🗣️ Gist📍 Street Gist
🎖️CorporalThe night fire took my shop, and market women showed me God
M
3 months ago
It was December 2019, just before Christmas. I had stocked my shop full for the season. Tomatoes, peppers, everything. I owed the supplier ₦150,000. That night, I was at home in Agege when my phone rang. It was one of my apprentices, screaming. "Mama Ngozi, fire! Fire don catch market!"I ran out in my nightgown. By the time I reached Mile 12, the whole section was burning. My shop, my stock, everything. I just stood there and watched it burn. I couldn't even cry. I just stood there and prayed.That night, I didn't sleep. I sat on the floor of my sitting room, counting my losses. No insurance. Loan to repay. Christmas was coming. I wanted to give up.But the next morning, something happened. My fellow traders started coming to my house. One brought ₦5,000. Another brought a bag of rice. One woman, Mama Bisi from the next stall, gave me her own stock to sell. She said, "You go pay me back when you stand."That was the day I learned something. When fire takes your goods, it can't take your people. I rebuilt my shop in two weeks. I paid every debt. And I never forgot that kindness. God used those market women to show me that I was never alone. 🙏
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