“Daddy, you sure everything is alright?” Maria asked, a concerned look on her face.

Sitting silently at the dining table, David turned to his daughter, the solemn, morose look still on his face. He nodded slightly. “I’m alright, Maria,” he responded quietly. “Don’t worry, alright?”

The young girl hardly looked convinced by her father’s answer. “Really, really sure, Daddy?”

David cracked the tiniest of smiles and nodded. “Really, really sure.”

The eight year-old girl still didn’t look persuaded enough. She looked like she had more to say, but stopped, then opened her arms, ready to hug him.

He wasn’t exactly in the mood for any embrace, but coming from his baby girl, he knew it would be a bad idea to push her away. So he opened up his arms and let her in.

“Whatever it is, Daddy, just know I love you very much, okay?” the young girl assured him, patting him on the back before letting him be.

“I love you too, my baby girl,” he called back, sighing as she walked away. He shook his head, doing his best to fight back the tears that threatened to escape. “God, I thank You that You didn’t let me fail her. And everybody else under this roof,” he whispered sorrowfully.

It had been a very solemn couple of days for David. Since Friday morning, he had been a shadow of his usual self. Sika woke up to find him brooding quietly at their dressing table, looking deep in thought. She had thought nothing of it as they prepared for the day ahead, and neither did the kids notice their father’s disposition. Even when he looked ready to burst into tears while playing Nathaniel Bassey’s album, they all just assumed he was ‘in the Spirit’ and chose not to disturb him. It was only much later, when they returned home, that they realized the head of the Mensah-Jones house seemed quite downhearted.

Numerous questions of concern from his wife and children were met with assurances that he would be fine, and that he would open up at the right time.

Of course, the reality was that David was in a very fragile and sorrowful state of mind.

After that roller-coaster of a nightmare, it was clear to him that he had badly slipped into a place of compromise, and he felt terrible about it. Time in the secret place was filled with more tears of remorse and regret than prayers of intimacy, and the more he dwelt on it, the more he realized how foolish he had been.

What in the world made me think this was going to be wise in any way? Coming into wealth all of a sudden, and you thought it was worth it? How, David, how?

It baffled him how he honestly and truly believed taking it up would go down well with anyone who knew him. Especially Sika.

Given the fact that she was well aware of the whole issue, it was stupendously ludicrous to assume that she would not be suspicious of where such huge amounts of money were coming from. And she most certainly would not be happy to spend money that was tainted with unrighteousness. A woman of high morals like her would not approve of it in the least.

What would Reverence Ministries think? The people he worked with, from Pastor Gilbert and Arthur to Ludwig, knew he did not play with financial integrity. There was a reason he and his leadership regularly gave details of the church’s financial position to the people; he was big on accountability. It certainly would have been weird and very questionable to see him suddenly rolling in cash, and once its source was discovered, it would be an absolute disgrace.

But more importantly, and regrettably, he had allowed money to turn his head away from the path God had set out for him. He had betrayed his Master, and that really stung bad. He had been born again since the age of fifteen while in secondary school, and not many slip-ups cut him to the core like this one.

To think that he had suspended his ultimate dedication to Elohim in favour of money… it was horrifying, to say the least. As to how he had forgotten that he was serving Jireh, the One who could easily make provision for all his needs, and looked to a human being for help that had strings attached to it, he still could not believe it.

“I’m sorry, Lord, I’m sorry,” he whispered to himself. “I exalted the lure of material wealth over You, even when the devil’s strings have been shown. I’m such a fool, Lord. Please forgive me. I’m sorry…”

***

“Honey. You ready to let me know what’s wrong now?”

Sitting upright on their bed, David looked up at his wife, clad in her robe, as she joined him on the king-sized bed they shared in their spacious, comfy bedroom.

While he had continued to plead for forgiveness at the dining table, the Spirit of the Lord told him to break out of his state of misery and open up to the one who needed to hear. So he pushed himself to put on a proper smile, announce to the family that he was out of his funk, and indicated to Sika that he would speak to her once they retired to bed.

So now, here he was, ready to confess this transgression of his to her. It wasn’t going to be easy, but it had to be done.

He nodded, inhaling and exhaling as Sika drew closer and took his hand.

“Talk to me, Dave.”

David sighed, his eyes shut for a moment, then turned to her.

“Sika, remember that offer I said Mr. Roger Wakefield made to me? The one that’s meant to shut me up?”

Sika nodded.

“Yeah. At some point during the week, I decided to accept the offer.”

Sika’s eyes grew wide. “Seriously?”

David nodded, his head bowed slightly. Taking a few seconds of silence, he lifted his head again, then told Sika everything.

From the church issues that shifted his stance to the terrifying nightmare that left him sullen, he hid nothing from her, but laid it all out before her.

Once he was done, Sika’s facial expression was one of bewilderment and amazement. It wasn’t hard to tell that she had never expected this. Silent for a few moments, she simply clasped her hands together and placed her index fingers against her lips, while David observed her silently, wondering what was on her mind.

Finally, she spoke up. “But… but, David. I thought… I thought we were in agreement that you weren’t accepting that offer. Wh-wh-what happened? Why the change of heart? Why?”

Another sigh from David before he answered.

“Look, Sika, I have to be honest. I know it was wrong to consider it, when you think of how much of a compromise I’d be making on the assignment God has given me. But… there were so many reasons to take it that came to mind, and they ended up sounding so convincing to my mind… now that we sit here, I can’t believe they sounded so good, but… yeah, I was deceived. The fiery darts hit the mark, unfortunately.

“The orphanage and rehab center issues really shook me, and you know of late, the church is slightly struggling with finances, so that honestly made my mind shift, even though I knew full well that there are far better alternatives. And… I feel a bit ridiculous admitting this, but one major reason was that… I wanna make your life as happy as I possibly can. Because you mean the world to me.”

Sika looked intently at him.

He gently took her hand. “Sika, we’ve been together for twelve good years, and honestly, there are times I think back on how far we’ve come, and I feel like I’ve given you less than you deserve. Honey, you’ve heard me say it all the time: I think you’re a superwoman. I watch you do what you do every blessed day, and more often than not, I feel like there’s so much I ought to do for you, and… I thought I could use that. But yeah, in hindsight, that was sheer foolishness. I know the woman I married, and there’s no way you’d be happy to be pampered with such money.”

She looked down at his hand holding hers, and sighed. “Well, you’re right about that. There’s no way I’d embrace getting spoiled with that money. No way. I told you I’d prefer to starve with you and the kids than to let that man be the reason why we’re living a good life.”

David nodded. Just as he had expected. The state of delusion those darts had put him in really looked ludicrous now. If any woman was going to enjoy unexplained wealth, Mrs. Sika Mensah-Jones definitely was not one of them.

“Well… I guess the Lord has pulled you out of that state of mind, and as horrible as that dream sounds, it’s a mercy of sorts from Him, so we thank Him for that. There’s really not much I can say, but… if there’s anything I can say, it’s that… you’ve given me all of you throughout these twelve years, and that’s more than enough for me. Maybe you might feel you need to do more for me, but… David, I’m as happy as can be. I couldn’t be more content with what I have.”

Squeezing his hand slightly, Sika continued. “I have a wonderful husband and a fantastic father to my children. You’ve been a rock, a true prophet, priest and king of this household, and I couldn’t be more blessed to be submitting to you. You do your job well, and I appreciate you for that. I love the fact that I’m married to a man of God who is passionate about the Lord and lives for Him. I really am. So please, keep Him first. As far as doing more for me is concerned, and the orphanage and all, we know the God we serve owns all the cattle on a thousand hills, so we’ll be fine. He’ll make provision for all that. Just be faithful to the call on your life. You have a duty to do that, and that’s bigger and more important than anything you’ll do for me.”

David nodded, his heart warmed by the words he had heard. Nothing sweeter than to hear such words of appreciation from the woman who meant so much to him. And now it felt even more crazy to have considered Wakefield’s offer; this was where he was supposed to be. Walking in the will of God.

He nodded, a genuine smile on his face for the first time in forty-eight hours. “Yes, my dear. I will be faithful to the call. Been doing that since I was fifteen, and I’m not backing out any time soon. Back to the straight and narrow road it is.”

“That’s right!” Sika gushed before reaching over to hug him. “Awww, David, I love you so, so much.”

“I love you too, Sika. You’re the best wife a man could ever be blessed with.”

“All glory to God, my love. Now get some sleep. 4 a.m. isn’t too far away. You know you’ll need to pray and prepare for the sermon.”

“Sure, sure. Good night, my sweet.”

This is sweet! The love between Rev. David and his wife is so heartwarming, isn’t it? And boy, is it good to see he’s back to himself!