I grew up to my mother waking my 3 siblings and me up every morning at 6 am so we could all kneel before her big bed, hold our hands together, and pray. After prayers, a short exhortation would come in and then it would be testimony time. My mom used that to normalize sharing good news amongst ourselves.
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On one of those days after devotion, my mom sent my older brother out to get some cups of beans for her to prepare our lunch. I insisted on going with him since we were on holiday and I didn't want to be the one to select stones and chaff out of the beans when it was brought.
It didn't take long for us to head back from the small market just behind our house but as we approached our compound, my older brother decided that we should turn around and take another route which would lead us to the back gate of our compound.
He wanted to stop by a game shop and play one round of Mortal Kombat with some of the money he saved from his pocket money when school was still in session. Since it was going to be my first time seeing a video game, I consented to the plan and we went to the game shop.
Destined kids---Why should fear
We spent 30 minutes there. First, he was trying to show me how the game worked since I wouldn't stop whining that I wanted to play in his ear, and then we began trying to win each other. I was only successfully able to win one round.
We didn't realize how much time had passed until the shop owner came to tell us that the time we paid for had since expired. My brother and I had to run all the way to our house from the shop. As we ran on our way, we tried to think of an excuse to tell my mom who we were certain was already looking for us.
My brother opened the back gate and we were almost running in when we suddenly heard a low growl.
“What is that?” I whispered, he was trembling and pointing at something just ahead of us. When I looked closely, I saw it was a huge black dog with its tongue hanging out. It was looking directly at us as if daring us to come any closer.
We looked at each other with sweat pouring down our faces.
“I've never seen this dog here before” My brother's lips were quivering and he was rubbing his hands on his shorts. I had my hands on my head and was almost allowing the tears forming in my eyes to drop when I heard my brother singing
“Why should I fear when the Lord is on my side?
Why should I fear, his love has set me high?
He is to me, my fortress and my rock so tell me why should I fear?” Destined kids---Why should fear
It was a song from the ‘Destiny kids’ album which my mom made us watch all the time. If we were not in a serious situation, I would have burst out laughing.
“Why are you singing? Let's think of how we're going to get to the house before mummy starts looking for us!” I chided, forgetting momentarily that he was 3 years older than I was.
My brother, however, did not pay any attention to me. He kept singing then suddenly grabbed my arm and dragged me into the compound.
I know I heard loud shrieks but I didn't realize it was from me until Mama Ade, the owner of the dog, rushed out and held the dog by its chain.
“The dog is already chained. Why are you shouting?” She scolded but my brother dragged me past without replying to her.
My mom was in the living room, her head in her hands when we entered the house. We thought there was going to be some spanking or explanation but there was none. She simply grabbed us and held us tightly in her arms.
The next morning during devotion, I first thanked God profusely for how the previous morning turned out, then shared a testimony of God delivering my brother and me from an attack from Mama Ade’s dog.
I made sure not to look at my brother throughout the testimony time because I was sure he would be upset but to my surprise, he too gave the same testimony, only he added the part where he sang “Why should I fear” by Destiny kids and how it helped him get past the dog.
That experience is one of the most cherished experiences of my childhood and I do not fail to remind my older brother whenever I want to make fun of us.