So I got Encomium magazine as usual and read a very interesting interview. A Rev Chris Okotie interview. I've always been fascinated with this man of God and just love listening to him speak...On thursday August 7th through Sunday, August 10th 2008, Rev Chris Okotie and drop dead gorgeous Stephanie Henshaw had their traditional wedding, Registry and thanksgiving.
He spoke to Encomium's editor-in-chief, Kunle Bakare, on his new marriage.
Excerpt...
In the last few days what has filled your heart?
Rev "I’ve never been so excited in my entire life. The only experience that comes is when I became a born again Christian. The first time I was married I was 24, I didn’t understand the institution. I didn’t understand the convolution, the labyrinths of its complexities, it was a difficult parallax, to conceptualize things and maintain a balance. But today I’m much older, I’m wiser, more established, and above all, more yielded to the spirit of God. I was asking him when I knew I was going to get married, I wanted to know what kind of person should I look out for, because I’m not just an ordinary Christian, so that we don’t repeat what happened in the past. I was very very excited, exhilarated, completely overwhelmed when he decided in the direction of Stephanie, because I’ve always liked her, admired her as a person outside of being a great woman. She’s very beautiful, kind and gentle. I’m still trying to come to terms with the fact that this is happening to me. It’s beyond my wildest imagination.
So you didn’t mind the fact that she already married twice, and had three children?
Rev "No. when people asked me had she been married, I used to say yes. But a couple of days ago, I was talking about that and the spirit of God told me that I ought to realize as a minister as a minster that the girl you are marrying had never been married to anyone , it said to me. Then the scripture came to me that if any man believes in Jesus Christ, he’s a new creature. Then it asked me, ‘Are you the same Chris that you used to be?’ I said no. So, she’s not the same woman who married whoever it was. This is a different person entirely. None of those men know this woman that you know today. I said Lord that’s true because the woman I know today is not the same woman I used to know in the past. To tell you the truth, this is a virgin I am marrying and I’m her first husband."
You are her first husband?
Rev "I’m her first husband. It even makes it more exciting. I should have known because that’s what I teach. I just didn’t think about it until the spirit of God reminded me of the reality of God’s words"
Why did you opt for an elaborate traditional wedding? A lot of people thought because it was your ‘second’ marriage, you should have done a quieter wedding…
Rev "It was beyond me. It was my church. You know I’ve never liked ceremonies. I told them and my in-laws that I just wanted something real quiet but my church people were too excited and they made all the arrangement. I just showed up."
You were talking earlier about the lord speaking with you about the woman you are to marry…did you see Stephanie in the picture?
Rev "When ministers talk about the Lord talking to them, it creats a picture, it’s difficult for those who don’t. when teena (his first wife) left, I didn’t think I was going to remarry. I thought maybe what I should do is concentrate on serving God until God began to persuade me to the contrary that that’s not what I want you to do. I don’t want you to be celibate, I don’t want you not to have a woman in your life because of what you represent. And then I began to understand. I started asking for direction; what kind of a woman? Is there a particular person you’ll have me marry? The thing about it is that, most of the time, what He asks you to do, the tools are usually very close to you. I heard a man of God say once that God hides things from us by putting them very close to us. So I had already been friends with stephanie all these years, not realising that that was the purpose. And when it was time for me to begin to address my mind to the seriousness of a conjugal relationship, I began to look in her direction.
But from the way you talk, you are unabashed about refering to Teena and we suspect that you have a very good relationship…
Rev "Oh absolutely. We are very good freiends before we got married and so when things didn’t work out, our friendship was sustained. She’s very happy that this is happening to me. She used to tell me, you need to get married and have children"
Talking about children, you said you wanted to have twins
Rev "Yeah! I don’t want to have more that two children"
Where are you going on honeymoon?
Rev "First part would be Dubai, then England, France and USA. I would not walk alone for the rest of my life. I told my church that for ten years I walked alone, lived alone, gone to holidays alone but it will never happen to me again…lai lai, I will never walk alone again. I’ve found what I’m looking for, so I’m at peace. I’ve never danced so hard, I’m ecstatic, overjoyed. This is what I’ve always wanted. It’s just that she was not ready to marry me. I would have married her since"
Why was she not ready?
Rev "She wanted God to speak to her directly first. She wanted to be sure I wasn’t just marrying her because I love her. She wanted to be sure it was something that God approved. That’s why she’s separate from everybody I’ve ever know. She’s a friend and she truly loves me…"
What did you learn from your previous marriage that you know will help you in this union?
Rev "A lot of things. Number one I learnt that marriage is not about infantile immaturity. I see a lot of people get married in their 20’s, or evening their early 30’s. I do not think that is good for them. (huh??? Does he mean men???)
I’ve really taken time to study the word of God and I discovered that the age of maturity for a man differs from a woman’s. And there are certain pre-requisite in the scripture that are necessary, that must be in place before you can have a successful marriage. I’ve learnt that marriage is more important to God than we think. It requires a certain level of spiritual maturity. Spiritual maturity is not necessarily about biological age, because you can be 50years and still be immature, an infant spiritually. Like the things of God, they come in time. Each has a role to play if it is utilized in their position of biblical knowledge"
That's it.
Pictures thanks to:
http://bellanaija.blogspot.com/
http://naijagal.blogspot.com/
http://solafolowosele.blogspot.com/
From one gorgeous woman (Stephanie Henshaw) to another gurguos woman...ME
...lol
So I got this beautiful poster of me from multicast PlatformLtd.
Nice huh?
If you want something this nice or even better contact Gbenga, Web Developer at http://www.multicastplatform.com/. And if you're crazy enough about me, you can print them out and put them on your wall...lol
Also check out this fab fashion and lifestyle website http://gypsyblack.com/
On another note, I was happy about being given a blackberry and someone dropped a comment saying that I was sad for being excited over something so little.
"Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others."
I'm grateful for the smallest, littlest things. You should see me get excited over even 5grand. If you're grateful for the smallest things, God will bless you with things so beyond your wildest imagination. Nothing is small infront of God, why should anything be 'small' infront of us? Let's learn to appreciate what we're given, no matter how small we think it is...
Will be back tomorrow...
You take care of you and yours...
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