It was in the year 2008, Linda and David, two young lovers, on a lively university campus in North Central, Nigeria. They were the picture of love, and everyone envied their union. David was a kind and aspirational man, and Linda was a young, intellectual woman. They shared aspirations of creating a successful, joyful, and loving future.
The moment Pastor Shilobam arrived on school, their love story took a tragic turn. Little did anyone know that he had a secret goal despite his charisma and reputation as a spiritual mentor. He approached Linda one day with a noticeably concerned expression. He claimed to have had a vision in which he saw David’s future transformation into a vicious wife-beater and hopeless alcoholic.
Linda was terrified by the words of the powerful pastor and was frozen with terror. The idea of her beloved David evolving into someone like this made her sick to her stomach. She confided in her closest friends about the vision since she was desperate to prevent this imagined doom. She had no idea that Pastor Shilobam had already enlisted the aid of her friends to sway her choice.
As a result of the pastor’s purported supernatural revelation, Linda’s acquaintances started to separate themselves from David. They constantly barraged her with allegations of David’s domestic violence and drunkenness, portraying him as a potential monster. The more they insisted that the vision was accurate, the more Linda’s heart broke as she tried to make sense of the kind, caring man she knew and the horrifying picture the pastor had drawn.
David questioned Linda to find out what was going on since he was wounded and perplexed by her abrupt change in conduct. She described the pastor’s vision to him while sobbing, as well as the pressure her friends were putting on her. Though terribly saddened, David made the decision to show respect for Linda’s feelings in the hopes that she would soon come to her senses.
Pastor Shilobam managed his cards skillfully during the coming weeks. He lavished Linda with love and care, serving as her confidant and counseling her on matters of the spirit. The naive faith Linda had in the preacher gradually developed into a strong emotional bond. She became sucked into Pastor Shilobam’s false web because she was so consumed with remorse over what would happen to her relationship with David.
Linda eventually took the painful choice to end her relationship with David, despite her heart’s desire. She began dating the pastor, and after a brief courtship, they were quickly united in marriage, leaving David devastated and doubting the reality of the pastor’s mission.
After some time had passed, Linda came to the conclusion that the acclaimed preacher was actually a con artist. The thin veneer of spirituality has given way to a cunning and self-serving guy. She no longer had the warm bond she had with David; instead, they were married in a cold, calculating way.
Linda craved for the love she had missed out on, haunted by sorrow. She was able to see through the pastor’s manipulation and lies, but she was unable to escape the trap she had fallen into due to her fear of the unknown. As the years passed, Linda deteriorated into a shell of her former self, stuck in an unhappy marriage and yearning for the joy she had once had.
She felt in her heart that the lovely bond she shared with David had been ruined because of a lie. If she had listened to her emotions and supported the man she loved, she pondered how her life would have turned out. But at this point, she was only able to manage staying with the dishonest pastor because leaving looked like an impossible feat.
Linda clung to a sliver of hope in the middle of her anguish, pleading for the courage to one day escape the pastor’s grasp and win back the love she had carelessly abandoned. As the years went by, she determined she would never again allow another person to play with her emotions and divert her from the path of genuine love.
