Somebody Else (Christian Romance)

THIRTY-FIVE

While they waited for the service to begin, Stephanie carefully observed her surroundings. The church was different from her mother's church in many ways. While her mother's church was predominated by old people, most of the people here were young. Many seemed to be students. Although the church was small compared to her mother's church, it exuded much beauty, from the decorations on the altar to the, matching chairs and the sparkling tiles on the floor. The choristers also looked beautiful in their sky blue shirts and black skirts. There were just a few guys in the choir, and that was the only similarity with her mother's church she'd seen so far.

Williams sat with the sound engineers, just beside the instrumentalists. One of the guys was saying something to him when a lady who had mounted the podium called everyone's attention.
"Hallelujah," She said. "Let's rise to our feet as we honour the name of the Lord."

She led the congregation in prayers for a few minutes while the keyboardist accompanied her with calm, soothing music.

Stephanie was amazed at how the atmosphere drastically changed when the service began. Moments ago, people had been walking around and chattering about, but right now eyes were closed and hands were lifted. Williams' head was bowed and Stephanie could see his lips moving. Vanessa's eyes were closed as she prayed pacing up and down a small area. Dami face was lifted up and Stephanie could see tears streaming down her cheeks.

This was all foreign to Stephanie. She closed her eyes, not knowing what to say. The woman had said to honour God, right? Perhaps she could tell him how grateful she was to him for forgiving her and giving her peace and joy. She'd also tell him that she thought He was the most wonderful person in existence. She wasn't sure if those were the  right things to say, nevertheless, she said them making a mental note to ask Dami how to honour God.

Soon, the choir took over and the atmosphere changed from a solemn one to a joyful one. Everyone was smiling and dancing. Dami was grinning with her wet cheeks. Williams was dancing alongside the guy next to him. Their moves were awesome. Stephanie smiled at the sight, she never would have guessed that Williams was a good dancer.

"Celebrate Jesus" The worship leader had said. "Jubilate for He has conquered the grave. He made an open spectacle of principalities and powers. Now He reigns forever. Hallelujah."

Stephanie was proud to be associated with a man like Jesus. Just pondering on the worship leader's words brought her tremendous joy and all she wanted to do was tell Jesus how much she loved Him. Ignoring the fact that she didn't know how to dance, Stephanie moved her body in worship to Jesus. Dami danced with her and in no time, she was having the fun of her life. She was a little disappointed when the choir finished singing and the preacher came up.

Stephanie instantly recognized the preacher. He was Williams' friend. The same friend that accompanied Williams to her hostel some time back. His name was Paul, wasn't it? He led the congregation in prayer and directed them to take their seats. His mannerisms were gentle, yet something about him commanded respect.

"You all are looking beautiful this morning." He smiled.

The congregation clapped and cheered in response.

"It's one of the many benefits of staying in the presence of God. We radiate His glory" He placed his hand in the pulpit.

"Yes sir!" A shout came from behind. And the congregation began clapping and cheering again.

"Hallelujah." Paul spoke, and in seconds, the people grew quiet again. "Today I'll be speaking on a subject that is very dear to my heart. The Love of God." He smiled.

Stephanie could see people bring out their jotters and pens. She did the same,  grateful Vanessa had asked her to come along with hers.

"Please give us, Psalm 139." He turned to the young man who sat in front of the laptop that was connected to the projector. "How many of you here are in love?" Paul asked.