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| My Beautiful step-sisters and my sis-in-law far right |
It was my father's 80th birthday last week and in as much as I give all the glory to God for keeping him to see such a milestone it was a bittersweet event for me.
First and foremost the last time I saw my dad was well over six years ago despite the fact that we both live in Lagos. Funny enough I am the only one of my dad's children who looks so much like him so you would have thought we would be so close.
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| My Dad and his three daughters(we are all from different mums...LOL!! |
Unfortunately my family is a polygamous one and my mum left my dad when I was a little girl, so that bonding process didn't have a chance to evolve. Fast forward to my university days when i felt i could take major decisions by myself,i had a stand off with my mum and insisted on building a close relationship with my dad.
Alas that was not to be because my dad had remarried and his new wife came with three other children whom my dad adopted, so whenever I visited my dad she was always there to stop me from having access to him.
After trying several times I gave up and just blanked out the fact that I had a father(sad i know). I was therefore shocked when a few weeks ago my dad started to call me and insist i must be present for his 80th birthday(hmnn...so he had my phone number all this while!!!)
Trust me I was quite cold towards him and blatantly told him I couldn't attend the event,I even cooked up a lie justifying why I wont be able to attend. Amazingly he was very sad about this but still kept calling me and I refused to budge.
But the truth is as a child of God you cannot claim to have a solid relationship with Him if you hold unforgiveness and bitterness in your heart. On my dad's birthday I woke up still adamant on not going but as I drove to work that morning I had a change of heart and by the time I got to work I was convinced in my heart that I needed to go honor my dad.
I attended the church service(I was the last of his children to get there), but midway through the service my other step-siblings saw me and invited me to the front.My father was ecstatic at seeing me there and I must say I felt very happy seeing his reaction. I also had a chance to relate with my step siblings who I hadn't seen in over 12 years.
Bottom line though is that i thank God for the opportunity to have been at my dad's 80th but it was a reminder of the effect of broken marriages and polygamy which should be avoided at all costs due to the negative effects. I was like an outsider at my own father's birthday party but I am glad I could make it there to honor him even though it was for a brief moment.
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