“Osofo, osofo! Chale, you make okay for there? Make you no worry, you go comot soon. To something very, very sweet.”

David heard the voices of all four men laughing and scorning him as they were parked by the side of the road, doing some quick work. With what he could hear, it seemed like they were changing the car’s registration plate to avoid getting caught.

“Hey, man of God! You see the power drill for there? And the nail gun? Yeah, wana toys that. You go feel am roff!”

“Rofff! You figure you be Martin Luther King? Sia like that!”

“Next time, them dey warn you aa, you go listen! Foolish man!”

It had been probably one or two hours of intense mental torment. The darkness inside the confined space was suffocating. His mind was already a whirlwind of terror, fear and uncertainty. But once he heard those words and realized what those uncomfortable objects he lay on were, the uncertainty metamorphosed into even more terror.

Shaking violently as the car began to move back onto the road, he began to shed tears. He knew Roger was up to no good, and he had been warned already that a day of adversity was coming. But this? This was too much.

Roger had hired these men to physically torment him? With tools that were meant for building? What kind of savage cruelty was this? Was he truly that vindictive?

Sobbing uncontrollably, images of his family flashed before his eyes – the radiant smile of Sika, and the laughter of Matthew, Mark and Maria. A cold shiver ran down his spine, as the fear that he might never see him again suddenly felt extremely real.

“Lord, please… my family,” David wept, tears running down his face. “Please… Sika… oh God, Sika! What will she do without me? Please, Lord, please!”

Crying loudly, memories of the past came to mind.

Memories of the woman he cried for.

Sweet, pleasant memories…

“Hey, how are you doing? My name is David,” he introduced himself, extending a hand as he and the gorgeous young lady he had been eyeing stood outside the hall where the Scripture Union meeting had taken place.

She took it shyly and shook it, feeling a tad bit intimidated. “Hi. My name is Sika.”

“Wow. Sika. Such a beautiful name for a lovely young lady. Well, it was good to see you around for today’s meeting. It was a pretty powerful meeting, wasn’t it?”

“Oh yeah,” she admitted. “The glory of the Lord was so tangible in this meeting. I’ll definitely come again next week.”

“Great, great, that’s good to hear. Do you mind if I get your number, just so I can… you know… follow up and check on you whenever possible?”

Sika smiled, a blush covering her face. He could tell she already could decipher his intentions for her. She nodded. “Sure. Give me your phone and let me give it to you.”

As David took out his phone and handed it to her, he smiled and nodded as he watched her key in her digits.

Now this was a lady that made his heart skip beats. She was a perfectly plump shape, with lips that curved into the most dazzling smile he had ever seen. And from what he had seen during the service, this girl’s heart was sold out for Christ. The perfect combination. It was their first time meeting, but he already knew what he wanted: to make her his girl.

Hopefully, this would work out.

*

“Sika, I know what I want, and what I want is for you to be mine for life. Ever since I saw you, I knew this was the woman I’m supposed to be with. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. You are amazing. You are beautiful. You are a true woman of God. And I want to share my life with you.”

Holding her hands as they sat in the park, smiling at each other, David had long anticipated this moment. His heart had truly been captured by this beautiful queen, and he just knew deep down that this was the one God had prepared for him.

Looking down for a moment, she looked up at him and smiled. “You know,” she began softly, “I never thought I’d look at you and see the man I want to spend my life with. But God orchestrated everything so perfectly, and I love it. I love you, David, I really do, and yes, I also want to share my life with you.”

His heart soared with excitement. “So that’s a yes?”

“Of course, now! Yes, David, yes! I want to be your wife!”

*

“Sika, my beautiful, beautiful wife, today, I stand before you not just as a man of God, but as a man who is deeply and irrevocably in love with you. Our love is not bound by conditions or expectations—it’s a love that transcends the ordinary, and has been stamped with approval by the Almighty.”

Standing at the podium, looking super crisp in his stunning white tuxedo, this part of the reception was extremely important to him. He might have already said his vows at the main ceremony, but these were special words that were to be heard by all, especially the one it was written to.

Facing her, he smiled as she did same, her face beaming with joy unspeakable.

“And so, I make a solemn vow to you, my love. I promise to cherish you for as long as I live, to stand by you in times of joy and sorrow, to support your dreams, and to love you unconditionally. Our journey together is a testament to the power of love, and I am grateful for every moment we share, and are about to share on this journey as one flesh. I love you, Mrs. Sika Mensah-Jones.”

As he ended, the cheers and applause rang throughout the hall, everyone touched by those beautiful words…

“God, please, don’t let Sika lose me! I don’t what she’d do if she had to live the rest of her life without me!” he wailed. “And the children… Lord, please… my three sweet ones…”

His mind drifted to memories about them…

“You’re doing great, my love. Just a little more, and we’ll get to meet our baby,” he whispered to Sika, his voice a soothing presence amid the intensity of the delivery room.

She nodded, pain etched across her face as she winced, struggling to push. Amidst the encouraging urges from the doctors and midwives, she held his hand tightly, almost squeezing the bones flat with each wave of pain.

It hurt, but of course, his pain was a drop in the ocean compared to what she was enduring.

Praying under his breath as she pushed, he willed her on. “Come on, my love! You’re almost there! We’re almost there!”

A few more difficult moments and pushes later, and the sound of a newborn’s cry echoed in his ears as the doctor gently placed their bundled joy in his arms. Tears ran down his cheeks as he gently cradled the tiny, squirming form, his heart swelling with indescribable love.

“Hello, little one. We’ve been waiting for you,” he whispered as he moved to Sika’s side to show her their beautiful first child. She weakly raised her head and smiled at him. He kissed her forehead and showed her the wailing little one.

“Here he is, my love. Our precious little son.”

*

“Come on, Mark, you can do it!” David encouraged, his voice filled with infectious enthusiasm. Sika’s laughter mingled with his as they waited at the other end of the couch, urging their second son to take that long-awaited first steps.

The little one, with an enthusiastic glint in his eyes, took a few tentative steps forward. The room erupted in cheers and applause as the young boy forged on and eventually stumbled into his parents’ waiting arms.

“Yaaayyyy, you did it! You did it!” David cheered.

“Who’s a big boy now? Who’s a big boy nowwww?” Sika teased, tickling Mark as he giggled.

If he had thought he’d seen it all with Matthew, he was so wrong. The enthusiasm and joy of seeing his second son try to walk as fresh as when Matthew started walking. No matter what, he loved his children so deeply, and their joy was his joy.

*

“And so God called Moses to come and have a chat with Him on the mountain, so Moses had to leave the people and go up, wayyyy up the mountain, so that he and God could have a chat.”

It was nighttime, and sweet little Maria was tucked in bed, listening to her father attentively as he told her a story from the Bible. Her curious expression as he spoke, she gently asked, “Um, Daddy?”

“Yes, my love?” David responded.

“Daddy, did the people really talk to God like we talk to each other?” she asked, her eyes wide with fascination.

He chuckled. “Absolutely, sweetheart, they did. They prayed to God, and He listened with a loving heart. Just like how we talk to God through our prayers.”

“So if I talk to God, will He respond to me like the way you do?”

David cocked his head sideways, a smile on his face. “Well… not exactly like that. He will speak to you… through your heart. So you know something? Anytime you pray to God, just be silent afterwards and listen with your heart. You will hear Him speak to you.”

Maria’s eyes went wide. “Really, Daddy? He’ll answer me?”

“Of course, sweetie! He definitely will. He loves little boys and girls, so he’ll definitely answer you, and tell you how much He loves you.”

“Wow! That’s nice! Thanks, Daddy.”

“You’re welcome, my sweet baby girl…”

As the car continued to speed along, David continued to weep, all these glorious memories rising to the fore and magnifying the possibility that those would be the last memories he would have of his beloved family.

Still sobbing, he wiped his eyes as he shoved the nail gun under his foot. A thousand and one scenarios had played out in his mind along with those sweet memories- each more terrifying than the last. From having his stomach drilled to getting nails shot directly into his skull, the flashing images were chilling to the bone.

Breathing in and out, he decided to make a desperate attempt to maintain a semblance of control over the spiraling chaos within him. “Stay calm, David. Think. Pray,” he repeated to himself. “Remember, this is no time to faint. If I faint in this moment, my strength is small. Come on now, David, pray. Begin to pray.”

In the midst of his fear, he started to speak in tongues, hoping that maybe, something would come out of it.

Five minutes in, and worry gripped him. Not only was nothing happening, the atmosphere felt flat. It was as if his prayers in the Spirit were barely able to make it out of the trunk.

Anxiety and fear began to rise up again. “Lord, it’s not working, the prayers aren’t working, what do I do, what do I…”

Suddenly, an inexplicable urge bubbled up within his spirit—the call to sing a recent hymn of faith. A song that he really cherished.

As the song began to play in his mind, his trembling hands fumbled against the restraints as he began to softly sing the song.

I love You, Lord
For Your mercy never fails me
All my days, I’ve been held in Your hands
From the moment that I wake up
Until I lay my head
Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God.

As he raised his voice, the terror suddenly seemed to subside, and a sense of contentment took over. A sense of joy bubbled up within him, urging him to continue singing.

And so he did, with goosebumps ripping through his system as he heartily sang out the chorus…

‘Cause all my life You have been faithful

And all my life You have been so, so good

With every breath that I am able

Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God

Tears streaming down his cheeks, his spirit was charged up with adoration for the One he sang about. His heart desperate to emphasize the faithfulness of God, even as he lay bound in the trunk on the way to possible torment, he sang the chorus again, belting out with everything in him.

Yes, he was in a terrible place at the moment. Far away from his beloved family. In the hands of evil thugs who were eager to put him through untold torment. But that would not stop him from proclaiming the goodness of God, which remained constant no matter what he went through.

I love Your voice
You have led me through the fire
In darkest night You are close like no other
I’ve known You as a Father
I’ve known You as a Friend
And I have lived in the goodness of God

He didn’t know if the abductors could hear him, and frankly, he couldn’t care less. What mattered was giving God His due praise, which he did with passion he could not explain.

He belted out the chorus once again, then the bridge…

Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me

Your goodness is running after it’s running after me

With my life laid down, I surrender now, I give You everything

Your goodness is running after it’s running af-

Suddenly the car swerved violently, taking him by surprise and silencing him briefly. He gritted his teeth at the deafening sound of tires screeching as they skidded out of control. The frightened screams of the driver and his fellow abductors echoed.

Tossed back and forth by the force of the moving car, a pit of terror opened up in his belly as he felt the vehicle careen off the road with a violent force.

“Yehowa!”

“NOOOO!”

The cries of despair were silenced as the car slammed into a nearby tree.

The sound of twisting metal and shattering glass filled the air, and instant, permanent damage enveloped the car, as the impact totaled it beyond any kind of repair.

Seconds of that terrifying damage went by…

…and then there was silence.

The car was totally ruined. Destroyed beyond any kind of redemption.

Except for the trunk.

The impact of the accident had jostled David within the trunk, disorienting him a bit, but he remained unharmed.

As he lay still, wondering what had just happened while measuring his breaths…

… the trunk popped open.

Wow… just wow… if that isn’t the goodness of God showing up in mind-blowing fashion…