<p><strong>The Man After My Heart.🥺🥰</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;"><br/></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Y'all remember this sentence from one of my pieces titled A Day in My Life?</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">"Don't sit on that chair, it is dusty."</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong><br/></strong></p><p><strong>It was at the Youth Centre, during the just concluded Redeemed Convention themed Mountain Movers. I attended the Youth Centre for the daily programs.</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">“Please, is someone sitting on that chair?” I asked the lady sitting close to the empty chairs.</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">“No,” she replied.</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">I moved to the other seat at my right hand.</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong><br/></strong></p><p><strong>Then a scent moved me to look to my side, and there he was.</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">It was a dream.</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">The type I call my type.</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">I'm not even exaggerating. This was the first time I was seeing my type in person. Ohhh, gosh! That was the first time my heart yearned for a complete stranger.</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">He was tall, light skinned. (Yes, I like light skinned guys. I don't know what you guys have against light skinned guys. 😶) He wore glasses and had these clean, well cut nails. He had this physique, the type we all call Ajebutter.</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Though, I never really dreamed my guy would wear glasses. I mean, I don't want a hereditary thing for my kids. 😂 But I was too moved to even think in that aspect.</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">And his smileeee? 🙃</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> (</span><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Abba, forgive me if this is definitely lusttt. 🤧😔)</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">He had four younger siblings and an elder one. He was acting like a dad to them. I almost mistook him for their dad, but the difference was clear.</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Luckily for me, I had the chance to sit next to him. </strong><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Then, unluckily for me, some God knows what plan spoiler took the seat.</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;"><br/></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Trust me, I had no intention of selling myself off. I can't do that.</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">But the thoughts in my head?</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">I nearly walked up to him to drop some silly lines he would probably find funny.</strong></p><p><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><strong style="background-color: transparent;">“Can I put you on my canvas? You are making me feel like an artist?”</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">“Can I title my journal after you?”</strong><strong style="background-color: transparent;">I nearly broke the girls' code. 😭</strong></p><p><strong><br/></strong></p><p><strong>But guess what?</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">I don't even know his name till date.</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Two days have passed since the convention, and I didn't get his contact. No information. Nothing at all.</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Just vibes.</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Just a face.</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Just a smile.</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Just my type.</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">And honestly, I actually see it as infatuation. Maybe because this was the first time I was seeing my type in person. Maybe my heart was simply surprised that someone could actually tick so many boxes at once.</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;"><br/></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">But then, something else happened.</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">This random encounter made me think about something I have always joked about.</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;"><br/></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Marriage.</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong><br/></strong></p><p><strong>Everyone around me has been telling me they can't wait to attend my wedding. They really are desperate to see the type of man I would settle for. </strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Apparently, I ask for too much.</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">But can you blame me?</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong>I'm talking about the man I am going to walk the aisle with. The man whose hands I will hold after I clock 70. The man I will wake up beside, again and again, until death do us part.</strong> <strong style="background-color: transparent;">If I'm going to spend that much of my life with someone, why shouldn't I be intentional about who I choose?</strong></p><p><strong><br/></strong></p><p><strong>And this stranger at the convention taught me something. </strong><strong style="background-color: transparent;">I can actually marry my type.</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Not the unrealistic, Pinterest version of a man I've created in my head.</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Not just a list of attributes on paper.</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><strong style="background-color: transparent;">But a real person.</strong></p><p><strong><br/></strong></p><p><strong>A real man who can walk into a room and, without even saying a word to me, make me realise,</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Oh.</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><strong style="background-color: transparent;">So this is what I meant.</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Maybe that's what amused me the most.</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">That the type of man everyone thinks doesn't exist actually doesss!</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">I had always wondered if the kind of man I imagined actually existed.</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><strong style="background-color: transparent;">And then, for a brief moment at a convention, a complete stranger sat somewhere within my line of sight and answered the question for me.</strong></p><p><strong><br/></strong></p><p><strong>Yes. </strong><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Apparently, my type exists.</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">I just don't know his name. 😭</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong><br/></strong></p><p><strong>Ehnnnn, back to the answer I said I finally found...</strong></p><p><strong><br/></strong></p><p><strong>I now know the type of love I want my man to exhibit.</strong> <strong style="background-color: transparent;">And yes, for those of you wondering, he's the quiet type from what I envisioned.</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">I can cope.</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">I'm a noisy one anyway. Those who know me well can relate. 🙃😂</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">But beyond the height, the skin tone, the glasses, the nails, the smile and the physique, I realised something.</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">I don't just want a man who looks like my type.</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">I want a man who loves like my type.</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;"><br/></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">An Apostle said something that got people talking:</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><strong style="background-color: transparent;">“Don't marry someone you love, but love the person you marry.”</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">There was a lot of misunderstanding in the comment section, but the way I understood it was this:</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Don't make marriage solely about the feeling of being in love before marriage.</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Because sometimes, what we call love is actually infatuation.</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Sometimes, we love how someone makes us feel, </strong><strong style="background-color: transparent;">we love how they look, </strong><strong style="background-color: transparent;">we love the idea of them, </strong><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Sometimes, we even stay because we pity them.</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;"><br/></strong></p><p><strong>Chaiii. 😭</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">But marriage needs something deeper.</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">When you choose someone to marry, you must also be intentional about loving, accepting, understanding and committing to that person throughout the marriage.</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;"><br/></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">To understand what I mean, let me quickly run through the four types of love I know.</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">1. Philia</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">This is the love of friendship and companionship. It can be created through circumstances, shared experiences and emotional bonds.</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><strong style="background-color: transparent;">But if the only thing holding two people together is the emotion created by a particular circumstance, what happens when that circumstance changes?</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Some of you date someone because of pity and then marry them because, “Ah, I don't want to hurt him./her”</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Chaiii. 😭</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">My dear, pity is not a foundation for marriage.</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><strong style="background-color: transparent;">I don't want a man who loves me because circumstances made him attached to me.</strong></p><p><strong><br/></strong></p><p><strong>2. Eros</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">This one is attraction.</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Looks.</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Beauty.</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">The physical.</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><strong style="background-color: transparent;">We get moved by what we see.</strong></p><p><strong><br/></strong></p><p><strong>I once told someone, “Don't pity date me, brooo!”</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">And I don't want to hear, “I love my girls slim” when your eyes are telling me something else. 😂</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><strong style="background-color: transparent;">I won't change my body for you ooo.</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Don't fall for the face alone. You will have to love the person beyond the face too.</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Go for your chubby girls if that's what you like. 😂</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">I don't want my man to love me solely on this basis either.</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Because one day, the face will age.</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><strong style="background-color: transparent;">The body will change, </strong><strong style="background-color: transparent;">And when we clock 70, what exactly will remain?</strong></p><p><strong><br/></strong></p><p><strong>3. Storge</strong></p><p><strong>i. Convenant</strong></p><p><strong>ii. Understanding</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">This is companionship. A love that grows through familiarity, understanding and shared life.</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">And this one interests me.</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Because marriage is not just about having someone you are attracted to.</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">It is about having someone you can live with, </strong><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Someone you can understand, </strong><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Someone who understands you, </strong><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Someone whose presence becomes home.</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">You don't fully build this kind of love before marriage. Some of it is discovered inside marriage, because marriage is birthed on covenant.</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong><br/></strong></p><p><strong>And this?</strong> <strong style="background-color: transparent;">I want a love built on this.</strong></p><p><strong><br/></strong></p><p><strong>4. Agape</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">This one is different.</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Agape is self sacrificing love.</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Self denial.</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">A love that isn't always asking, “What do I get?”</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><strong style="background-color: transparent;">It asks, “What can I give?”</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><strong style="background-color: transparent;">And this is the one I want at the centre of my marriage.</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">I want a man who loves God.</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">A man who obeys God.</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">A man who submits to God.</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Because if a man genuinely loves God and understands what it means to submit to Him, I believe that love will affect the way he loves me.</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><strong style="background-color: transparent;">And for me, submission should be a code of love.</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Because if both of us understand self denial, neither of us will be obsessed with possessing the other person.</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><strong style="background-color: transparent;">At the end of the day, we belong to God first...</strong><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Not to ourselves.</strong></p><p><strong><br/></strong></p><p><strong>And that is the kind of marriage I want.</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">A marriage that doesn't just look beautiful from the outside.</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><strong style="background-color: transparent;">A marriage that reveals the portrait of Heaven. </strong><strong style="background-color: transparent;">A marriage where two people keep choosing God, and because they keep choosing God, they keep learning how to choose each other.</strong></p><p><strong><br/></strong></p><p><strong>So yes...</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">I will name him Mr. Perfection. 😂🤍💙</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">If I end up with Mr. Perfection in the future, I will show him this write up and tell him,</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><strong style="background-color: transparent;">“See? I wrote about you before I even knew your name.” 😭</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><strong style="background-color: transparent;">And I will show you all what perfection looks like.</strong></p><p><strong><br/></strong></p><p><strong>But if I don't?</strong></p><p><strong><span style="background-color: transparent;">I will write another piece For </span><span style="background-color: transparent;">My Man.</span></strong></p><p><strong><br/></strong></p><p><strong>Either way, I WILL WRITE A PIECE FOR MY MAN IN THE FUTURE!!!</strong></p><p><strong><br/></strong></p><p><strong>Maybe this stranger was only a two day crush.</strong>..<strong style="background-color: transparent;">Maybe I will never see him again.</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;">..</span><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Maybe I will never know his name.</strong></p><p><strong><br/></strong></p><p><strong>But for those few minutes at the convention, he did something I didn't know I needed.</strong></p><p><strong><br/></strong></p><p><strong>He reminded me that the man I have imagined in my head isn't necessarily a fantasy.</strong></p><p><strong><br/></strong></p><p><strong>He might actually exist.</strong></p><p><strong><br/></strong></p><p><strong>And somewhere out there, perhaps he is also living his life, completely unaware that some noisy girl at a convention has already written half a love story about him. 😂🥺</strong></p><p><strong><br/></strong></p><p><strong>So, wherever you are, Mr. Perfection...</strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">I hope you are becoming the man I am praying for.</strong><strong></strong></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Because I am becoming the woman I want him to find too... </strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"><strong>And if God permits that our paths cross again, maybe this time...</strong></span></p><p><strong>I'll finally ask your name. 😭🥺❤️</strong></p><p><strong><br/></strong></p><p><strong>~Mr Perfection~💙🤎</strong></p>
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