Just after my degree programme
while doing my NYSC service to my nation in Abuja, I had a terrible acne outbreak!
It was so bad that the looks I was getting from the public completely killed my
self-confidence and I was always hiding my face with a veil!
The outbreak began
after my good friend Bola and I went for a facial treatment!! I know some
ladies go for facials and after all the application and cleaning of your face,
you feel good about yourself!! But our own story was entirely different! How?
What happened to us? Sincerely I don’t know what happened but all I can
remember was that they did so many scrubbing and applying of chemicals on our
faces and we were told to come back every fortnight to do our facials. How can
we afford paying when we were just youth corpers serving with our little
allowances? (Please don’t ask me who sent us in the first place??) The answer
is youthful exuberance!! Yes that is it!
You know how it is when
you don’t have money to continue in a project you started!! We never went back
to continue in the facial after the first try. You wouldn’t believe what
happened to us after one week, our faces were spotted with pimples all over! Yours
truly, fine girl no pimples became something else! The rest is left for your
own imagination.
Do you know that while
treating the acne I was completely broke! Because I was buying everything I was
advised to apply and it was not getting better. Every one week I change what I use
for my face! It got to a point that one day we both entered a cab and the
driver said these fine girls…..dem don jazz una ( you’ve been charmed!). We
looked at him at the same time and laughed sarcastically. When he saw that we
were just not interested in his opinion he said we should be using fuel and
engine oil on our faces. Can you imagine! How can we apply his instructions
when we don’t want our faces to get burnt? Never!!
My self-confidence was
in a complete wreck! I could not look at someone straight in the eyes anymore
because I felt the person was looking at my spotted face. I and my bosom friend
Bola were facing the same challenge; we were always seen together talking about
our acne and going to shop for new facial creams that will cure the mess that
was on our faces.
We forgot to pray about
the affliction because we felt that we could handle it! A point came and we
were tired of it and ready to move on with our lives with or without pimples. Though
we were still buying creams and eventually we settle for Mercy from God because
we realized that we had no reason to go for a facial in the first place! Yes no
reason at all!
The magic words started
when one faithful day in the office, while I was looking at myself with the
mirror from my bag, I was applying powder to cover and reduce the oil from my face
when a colleague Tokunbo walked in and said Justina stop looking at yourself
always in the mirror, because you are already beautiful! I paused for a while (didn’t
feel beautiful anymore and it been a while I last heard such pretty words) and
said to him; you are mocking me abi? He smiled and said forget about the spots
in your face and tell yourself that you
are wonderfully and beautifully made in the image of God!
That day marked a
change in my life and he told me to stop everything that I was applying to my
face and watch what God will do for me. His final words were, Stand up straight, keep your head up and
make eye contact. These words were magical to me and really aided my
healing process at that time.
I have come to know
that God can use people to talk to me in several ways and this was one of the
ways he used to heal me without trusting in man made products. Yes I stopped
using any product and engaged my heart on the things of the kingdom of God.
Because my mind was out of my face and the way I looked, my face became smooth!
I know that some of you
will doubt me but I live a life of TRUTH! Whatever you may be going through may
either mar or make you by positive words. Tokunbo may not know what he did by
the words he spoke in my life at that time but I bless God for his life though I
don’t know where he is right now, he is definitely a great pastor today.
I know you will be
wondering about what happened to Bola? Because she travelled at that time, when
she came back I told her all that Tokunbo told me and she agreed and keyed into
the kingdom instead of Looks! We got the same results and we became happier
serving God.
Words are powerful and
can heal! Touch someone with your magical words today!!
No comments:
Post a Comment