The one song.

Nneka Smart
Aug 23, 2017 · 4 min read

I have a playlist, actually, hold on a second. I’m not sure if what I have qualifies as a playlist. But one thing I am certain of is the fact that I have a favourite song. Now let me tell you about this song.

This song has a way of calming my nerves in ways words can't even explain. I don't exactly remember how I discovered this song but since its discovery, it has been one source of strength.

On so many occasions, this song has given me much needed calm and inner peace and I tell you a few.

When I discovered I was pregnant, I was afraid and worried. I didn't know if I was ready to be a mom, at least so I thought. When I think about all the responsibilities that accompanied motherhood, I panicked. Living and working in Lagos is stressful enough, then this new chapter wasn't even going to make the load lighter. I leave home before dawn and don't get back until dusk.

Then I went to my playlist and played the only song on it over and over again, it calmed me. Something about the lyrics that ministers to me. "I am no longer a slave to fear, I am a child of God" is one of my favourite part of the song. The more I listened to this song, the more I gathered the courage to face the challenges ahead. Slow and steady, the fear gradually vanished and there was overwhelming peace within me. I began to enjoy my pregnancy journey.

I remember vividly becoming dizzy suddenly one morning. I couldn't see anymore, I wobbled when I tried to walk and my husband had to rush me to the hospital. I was on admission, tests were carried out and the diagnosis was made. Long story short, meals and lifestyle changes had to be made for the duration of the pregnancy and the rest of my life. I was teary and scared.

Sometimes the knowledge of medicine is the greatest hindrance to the power of God. The one song on my playlist became my anchor again. I listened to it over and over, probably a hundred times. It was on repeat for days. Then a miracle happened, on my next appointment after I was discharged, the doctor said "Nneka, you were wrongly diagnosed. You are in perfect health." I don't have a name for what happened. All I know is God's word through that song worked wonders for me.


On the day of delivery, I had mixed emotions. From being happy that my baby was finally arriving, anxiety, pains of prolonged labour and not dilating well to deciding on a caesarian section, the song ministered to me yet again. It kept playing in my head.
" I am no longer a slave to fear
I am a child of God
I am surrounded by songs of deliverance...
You split the sea so I could walk right through it
My fears are DROWNED in perfect LOVE
You rescued me and I will stand and sing
I am a child of God ".

At the end of the surgery, I woke up to a perfectly healthy baby.

A few days later, I gradually slipped into postnatal depression.
From not having enough sleep, to pains when I laugh, to thinking my life was at a standstill. I couldn't go either up or down the staircase without pains. I couldn't even go out until I was healed properly. I watched my husband go on with his normal duties; events, meetings, etc and I began to feel my life was in a pause mode. I started to snap at him when he tries to talk to me, snapped at my mum who was around to help me. (May God bless her)

After my maternity leave, I had to resume work. It was as though everything was conspiring against me. It was while listening to this song on that the perfect plan came, I went ahead with it and it pulled through for me.

No longer Slaves by Bethel Music is one song that has been a big blessing to me. It follows me, literally, where ever I go. I have lost count of how many times I must have listened to it. I have seen God's hand in my life. I am a Christian not because I go to church or because I grew up in a Christian home. It is because I know and I have seen the hand of God in my life and family.

Christ is my all. I have my daily struggles with fear about some issues but the word of God stays true.

"Isaiah 41:10
Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.'
(KJV)

This scripture helps me through everything.

#NcO

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Nneka Smart

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