At the age of 12, I was a J.S.S 2 student in Command secondary school Apata, Ibadan. Some students felt I was stubborn, full of myself and fearless. I cared a lot about what people said and so I tried hard to be a good girl, I still never got it right. There were still so many students who didn’t like my guts. My Self-esteem was poor. I was boyish in my looks and my Father made matters worse by refusing to allow me make my hair. I wore more of male shoes because I had very big feet. I had a lot of mood swings. Yet to many they thought I was the strongest of the junior students. Maybe, I knew how to make them believe .
Her name was Tokunbor Foresythe, am pretty sure her name would have changed. She would be married by now, I guess. She was the school’s Labour Prefect and a member of Tiger house, the same house I belonged. There was so much about her I was trying to understand. She was different in every way.
From afar off she was the one senior I wanted to be like. She always looked happy and joyful and I really wished that I had such happiness and joy. She would often come into the dining hall to give instructions to the students for Labour – a time scheduled for students to clean up the surroundings of the school. I remember her slogan …”I NEED SOME QUIET PLEASE”. She was firm and disciplined and most junior students found it easy to obey her.
One Sunday morning, during the Protestants worship service held in the schools Assembly hall. She sang a song and I couldn’t explain the way I felt when she sang. I felt like I was missing out in something. It wasn’t particularly about her voice. It was more of a glow I saw around her. She looked so very clean, pure ,at peace with herself, contented, beautiful, adorable, innocent and attractive. She was different from every other senior. She looked like an Angel of some sort. I really can’t explain.
17th July 1993, I remember me sobbing on Dormitory’s corridor; I just didn’t know what was wrong with me. There was such a great dissatisfaction within me. I believed in God, I prayed to him daily, having being raised from a strong Christian Home, my morals were intact, yet I felt disturbed, really disturbed.
Senior and junior students walked past me on the corridor.. I would hide my tears as they approached where I was. It happened that Tokunbor Foresythe walked along too, as she walked bye, she stopped to ask what I was doing sitting there. As I attempted to answer she observed that I had been crying. She came close and asked the reason for my tears. I could barely explain.
Eventually, she spoke to me about Jesus and how he would make me feel better. She told me I would be a better and happier person if I would allow him into my life. I was ready to do anything she said because I wanted to have the Joy she had, i wanted to be just like her. I gave my life to Christ on that day and In all sincerity I have no regrets.
She gave me a Gideon’s New Testament Bible and wrote at the back of the Bible the day I got saved- 17th July 1993. I can still see it clearly in mind as it was written. Although, I lost the bible. Every Sunday when she was going for the service she would take me along with her. The next special song she sang, we sang as a duet. I did my best to sing the alto part. She believed that I had a good voice and encouraged me to join the choir which I eventually did. I’m glad to let the world know that I am still singing today and in one of the best choir in the world. (No jokes☺☺ – THE ANOINTED, HARVESTHOUSE CHRISTIAN CENTER CHOIR.
We sang a song titled “running a race”… Running! Running! Running! We are running a race; it’s not how well we started but the price to win. We got to start with Jesus and his rules to obey. We got to look up to Him in his ways of life.
I sang without much understanding, but now I fully understand.
Sometimes I wonder if people see the beauty of Jesus in me, the way I saw it in Tokunbor. It was her life that made it really simple to believe that JESUS is real..
I really hope my life is doing same. I wanna be someone elses Angel. TOKUNBOR was one angel I met a long time ago.
