Jess woke up that morning and had her morning prayers, and she opened her bible. She flipped through the pages and read James 1. Count it all joy when you ass through trials and temptations. Then the Holy Spirit whispered to her, “take it in good fate.“ She wondered in her heart why she heard that and what it meant. She didn’t know what was coming.
Later that afternoon, she went to the neighbours to chat with some friends as it was a holiday and most university students were back home. Jess was a law student in her penultimate year. It was always a great time catching up.
James was back from University, and had worked in a bank, though he still lived in his parents’ house. Jess appreciated James’s friendship and was close to his siblings, but with no strings attached. In the past, James had made a proposal to be Jess’s boyfriend or husband, but Jess didn’t buy into the idea. She was just happy to be his friend. Besides, she was really young and wasn’t ready to commit to any relationship. Again, James’s father wanted Jess to be his daughter-in-law and had told her he was interested in having a lawyer who would be the family advocate! Well, Jess wasn’t ready for all that, but would still visit the family.
That fateful day, she went visiting and James was in with one of his close friends and he introduced her as “the lady I told you about. ” Jess wondered what that meant, but felt he may refer to the past proposal.
James offered to take Jess on a date for some snacks and ice cream that evening. It sounded like a good idea to Jess. She wasn’t in a relationship yet and didn’t know what to expect. However, she was happy to spend time with a friend and catch up with life matters.
Getting to the eatery, they talked about a lot of things. James wanted to know what was up with Jess, how she was faring with her studies. One question that kept recurring was, ” Why didn’t you accept my proposal?” At first, Jess tried to avoid the question, but James came back to it again. He really wanted to know why. Did you have a dream? Did God tell you anything? The questions were endless! Well, Jess appreciated James for his personality and assured him she didn’t have a strong reason, she just wasn’t ready for a relationship unless he was reconsidering it, To her, she is happy to have him as her friend but if he thinks otherwise, she will prayerfully look into it again as that’s her standard.
As the conversation became tense, James told her he was now in a relationship with Agnes, who was working and living in another city. Jess knew Agnes from afar, she thought. He further said he Agnes would visit in a week’s time and he would bring Agnes to Jess to introduce her and show her off to Jess with a tone of ridicule. Jess wasn’t expecting this, but then she remembered the word she received that morning. No wonder the Holy Spirit said she should take it in good fate. That was what she needed to snap out of the shock! What if she was expecting him to propose again? Was he trying to set her up only to ridicule her he was engaged? Hmmnn…
It’s quite interesting what the wait can look like for different people. Jess moved on and later figured out years later, that relationship between Agnes and James didn’t last. He didn’t introduce her as he had said he would though, but Jess learnt to find her joy in the Lord. her completeness is in Christ and that’s what gave her confidence. Have you been in a similar situation? Maybe you expected things to go the way you thought, but it didn’t. God sees the full picture and has a plan for you. There is no need to lose your sleep. God will take care of you and settle you. Jess got married years later and is sharing her story to encourage people. God bless you.
