The Power of a Loving Godly Woman! / Power of a Regenerated Christian Life
Very few contemporary books, written by Nigerians, have lifted my spirit the way this book has done. I only saw it with a friend who got an autographed copy at the book launch. Incidentally, he never had the time to read it. I did and found a literary treasure. My colleague in the office read the book and wants it as a present for his wife’s birthday. Bunmi Obembe’s book, Counting Blessings, is a mini autobiography that preaches more profound gospel than a thousand sermons on the pulpit.
I like books that tell stories — stories of life events, stories that draw out our frail humanity of successes and failures, our mistakes that others should avoid, among others. Many authors of Nigerian Christian literature only reproduce uncountable quotes of what Jesus did 2000 years ago or what Paul told Corinthians or Galatians thereafter. But personal true-life stories have a way of impacting people’s lives positively. Obembe’s book is one of such rare efforts; and that accounts for why I have decided to review it for public consumption.
By way of introduction, Bunmi Obembe, until recently was Executive Director at Total (E&P) Nigeria Limited. He retired after 35 years of service. According to him, he was brought up in a Christian home, but sadly, life as an undergraduate and life after graduation and career in an oil company for nine years saw him worse than the prodigal son — living carefree life, being drunk regularly, a playboy womanizing without limit, early marriage and divorce, always borrowing, being unserious with his job and clashing regularly with his bosses, and so on.
His life changed in 1989.
The book, from my humble perspective, has two main themes. One, the power of a regenerated christian life; and two, the positive impact of a godly woman in a man’s life. The latter is more compelling in a society that regards women as second fiddle. Obembe’s book shows that a godly woman can exert great positive influence on a man, and turn a hitherto “useless” man to a super brand. The book unveils a hidden intuitive power that many women possess but hardly discover it — or know it but hardly deploy it in their marriages.
Frankly speaking, Obembe’s wife, Bisola, is the heroine of the book.
A young medical doctor, it was Bisola, still single, that invited Obembe to a breakfast meeting of Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International in Ado Ekiti — an event that changed his life. Six months later, he married her!
It was Bisola that taught him the blessed art of giving to God. He told a funny story of how Bisola literally dragged him to make a huge pledge/donation during their Anglican church’s fund-raising in Port Harcourt. And how Bisola, again, literally forced him to redeem the pledge.
Then, he told the story of how things completely changed in his life — from poverty to prosperity, from being perpetually broke/borrower to habitual giver to people in need, from slothful worker to a happy employee who enjoys the favours of his bosses, and eventually reached the zenith of his career.
It was Bisola that insisted that they must start to build their own house — and it came to pass! And so many other positive impacts recorded in the book. I had read the exciting book, The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian. Believe me, I have not read any other as robust as Obembe’s eulogy. In fact, his book could easily have been perfectly titled, The Power of a Loving Godly Wife!
Presently, Bisola is National President of the Nigerian Society of Anesthetists.
Obembe must be commended for writing a story that made him look like a man whose successes in life are mainly attributable to a woman. Many men would prefer to hide such stories. But then, that brings me to the other theme of the book, the power of a regenerated Christian life. The book is filled with areas of his life where he made mistakes, where he took wrong decisions, how he failed in his first marriage, etc. A regenerated life is a life of humility and contrite heart. Many people will learn very much from his experiences.
I always believe that a genuine Christian life has a past and a present; and a future!
Obembe also tells great stories of God’s love and grace upon his life: Drawing him out of the pit of helpless living to a glorious height of His presence. Most of his promotions at workplace were purely divine. His two-year posting to France was miraculous and brought his family incredible financial wellbeing. He collapsed at work and was in coma for ten days! God saved his life. They were childless for years, yet they now have many children and grandchildren! They were poor but they are now rich!
Indeed, Obembe’s book is a book of testimonies. It justifies its title, Counting Blessings: Testimonies of a Comeback Kid!”
The book has eleven chapters with bold prints. Chapter One: He Touched me, tells a gripping story of how like Paul, he was “arrested” by Christ while “chasing” a young medical doctor. Chapter Two: Divine Delay, narrates some of his experiences in life about some delays and denials that turned out to save his life.
Chapter Three: Windows of Heaven is the story of how things have turned out for him since 1990 when he supported a church building project. “This visitation healed our finances, and took away lack from our lives. We have not been broke since 1991” he recounts on page 21. What a greater sermon!
Chapter Four: “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side!” recalls Obembe’s life-threatening events over the years. Chapter Five: Dreams and Visions, tells how God destined him for career success, and saw him through the mines of office politics into the pinnacle of his career.
Chapter Six: Lazarus, Come Forth, is the testimony of his near-death experience in 2001. The other chapters, Bold as a Lion, See the Reward of the Wicked, Asked of the Lord, I fear no Evil and Me and My House are riveting mixed stories of politics and crisis of leadership as one climbs the corporate ladder.
In reading and reviewing this book, even though I do not know the author personally, I tend to have found an ally whose story ennobles me, and whose testimonies of God’s grace and a supportive wife is like that of myself and wife, Joy. The book is written in simple prose, what I could call a compulsive prose. The pages are well-designed with some catchy quotes and sound bites. It is indeed a well-packaged Christian literature cum autobiography that will surely enrich the lives of its readers. I recommend it to everyone!
Reviewer: Dr. Jossy Nkwocha
• Dr. Jossy Nkwocha, author of many books, is a reputation management specialist and former General Editor of Newswatch Magazine, Lagos.
