Post by Being Ready And Stable (BRAS) (@brashub)

NNEKA'S DIARY XX

A week after my conversation with Priscilla, I got a reminder from Mrs. Chucks' assistant about the women's conference.

"Your session is at 11am," she said. "Theme: 'Rising After the Fall.' You're on a panel with three other women."

My stomach flipped.

"Can I back out?"

"Mrs. Chucks said to tell you that you can't. She also said to remind you that your story is not just yours — it belongs to everyone who needs to hear it."

I wanted to argue. But I knew she was right.

The conference was held at a large hall in Surulere. Over two hundred women sat in rows — young, old, married, single, widowed, divorced. All carrying invisible burdens.

When my turn came, I walked to the podium with shaky legs.

"Good morning, everyone. My name is Nneka."

I paused and took a breath.

"I'm here today not because I have all the answers, but because I know what it feels like to be stuck. To wake up every morning and wonder if tomorrow will ever be different."

I told them about disappointment — without mentioning Henry by name. I spoke about the years I closed my heart because I was afraid of being hurt again. I spoke about building walls so high that I convinced myself I didn't need anyone.

"But God," I said, "is not afraid of our walls. He doesn't run from our pain. He meets us right there — in the middle of our brokenness."

I opened my Bible to Isaiah 43:18-19:

"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?"

"I used to hold onto my pain like it was a badge of honor. Like if I let it go, I was betraying myself. But God kept whispering: Nneka, I didn't bring you this far to leave you here."

I shared about the process of healing — how it wasn't instant. How some days I took two steps forward and three steps back. How I learned that forgiveness is not about excusing what was done to you, but about freeing yourself from the prison of bitterness.

I quoted Psalm 34:18:

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."

"I didn't come here to tell you that pain disappears. It doesn't. But it can become something else. It can become wisdom. It can become compassion. It can become the very thing that helps someone else survive."

I closed with Jeremiah 29:11, the same verse Mrs. Chucks had shared with me.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

"I don't know what you're carrying today. Maybe it's a broken marriage. Maybe it's a dream that died. Maybe it's a betrayal you can't forget. But I want you to know: God is not done with you. Your story is not over. He is still writing it."

When I finished, women lined up to speak to me. Some cried. Some hugged me. One woman said, "I've been divorced for five years and I thought my life was over. Thank you for giving me hope."

I cried on the way home.

That night, I called Kunle and told him everything.

"I'm so proud of you," he said.

"I was terrified."

"Fear is not the opposite of courage, Nneka. It's the proof that courage is needed."

I smiled. "Did you read that somewhere?"

"No," he said. "I just know you."

To be continued ….

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