Grace, the wife of the immediate
past General Evangelist of the Christ Apostolic Church Worldwide, Prophet
Samuel Abiara, got married as a virgin at 56.
In a recent interview with
Ademola Olonilua of Punchng, she shared her experience. About why she didn’t
marry till she was 56, she said: “You can see what happened in the life of
Abraham, Sarah and Haggai.
You did not get married till you attained and passed the age of 50. Was
it that suitors did not come to seek your hand in marriage or no man of God
approached you for marriage?
You can see what happened in the
life of Abraham, Sarah and Haggai. That is the perfect example of my life. Despite
my age, I did not go against the word of God. Immediately the Holy Spirit said
something about a particular suitor, I listened. Everyone that came was
rejected by the Holy Spirit. I prayed myself; I did not need to meet any man of
God. When my husband asked me to marry him, I talked to God and the revelation
came without any delay. Immediately, I called my prophet who told me he would
call me back after some days. When he called me, he told me that God approved
of the marriage. The devil would make every
effort to derail you but when you are focused and determined and you ask for
the grace of God, He would lead you.
Does it mean that the devil tried to derail you?
Yes, because it got to a stage
where the devil started telling me that was it not obvious that I was ageing
and kept urging me to settle for anyone that came my way. But immediately I
prayed to God about it, I had to remind God that He is the only one with a
perfect answer and He is a good God and my case would not prove him to be a
liar.
Was there any time you actually
gave up on love and marriage?
I never gave up. There is an
annual programme in MFM which holds around my birthday. I remember telling God
a year before I got married that I had never asked Him for a birthday gift but
He should give me my own birthday gift by granting my heart desire last year.
Before the end of that programme, God proved himself. I have always put my
trust in God.
Did you not face pressure from
family to settle down especially when you were getting past 40 years?
I faced a lot of pressure but I
had God on my side. I faced pressure to the extent that my family, friends
began to tell me to marry just anybody even if the person was not a Christian.
Anytime I got such advice, all I used to say was ‘okay’. I never fought them
because I knew that it was borne out of the love and care they felt towards me.
If they did not care, they would just be watching me.
For instance, one of my bosses in
the office advised me to change my church but I had to tell her that the issue
on ground was not about church. I told her that when God finished with me,
everything would be a thing of the past. I thank God that she is still alive
even though she has retired. Before my wedding, she deposited a huge sum of
money into my bank account. She was so happy for me that she attended my
wedding with her family members. Even friends that are Muslims were concerned
about my situation because they all knew that I have a wonderful character and
I do not fight with people. Within me, I knew that God was going to answer my
prayer.
Did you not feel pressured
personally especially when your younger siblings got married and began to bear
children?
No, I did not feel any form of
personal pressure. I brought up all my younger ones even with their children. I
helped raise my younger sister’s first child till she got married.
How did you meet your husband?
It was by divine intervention;
everything was prepared by God. When I say that we met through divine
intervention, it is beyond human reasoning. It is beyond human imagination.
But for a divine intervention to
occur, God has to use people. Was it a case of match-making through a mutual
friend?
We did not meet through
match-making. I had initially said that there was a prophecy about 13 years ago
that I would get married to a man of God; so when it happened, I was not
surprised. When you ensure that you are not derailed and you are on God’s side,
immediately a breakthrough is coming you would see it clearly. The revelation
would come in a very clear manner.
When your husband asked you to be
his wife, what was the first thing that came to your mind?
Because I saw God the Father, the
Son and the Holy Spirit in him; that settled everything for me. I did not see
him as an old man or in any other light but I saw God in him.
For someone who had waited this
long, does it mean no special thought came to your mind?
I felt favoured. It got to a
stage where after I read Psalm 91, my next favourite Bible passage was Psalm 92
verse 14. The passage states that at my old age, I would bring forth fruit;
that I shall be fresh and flourishing.
Does it mean that you have plans
to bear children?
As the Lord lives, I would. What
age was Sarah when she had her child? She was in her 90s, I am just in my 50s,
so what are we saying. The God that did it for Sarah then is still the same
God. He does not change.
So that means you are still
looking forward to having children?
While walking down the aisle in
your wedding dress, what was running through your mind? Weren’t you nervous?
In one day, I bought three plots
of land without borrowing money from anyone and I travelled out of the country
the next day. I have never joined any cooperative society, meanwhile, that is
what some people depend on. I have never begged or borrowed money from anyone,
yet God has been blessing me. There are a lot of things to be thankful to God
for. I had nine people with me and I fed everybody daily. There was a time that
my sister told me that there was every probability that I was blessed because I
also helped others. I have never collected money from a man and it got to a stage
where I even forgot that I was unmarried. A lot of people said it in my church
that with the way I behave, no one would know that I was not married. Anytime
people asked about my husband and children, I always replied that they were
doing fine. As a result of that, most of them came to my wedding just to
witness it and be sure that I had been unmarried all the while.
How were you able to keep your
virginity for that long?
Throughout my university days, I
was never one of those girls that had sex with lecturers to pass their courses.
I was always adequately prepared and I could stay in the classroom till 2am
before I got back to the hostel to sleep. If a lecturer scheduled an early
morning class, after reading I would sleep in the classroom despite the noise
and after the early morning lecture, I would return to my hostel. When God
prepares a person for a certain journey in life, you would not know but he
would give you the strength and knowledge required for the journey. You just
notice that you are going along a certain path without your knowledge but you
would get to a stage where God would be calling your attention to the journey
ahead; you need to appreciate God when you get to that stage. There was a point
in my life when I began to worship God like a blind person. There were times I
would have got to MFM headquarters as early as 8 am, either it is a working day
or public holiday. I was never tired of serving him. I knew that God would make
it possible for me to get married and when he did it at his own appointed time,
he did it effortlessly.
How would you describe your
relationship with your husband’s children?
It is very fantastic; the first
son is my second daddy and I refer to him in this manner regardless of who is
present. God had prepared the house for me even before I got there. If you are
present whenever we are chatting, you would assume that we had known ourselves
for a long time. I have a very beautiful relationship with all of them, we have
no problems. I am grateful to God. When God promised the Israelites that they
were going to the promised land, you know that the crops Joshua and Caleb found
in the promise were described as very good ones; my husband’s children are
wonderful people.
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