30/07/2026
FROM DM TO I DOā¤ļø
As at January this year, I was very, very single. If anyone had told me in January that I would be married before the end of July, I would have smiled politely and said, āGod can do anything.ā But deep down, I never imagined it would happen so quickly.
This is our storyā¦ A long read
On 10th January, I made a very random Facebook post. It wasnāt born out of desperation. It was just one of those lighthearted posts you make to make people laugh. It read: āMy wedding date is supposed to be 16th May 2026. Is there a man willing to take the risk? Send me a DM, letās talk.ā People laughed and joked, the comments were hilarious. Then one man Joel Gojeh did something different. Instead of laughing and scrolling past, he sent me a message.
At the time, we werenāt even Facebook friends. We only had two mutual friends, and interestingly, neither of us really knew those people personally. This information is very important to me because I don see shege for Facebook friends of friends. To this day, I still donāt know how my post appeared on his timeline. He later told me what happened. He had just finished praying, asking God about his wife. As he opened Facebook, my post appeared. He took it as more than a joke and sent the DM. That simple message became the beginning of everything. After exchanging a few messages on Facebook, we moved our conversation to WhatsApp.
One thing I had always told God was this, āLord, Iām not getting married early, so I donāt want a long courtship. If I keep dating for two or three years, Iāll be getting married much later than I desire, the longest relationship I want should be six months.ā It wasnāt anxiety or pressure, it was simply an honest conversation between a daughter and her Father. One day, I shared those thoughts with Joel, he listened carefully. Then he simply said, āIāll make you believe God.ā Little did I know that those words would become reality.
He was based in Ghana, but in Godās perfect arrangement, he already had a ministry engagement in Abuja scheduled for 12thā14th February. When the programme ended, on 15th February, he came to Kaduna to see me. Unknown to me, he came with an engagement ring. After we spent time talking, he quietly went into my kitchen and left something there. Later, when I walked into the kitchen, I saw a small box. I picked it up, it was a ring. I looked at him and asked, āYou already know the answer, right?ā He smiled. āYes.ā I handed the ring back to him and said, āPut it on my finger.ā And just like thatā¦ We were engaged. Our official relationship began on 16th February.
Why was my answer so easy? It wasnāt because we had known each other for years. It was because, within that short time, I had seen the kind of man he was. His love for God wasnāt something he talked about occasionally it was the foundation of his life. We studied Godās Word together, prayed together, and every conversation drew us closer to Christ. The friends around him were men who loved God, many of them pastors and ministers. Even when we spent time with friends, our conversations revolved around faith, purpose, and Godās will.
There was an unusual peace in my heart. I never worried about him disappearing into unhealthy lifestyles or being influenced by the wrong company. I knew he was a man who feared God and desired to hear His voice, and that meant he would always be accountable to Someone greater than himself. Since he was based in Ghana, I also knew that many of the friendships we would build together would come from my own circle of godly friends and our church family. For me, it is much easier to say āyesā to a man who genuinely fears God than to a man who merely says he believes in Him. Character gave me peace, and peace gave me confidence.
Before he returned to Ghana, he made another promise. He said that before leaving Nigeria, he wanted to begin the traditional marriage process. True to his word, on 27th February, less than two weeks into our relationship, he came to my family with some of his relatives, introduced himself properly, declared his intentions, and presented the traditional gifts to me and my parents. Another beautiful surprise was our families already knew each other. It was one more reminder that God had been writing this story long before we met.
During another conversation, I told him one of my heartās desires. āI want to be married before my 35th birthday.ā He asked me, āIf we marry traditionally before then, would you consider yourself married?ā I answered, āOf course.ā He smiled and said, āThen Iāll make sure youāre married before your 35th birthday.ā
Againā¦He kept his word. On 9th May, although he wasnāt physically in Nigeria, he sent his family representatives to pay my bride price. Before my 35th birthday and I was traditionally married. The church wedding was yesterday, 26th July. We had wanted an earlier date, but we chose to honour the process by completing our marriage counselling and other preparations first.
Looking back, one thing Iām especially grateful for is that we didnāt allow the short timeline to make us careless. We intentionally built our relationship on God, studied Scripture together, prayed together, introduced ourselves to our pastors early and submitted ourselves to spiritual authority. We went through not one, not two, but three different marriage counselling sessions because we wanted wisdom to accompany our love.
What looked like an ordinary Facebook post became the beginning of my forever. The man who said, āIām going to make you believe God,ā didnāt just become my husband. Through him, God reminded me that He still answers prayers in ways we never expect.
If thereās one thing this journey has taught me, itās this, God is never late. He doesnāt need years to accomplish what He has planned. When His timing meets your obedience, beautiful things can happen faster than you ever imagined.
This is our testimony.
And to God alone be all the glory. ā¤ļø
Cc. Keturah Stephen
