The moment your pastor's wife gives you that look during service

I was preaching last Sunday, doing my usual thing about patience in relationships, when I noticed a young couple in the third row. The girl was nodding vigorously, the boy was looking at his phone under his Bible. My wife, who sits in the front row with the choir, turned and gave me this look. You know the look. The one that says 'finish quickly, I need to tell you something'. I kept preaching but my mind was gone.

After service, she pulled me aside and said 'did you see that couple? The girl was crying. That boy has been cheating on her with her best friend.' I asked how she knew. She said 'the best friend came to me last week for counseling, crying that she slept with her friend's boyfriend and now she's pregnant.' I just stood there. Nwanne, the things that happen inside the church that we pretend don't exist. The girl was sitting there thinking her boyfriend is repenting, meanwhile the best friend is carrying his child.

I have learned that in my counseling experience, the people who nod the hardest during sermons about faithfulness are usually the ones hiding the biggest secrets. The thing about life is, we all have things we don't want brought to light. But the truth always finds a way to surface. That girl found out two days later. She came to my office, not angry, just tired. She said 'Pastor, I knew. I just wanted to hear God say it from the pulpit.' Chineke. What do you even say to that.