had made a fool of myself out there already, but I didn’t need anyone to tell me that.
I took the piece of paper from him and swallowed hard.
Whatever it was, I was ready to see it.
To be continued…
Inspired by the holy spirit
Rejoice James Jev
OpraDre IS HE THE ONE IS HE THE ONE IS HE THE ONE IS HE THE ONE IS HE THE ONE IS HE THE ONE IS HE THE ONE IS HE THE ONE IS HE THE ONE IS HE THE ONE
What do you think he wants to tell her?
