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I had wanted to leave every of my stories and articles for next year, I had wanted “2017: DONE & DUSTED” to be the last article I wrote this year and I had even bragged about it to my friend maintaining that I wasn’t going to write any long note till 2018. Well, I still have this very short story to share which just happened few hours ago as at the time of flexing my muscles on the laptop keyboard.
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I was in Akokwa to witness Akokwa Worship Experience, it was massive and lives were blessed. That is a story for another day; let me share what happened as I set out to leave for Onitsha in the morning after the event. I ran out of cash and needed to withdraw few bucks to sort some urgent needs and also finance my transportation, the season had made it impossible to spend below or within budget. We went to the ATM machine very early and to my surprise the queue was just very long and scary. When I made enquiries to see if I could find another ATM center, I was told that is the only ATM in the whole of Akokwa! I had always thought Akokwa was another type of Onitsha, I was wrong anyway. The ATM was not dispensing cash and people were stranded, from enquiries I had only three options. One was to travel to Orlu and withdraw, another was to take a tricycle to Ekwulobia where there are lots of ATM machines and the last option was to go back and relax in Akokwa till I become wanted.
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Whichever option we choose, it was going to cost us some money. Going to Orlu would cost about 800 bucks, going to Ekwulobia would cost 600 bucks and staying back in Akokwa wouldn’t just cost us much but also seem senseless. Going to Ekwulobia was obviously the best idea as it will also make our journey easier. As we left the queue, some looked at us as though we didn’t know what we were doing, I even read what was going on in their mind and I whispered to my friend “what if we spend what we have now and get to Ekwulobia and the ATM refuses to work just as it is happening here, our name will be sorry”. She looked at me and joked “I cast that statement out” and I laughed responding with an “Amen”. We boarded a tricycle and left for Ekwulobia.
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On getting to Ekwulobia, the first ATM machine we came across was also not dispensing cash. Well, at that point I wasn’t worried anymore about the cash; I was worried about the time we were going to spend on queues because I already started sensing it. We walked down to another bank and were shocked by the number of people we saw there. There was no option left than to join in the queue and wait till it would ever get to us. That moment, I had made up my mind to stay there till it was afternoon; we also looked weak and tired because we hadn’t had rest after the event we attended. While we stood on the endless queue, a man came and tapped me saying “I saw you at Akokwa. Follow me, I have reserved a spot for you”, I followed him to the front of the queue as he said, “I was standing here, now you can withdraw on my behalf”. I now had only three people ahead of me and I was speechless, I didn’t know what to say to him as he went to a corner, sat on a stone watching me. He was there to ensure that people don’t argue or fight me out of the line, some people started expressing their surprises but in a very peaceful way, one said “I was sure I came here before that guy, how come he got to the front like that?” my friend smiled and responded “you may get here before us, it doesn’t mean you will withdraw before us. Things change you know…”
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I started wondering why the man who gave me that spot could do it, how can someone persevere through the long queue and then at the point of withdrawing put someone else there? So many things were coming to my mind. Maybe, it was how he feeds himself. Maybe he would demand for a pay after I had withdrawn or maybe he had other intentions. Sometimes I would turn to look at him and he had a fixed gaze on me so I always look away immediately. Yet, I had another thing that bothered me. How did he know we were coming to Ekwulobia? How did he know we were coming to that particular bank? There were several other banks and Ekwulobia is a city in another state and far from Akokwa, how could he have transported himself to that place in such speed to secure a spot for us? In a jiffy it was my turn to withdraw and I looked around to see him before stepping up to the machine and he was gone. Just like that? I didn’t say he disappeared into the thin air but all I can say is he was gone and I couldn’t tell how he left. Maybe he was waiting at the gate so that once I am out of the machine I could give him his share and it will be a done business. I wouldn’t feel bad if it ended that way, he helped me a lot.
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I had withdrawn and I was looking around to see him approach me, I would have loved to say thank you but he is gone! I asked my friend if she had seen him and she said he is gone. That was how we came to the bank, met queues but never followed the protocols. It still hadn’t made much sense to me.
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When I got to Onitsha, it seemed my Spirit was communicating something to me about the incident. I stayed calm and was sure I heard “that is how Angels work too. They don’t come in wings, they don’t come fair and rich…” and I screamed! It has never occurred to me in that perspective. Whatever that meant, I was sure I met an Angel at the ATM machine and I was sure God is very concerned with even the very simple things we meet in this life, sometimes He can still work in ways we do not understand regardless of what we have thought and how we had expected it to happen. Sometimes, God can use mere mortals in your time of need and at that given time they can be Angels, they are being compelled by God’s spirit to meet you at that point of your need.
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This is my story… God bless you.
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#GracefulGeorge
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