My testimony: It is the greatness of God that did this Praise the Lord.

In May/June 2012, I decided I was ready to have my third child, a son that I so desired. Also around the same time I noticed that my periods had changed. The colour, consistency and content were different from the norm. My periods became darker, were late and lasted longer. I thought it must be the copper coil that I was using. So I decided to remove the coil.  I started trying to conceive, using the ovulation kit etc to ensure I had a boy but I wasn’t getting pregnant. A couple of months later the periods were still the same. After a couple of examinations, my doctor said I had polycystic ovaries which causes infertility. Now this came as a shock since I already had two kids. I also recall that as soon as he checked my cervix, he asked when last I did a pap smear. I told him and he said since the results were fine then there was no cause for alarm. According to him I had cervical erosion which apparently could be a symptom of a bigger problem or as a result of child bearing.

After I was diagnosed with polycystic ovaries in January 2013, I cried and told my husband. He said I shouldn’t worry about it and I should trust God.  That Sunday we went to Church as we normally do. At our church, Guiding Light Assembly, towards the end of Sunday service, a basket is passed around which contains bible scriptures in folded pieces of papers. Each member of the congregation is expected to pick a bible promise. On numerous occasions God has spoken to me through those promises. On this particular Sunday, my husband picked a promise Psalm 128:3 “Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your sons like Olive shoots around your table”.  He showed it to me and I believed God was speaking to us. The following week I picked the same Bible verse and I knew that God was talking to us. He was confirming what he already told us a week earlier.  I believed it and knew that in God’s time I would have my son. By summer 2013, I began to worry again when nothing had happened. I went to see another doctor who also confirmed I had polycystic ovaries. No one could really say what I needed to do to reverse the condition. Anyway at this point, I decided to just let go and let GOD.

February 2014, I felt something in my breast that felt like a lump. I told my cousin and she prayed with me and advised I go get it checked. As usual I procrastinated and didn’t get it checked. Then one Sunday in March, we had a guest minister from the States, Francina Norman, a woman blessed with a gift of prophecy. She preached that day and in summary the message was that when God wants to enlarge your capacity or container, he often removes certain things in your container and this is often a painful process.  I believed strongly that the message was for me from God. Then after preaching, she began to prophecy and then she said there is a lady in the congregation with a lump in her breast and the lady should come out now. I went out with about 4 other ladies. Then she prayed for us and everyone apart from me said their lump had disappeared. She began to pray for me saying Lord you must heal her too. She then touched me saying the Lord will turn your sorrow into joy and I fell down. When I got up I was so embarrassed that the whole Church now knew my predicament.

Meanwhile my best friend, hadn’t been to Church in a very long time and that day she happened to come to Church and coincidentally sat right next to me. So after service, she called saying “Omi I didn’t know you had a lump ..….” . She also said and that another of our friend who has a breast cancer foundation had  been in Church and called her out of concern. She got the number of a doctor for me and I decided to go get it checked. I called the doctor and booked an appointment, however, that whole week all attempts to see the doctor were futile.  I made several attempts to go get checked but for some reason, something kept happening that made it impossible for me to go (fuel scarcity, car problems etc).  At one point I was confused and even told another friend that I wasn’t sure what was going on, that was it God preventing me from going to see this particular doctor or was it the devil.  

By the weekend, I remembered I had a swelling in my gum and decided to go get it checked on Monday before going to get my breasts checked. I went to the dentist and they decided to do an x-ray and then said I needed to see a maxillor facial surgeon to confirm what they thought they saw. They said I would have to wait another week to see him. You can imagine how I was feeling at this point. From a lump in my breast to the fear of a lump in my gum. I told a lady who had been praying with me during this process, what the dentist had said and she said she was going to take me to another dentist to get another opinion and that she would pick me up the following day.  The next morning I received a text message early in the morning around 5 am from a friend of mine saying : “Good morning Omi, God said to remind you that He is your shepherd and you will not want, that He anoints your head and protects you from the evil one. That his goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life”. I received it and believed that as a shepherd guides its flocks, the Lord will guide me. 

I went to see this other dentist which is considered the best in Nigeria and he said I had nothing to worry about that it was just excess bone deposits which occur in some people. I then told him that I was worried because I had also felt a lump in my breast and thought the two were connected and he advised me to go check the lump out immediately. I called the doctor I had tried to see the previous week and she was annoyed  and basically said I had been wasting her time and that she was leaving the office shortly . I told her I was on my way. I got to her office but didn’t see her and saw another doctor, who then checked and said she didn’t think there was anything there but that she would rather I get another opinion and asked me to come the next day to see two of her other colleagues. I got there the next day but still didn’t meet the doctor I had been trying to see and saw another doctor. She checked me and said I was fine but that she would like to talk to me in her office. I went to her office and she sat me down and educated me on female health etc, She took her time and we were there for over an hour talking through her presentation slides and also her families experience with cancer. She wasn’t even feeling well and wasn’t supposed to be at work that day but it didn’t deter her from doing her job. Towards the end of our discussions, she said the top three killers of women are breast cancer, cervical cancer etc. At that point I remembered that I was due for a pap smear and asked if they did it at their clinic. She said they didn’t but that she could recommend a good doctor. She gave me his number and I drove all the way from Lekki to Surulere to this clinic. 

I got checked and was told; I had pre-cancer cells in my cervix and needed treatment. I asked what kind of treatment I needed and I was told I needed a cryotheraphy which is a procedure that involves freezing the affected area and burning it off. Alarmed, I asked how much it would cost and the doctor told me the cost of treatment. I didn’t have money on me and so I told the doctor that I would come back to do the treatment and he said to me, you look like someone that would pay. We would do it for you and you can come back to pay us later. Without checking the credentials of the hospital, doctor or even the consequences of the treatment and without even consulting with my husband first, I did the treatment.  It wasn’t until after I did the treatment that I thought to myself how I could have gone through something like that without telling anyone. The normal thing to do would have been to first of all discuss it with my husband, get a second opinion before deciding on what to do but I guess God had other plans. It was as though I was on remote control, everything happened so fast. So when I got home I told my hubby and we thanked God.  

The next day, I went to a restaurant opening and I bumped into the doctor I had tried to see several times with regards to the breast lump. I spoke to her and told her everything that had happened that week. She said I shouldn’t have done a cryotherapy, that there are consequences etc, etc. Basically she put fear and doubt in me. I told my hubby and he said, don’t you believe in God. At that point I realized why God had prevented me from seeing this doctor all week. He had a plan for me and he directed me to who he wanted me to speak to and where he wanted me to go. I stood on the words of encouragement from my husband and believed that God was in control.

At the end of the month, my period came and for the first time in about 3 years, my flow was fresh and exactly what it had been previously. Immediately I knew I had been healed and I thanked God. The next three months, my periods were regular and consistent. No more darkish brown and no more delays. I began to think again about getting pregnant but I thought to wait for a while to ensure my cervix had healed.

Around that same time I started co-hosting the talk show the Heart of the Matter and we recorded about three episodes on fertility. I interviewed a fertility doctor and I began to think of getting my self-checked again especially since I had been diagnosed with polycystic ovaries. I also interviewed a lady who had waited 10 years to have her kids, she couldn’t and in the 10^th year she opted for surrogacy. This too wasn’t an easy process and eventually she had twins three years later through surrogacy. After hearing her story and seeing how much she went through both physically, financially and emotionally, I realized how blessed I was and I said I was content with my two girls and didn’t need to have any more. I stopped obsessing about having a baby boy. Later that month (about 3-4 weeks), I got up one morning to go to work and by my bedside I saw a Bible promise I had picked in Church a while ago Psalm 127:3 ”Lo children are a heritage of the Lord and  the fruit of the womb His reward”.  As I was about to leave the house, I checked through my bag and picked up the same Bible promise. When I got to my office , I saw the same bible promise at my desk. I then said to myself, God must be saying something. I hadn’t even missed my period and I went home and did a pregnancy test and found out I was pregnant.

On the 25^th of April, 2015, the Lord blessed us with  beautiful, baby boy who weighed 4.26 kg/9.3pounds. I had a very quick labour (about 3 hours) and didn’t even know I was in labour.  When I got to the hospital I was already 4 cm dialated. All the while I thought I was having Braxton Hicks.

Everyone says my son is so beautiful and so cute and it is the Lords doing. I cannot even begin to say all the wonderful things God did even during the pregnancy. All I can say is that God is never late and always on time. His ways are not our ways but His ways are far better than ours. He would always do exceedingly and abundantly above your wildest imaginations.

See the delay in getting pregnant was for a purpose. If I had gotten pregnant when I wanted to I would not be here today. Pregnancy is said to aggravate diseases and the pre-cancer cells may have developed into cancer. God knew this and removed the cells before I got pregnant. He also knew it wasn’t the right time. The time my son has come is perfect timing and I have received so many confirmations to this effect. See we need to learn to trust His timing. Delay is not denial. ‘Not yet ‘does not mean ‘No’. He sees the bigger picture, He sees the future. We must learn to trust his timing. Then suddenly, when you least expect it, He answers your prayers and it is beautiful, it is beyond your wildest imagination. It is more than you can ever imagine.

I pray this encourages you. I pray it gives you peace that that thing which you have been waiting for would surely come to pass. I pray that it also gives you confidence to trust in His will and even if He says no, it is for your own good. Today I read something that said on Good Friday, the disciples and Mary thought it was over but then Sunday came and Jesus resurrected. It’s not over yet, your Sunday is on its way.

Stay blessed and have a wonderful Easter. Remember Jesus is the reason for the season.