If you knew my story, you would think that I would have given up on finding who we call ‘the one’. But as a devoted Christian, I knew that God cherished me so much, that he would give me ‘mine’ and not someone else’s.
I had lived my life as a calm and upstanding man, a brother to many and a friend to all. I had worked hard, and I felt it was time to settle down. We were friends in church and the saying ‘marry your best friend’ was my leading force. We attended swimming lessons together, I knew her family and she knew mine. To me, it was perfect and maybe that’s why it didn’t work because I thought only about myself. On her birthday, I attempted to get out of the friendzone and that was the beginning of the end of our divine friendship. It hurt like hearing there’s no jollof at a party, but I muscled through. It was a learning curve.
My second attempt at love felt like the last one, but as some of my colleagues already know, it was not. I was so sure, I thought I was, and it wasn’t. After not so many years together, neither of us felt the connection was right so we waited on the Lord and prayed for signs, but our signals were clearly lost for each other. I wasn’t her one and neither was she mine and it was okay, hard, but okay.
Two years later when I least expected it, luck struck. Surprisingly I was confident, and I thought to myself, maybe the third time is the charm. I met the one I was sure to cherish but my height and other contenders blocked her thought process. I hoped that she would see me as her one but as I learned from early heartbreak, it’s not all about me. If there’s one thing I did not need to learn before becoming an HH Person, it is that consistency is key. So I was consistent in my friendship, I applied pressure but the roadblocks that stood before me posed a greater threat to my heart’s desire so I disconnected. I had made my case and left her to decide, heartbroken once again, I had to make the hard choice to let go and let God.
In those two silent years of waiting, I allowed myself to heal and grow. I had faith. It was obvious, as I went from mountain to mountain, praying that mine will not pass me by. Make of it what you will, but a man in love is no fool. After those two silent years, the one I was sure to cherish found a signal and reconnected to my call. “I’m ready to walk down the aisle with you,” she said. I did not need anything more. It’s been six years since we reconnected. It’s been six years since we said: “I do.”