A 55-year-old spinster, Esther Bamiloye, who recently got married to a 62-year-old bachelor, Isaac Bakare, in Osun State, tells BOLA BAMIGBOLA she’s grateful God finally answered her prayer to get married

What is your name and age?

I am Lady Evangelist Esther Bamiloye, now Mrs Bakare. I am the 55-year-old woman that got married recently for the first time in her life. My husband is Isaac Bakare, a 62-year-old artisan. Before we got married, he was never married too.

I have a Grade 2 certificate, but I am not into teaching. I am into garment production. I produce garment such as vests, sports wears, washable diapers and more.

Is there a story behind your long wait before getting married?

The devil had plans to stop me from getting married. When I felt I was ready, there was no man coming for me. I kept waiting on God for a miracle till I reached 55-years. I never dated anyone till I got married. Initially, I thought the problem was from my former church and I left, but I give glory to God. He did it for me in my new church and all the barriers were removed.

Were you under any kind of pressure from family, friends and others during your long wait for the right partner?

Things like that can’t be ruled out, especially when you see your mates or those younger than you doing well, getting married and you are yet to do yours, there will definitely be pressure from people around.

How bad was it?

It was tough. It was one of the reasons I left my former church and joined another church because the pressure was too much at a point.

What exactly did you do to survive the pressure?

I was able to withstand all the pressure because of my deep-rooted faith, belief and focus on Christ Jesus. Specifically, God gave me that grace, dedication and help from certain quarters also sustained me all through.

What was the strangest advice you received during this period?

I can’t count them, but none of the pieces of advice really scared me, except seeing those younger than me getting married on time, while I was waiting, almost wasting away.

Do you have stories of relationships that didn’t work out?

No, I did not at any point in time have any date before I eventually got married. I lived a decent life throughout my school days. I didn’t have any relationship before. I accepted Christ very early and when I was still a student, I didn’t even give any thought to it, as I knew I was not ready then.

When starting this particular relationship that culminated in a marriage, did you have fears that it might not work out?

No at all. My relationship was planned by God. The way God did it, it can’t be explained. It came into fulfillment just as God said it.

How did you meet your husband and what attracted you to him?

God had been revealing his picture and personality to me and speaking to me about him through some people for over three years. Exactly on the day it reached three years that I first got the revelation, God sent the message again through a prophet. The description of his looks, where he would come from and others matched perfectly when I set my eyes on him at Ilesa. My church is in Osogbo, but we had an event in Ilesa where I met the man destined for me.

God even revealed our wedding date, which was October 29, 2021. The period between our meeting and wedding was really short. I give God all the glory for remembering me after all these years.

What are the plans you have for your marriage, like number of children you want to have?

God does all things and one of the blessings of marriage is having children. One has to look forward to childbearing and be steadfast in things of God, and live a happy and fulfilled life. I don’t really have a specific number of children in mind. (We want) as many as God can give us and we can take care of.

Are you not scared of childbearing in view of your age?

I can’t be scared of such things. In fact, I am looking forward to having babies. God that has brought me this far will do it and make all things easy. He is God.

What will you describe as your most painful experience during your moments of waiting?

They were many. Imagine someone of that age not having a husband and not that I deliberately wish not to have. There were many days of weeping, begging God to have mercy. But today, I am happy because as great as the affliction was, I was still able to achieve a lot of things in other areas of my life.

Did you at any point lose hope?

Not really. But I was overwhelmed at some point. It was simply God’s grace that kept me going. I did not know any man till I got married to my husband. I married as a virgin.

After the long waiting period, now that you are married do you feel fulfilled?

Yes, I feel really happy and fulfilled. Words can’t really explain how I feel.

What about your parents? How did they feel about your case and how do they feel now?

As parents, they had no other option than to resort to prayers too and now that God has answered their prayers, they are happy and grateful. They never added to the pressure. They were praying for me.

What is your advice for those who are presently going through what you experienced before getting married?

I advise them to be steadfast in Christ. Although it is not always easy, but with prayers, steadfastness, faith and not being weary, all will end with beautiful testimonies. I am a living testimony and I can confidently say it that God answers prayers, even though it may take a long period of time.

(Adopted from Saturday PUNCH)

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