My parents divorced when I was 11

My Bible: reasons to believe in the power of the Bible

‘My parents divorced when I was 11. There were six of us. We were left to our own devices and had to fend for ourselves. I was looking after my siblings. You don’t realise the impact that divorce has.

‘In Nigeria, that situation is the norm. Here, you can get therapy. There, you have to pick yourself up and go. It’s part of life. I went off the rails. When there’s no one giving you direction, you’re left to yourself. You go drinking. You go smoking. 

‘My friends used to call me Chimney because I used to like one cigarette after another. I smoked to suffocate my sorrow and I drank to drown my sorrow. I realised that something was missing. If I didn’t keep drinking or smoking, I would be alone with my thoughts. So I’d rather be drunk than sober. 

‘Then I read Romans 5.8, which says, “But God commandeth his love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”. That was the major transforming moment in my life. It spoke about the fact that Jesus loved me. I saw that God was tender and approachable and loving. I knew that Jesus loved me. It felt great. It still feels great. Something changed then.

‘I woke up one day and cigarette smoking became distasteful to me. I couldn’t pick up a cigarette anymore. It just doesn’t happen.

‘A lot of my friends that we used to go out with, 90 per cent of them are dead now. They were either driving under the influence, or things went wrong with their bodies. If that scripture hadn’t come into my life, and God, I wouldn’t be where I am today.’

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