25/06/2025
Every now and then, my thoughts drift to a young lady, a Facebook friend of mine whose stories I always followed on this blue space some few years ago. Her posts used to appear regularly in my newsfeed during her most active period on the platform.
Like many people, she treated her Facebook account as an open diary, sharing nearly everything that happened in her life, her stories of joys and sorrows she shared without hesitation. Something about her updates captured my attention, particularly when she began opening up about her personal struggles in life.
She had been orphaned at a tender age and left without parental support to pursue her dreams. Through her posts, I learned about her journey of struggling alone to fund her education and build a life for herself. Despite these hardships, her resilience shone through every update she made. She wasn't the type who was keen to chase clout; she was genuine and bold in telling her stories and the obstacles she faced, her losses, and the victories she achieved over the years.
Later, her posts took on a different tone as she began sharing about finding love after enduring several heartbreaks. Her love story became compelling to follow, and I always kept up with her. She had fallen for a young soldier and never hesitated to profess her feelings publicly on the platform. She would share their lovebird's photographs accompanied by heartfelt captions. She often prayed for the success and, most importantly, for the safety of the love of her life wherever his service to the country took him for he was a soldier.
Her faith appeared unwavering and deeply rooted. She was prayerful, with a strong charismatic belief that God would answer her petitions regarding her life and relationship. I remember one post where she mentioned that friends had tried to dissuade her from the relationship, warning her about the dangers of her boyfriend's military service and the possibility of becoming a young widow if she took the relationship further to marriage, especially given his deployments to the Northeast to fight Boko Haram.
But she wasn't someone whose faith could be easily shaken. Through her posts, she consistently declared that no such tragedy would befall her beloved. She had petitioned God to preserve the only man in her life; it was obvious he was someone who had become her father, brother, and lover all in one.
Though I'm not particularly religious, her unwavering faith, as expressed through her Facebook updates, often stirred something in me. Her absolute dependence on God for grace and protection was both moving and inspiring. I found myself genuinely happy when she announced her engagement and subsequent marriage to the soldier.
If anything, marriage seemed to strengthen her faith even further. She continued praying for her husband's protection at the battlefront, and I recall one post where she firmly declared her belief that God would never forsake her or allow her to lose her husband to untimely death, not after everything she had endured since childhood.
Her husband had become her everything. She stayed in constant touch with him while he was away and celebrated him on her page as if every day were his birthday. They briefly enjoyed a short honeymoon before he quickly returned to his duty post in the Northeast.
It was barely four months after their wedding, and the unthinkable happened.
One day, I noticed she had changed her profile picture to a dark image with a lit candle; it was the typical mournful symbol that made my heart sink. I clicked on her page and saw her timeline flooded with messages of condolence. My worst fears were confirmed: her husband had been killed in action, ambushed by Boko Haram terrorists along with several of his comrades.
Though I had never chatted with her directly or met her beyond Facebook, I felt a sharp pang of grief on her behalf. The intensity of her loss was palpable, even through a screen. I could feel she was devastated. Her almost daily updates seized. Silence followed.
After a few days, she resumed posting, but her words were now filled with raw anguish. Her once-unshakeable faith had been severely tested and crushed. She questioned why God would be so cruel to her asking why, after years of faithful devotion and clinging to His promises, such tragedy would strike. She wrote about the countless nights she had spent praying and fasting, asking for nothing but protection for her husband, believing they would grow old together and raise a beautiful family. What had happened to those sleepless nights of prayer and the days she had starved herself fasting, crying out to God to keep His word?
I followed her posts during her mourning period and witnessed a young woman completely broken, her faith in tatters. All I could do was send her a private message of consolation, asking her to stay strong. I resisted the urge to offer platitudes about God's plan because I, too, questioned why the Almighty would take away the one thing that had given her joy and purpose.
After several months, her posts stopped appearing in my newsfeed. When I searched for her account, I discovered it had been deactivated. Since then, I've never stopped wondering how she's faring and whether she's found any measure of peace. Some wounds never fully heal, and hers seemed like the kind that would remain with her forever.
To this day, her account remains deactivated. All I can do is hope she has found healing and the strength to move forward, despite how impossible it must seem. I pray she has discovered love again and begun rebuilding her life, despite the trauma of losing her husband. I don't know where she is now, but I hope she has found happiness.
Most of all, I hope she has found her way back to her faith. Her unwavering belief once inspired me to trust in something greater than myself, even when darkness seemed to hover overhead. Perhaps that's the most lasting gift her story gave me, a reminder that faith, even when tested to its breaking point, can leave an indelible mark on those who witness it. I pray she doesn't give up on life and keeps living and believing that the universe will be kind to her someday.
