who know road? Or Who Be Road?

Well hello there🙋🏾‍♀️!

It's been a minute since we gisted oo, how are you doing? How have you been these past 8 weeks? I missed you ooo, and I'm hoping you missed me too. 

WE'RE BACK💃🏾!

Welcome to today's gist. 

The first time I went to Calabar, Cross River State, something really spectacular happened. I was in a bus, big bus oo –the type that you can stand in, full of people who had all never been to Calabar before; we were going for an event from Makurdi and none of us in that big bus had gone beyond Ogoja, the boundary local government of Cross River State. 

Make I shock you?

Driver too no know road!! 

Of course we didn't know this when we left Makurdi, let me tell you how we found out:

We, those of us in the bus, were part of a large group of persons all attending the National Festival of Arts and Culture –NAFEST (the new moniker for FESTAC, I think) from Benue State. The entire convoy consisted of about 5 of such big buses transporting people to Cross River State. And of the 5 buses, I happened to be in the one that was driven by a man who had never been to Calabar, of course he didn't admit that at the time he was getting the contract to take people there. As we began the journey, he was able to keep his secret because all he had to do was follow the other four drivers in the convoy and we would not be lost. 

Plan was going well until we got to a place where the roads had been almost completely destroyed by the rains (we made this journey in October). For cars to pass, youths in the community, or maybe the neighbouring community because that place looks like those forest-like places in my recollection, would have to get into the muddied road, and the mud was a lot, and help push vehicles till the vehicle got to more even ground. Of course you'd have to pay them first before they begin to push. Our driver want form smart man, e no gree pay. 

All the other bus drivers paid and were soon on their way meanwhile our driver been want do am by imself. Well, after he tried and tried and couldn't do it, about 2 hours later if I might add, he finally decided to pay the youths and we were soon on the other side of the mud. 

Problem was, the other bus drivers did not wait for us, and why should they do that when our driver supposedly knew the way to Calabar? Our driver still didn't tell us that he didn't know the way o! All of us were in the bus completely unaware that we were on a "long thing" and as you can guess, night don reach. It wasn't until we had passed a lone shop situated in the midst of another one those forest-like places for the second that we began to realise say all no dey well o. Finally, as we got back to the shop again, no ask me the kind road wey we dey follow wey cause that kind thing because I no know, we just tell driver make e wait make we call people wey don go ahead of us. 

We called them and almost all the cars don reach Calabar, the last one was almost there. Oya na, where una dey? We no fit talk; no sign post, no banner, nothing. And this was 2011 so there was no Google Maps to check nor was there the kind of phone that could have checked, at least not in that bus –probably not even in Nigeria as a whole sef. They just told us to sleep there till daybreak at which time we'd be able to travel enough to see something that would give us an inclination as to where we were. No forget, na Cross River State we dey, where they were rumoured to eat human beings so we been all just dey fervently call out to God to help us see daybreak as members of the land of the living and not meat in someone's pot 😅. 

We stayed there till about 6:30 or 7am, then we began to move, we got to a place where we saw a sign post and called those already in Calabar. Turns out we were less than 2 hours away sef, they sent one bus to come and lead us back to Calabar, nobody trusted the driver to be able to follow directions properly. 

When the bus came, it was now able to lead us to Calabar and we got there in one piece and alive to the glory of God. 

Wetin bring this gist come your dormot? 

I was at a prayer meeting two days ago and we  read Jeremiah 1:5. It says “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”(NIV) 

When we read this, the leader painted a scenario that made me remember my journey to Calabar. He said that before God even created you, He knew you; He had planned and thought out your life before He created you. When you came to this world, you came with the plan for your life complete, God isn't making things up as it goes, no. He already had it figured out, He knows the place you need to be and the road to get there so only He can take you there. So everything you're going through as you walk through life, it's like playing tape on repeat for God, He has already seen the outcome of what your life should turn out to be and He can lead you to where you need to go just like when the driver came to pick our bus, we knew without doubt that we would eventually get to Calabar because we been don dey "follow who know road".

As I write this, I just remembered something I heard someone say last year, he said "dem say follow who know road, me I dey follow Who be road", it brings to mind the fact that Jesus says "I am the way…."(John 14:6)

And interestingly, God has already promised not to leave you without directions, that's why He says you will hear a whisper in your ear saying "this is the way, walk in it."(Isaiah 30:21). It now behoves you to decide to follow God's directions after all, only He knows where you're supposed to go to, you'll never lose with His directions. So when He tells you the way, walk in it. 

This message was particularly profound for me because the lesson I learnt from it was to trust God more; to understand that nothing that happens to me takes Him by surprise and that He will work everything out for my good as I trust Him and follow Him in obedience. This lesson is one that I know I'm going to have to keep reminding myself about because I know that it can be hard to remember sometimes that God already has it figured out, but I'm praying that God will help me, and you, remember to trust His plan more, especially when life throws curveballs at us. 

NLS HOT GIST: I'm back on Campus ooo!! This is my third week sef. In the first week, we had a Portfolio Assessment were we made individual presentations on our Externship experience and the lessons we learnt. Omo e be like say the panel wey I appear before see "ask me questions" for my forehead because I never finish one question, dem don ask me another one. Sotey dem even ask me one last question say make I dey answer the question as I dey waka commot. Anyway sha God dey, I no looseguard. 

Abeg you go like intensify your prayers for all of us wey dey Law School ooo, Bar finals are in November. Thanks and God bless. 

Well that's that about that as far as that is concerned, may God help us to learn to trust Him even more. 

See you next week!

Love,

Achenyo. 

PS. Please gist me in the comments how you've been these past weeks, I'd really love to hear about it.