A WOMAN SHOULDN'T TAKE HER MARRIAGE FOR GRANTED -PASTOR AITY

By NBF News

She is a full time gospel artiste, pastor, mother and magazine/book editor, who bagged a first degree in French and put the icing on the cake of her academic pursuits with a Master's degree in Mass Communication. At different times she worked as a french teacher, TV producer and advertising practitioner.

Just like the virtuous woman, Pastor Aity Denni-Inyang has poured all that experience into the work of the ministry, using the abundant grace of God to minister to couples in troubled marriages, prayerfully nudging them to re-discover romance and marital friendship. More than 95 percent of the time, she and her husband have been successful, but there are those who, she reveals, fall into the undesirable five percent. But ministering in songs is her major calling, which has seen her perform at various events attended by Nigeria's A-List personalities.

More importantly, she is getting invitations to perform in a growing number of African countries, and earning for herself positive acclaim. In the process, Pastior Aity is living out the true meaning of the biblical passage that says, 'a man's (sorry, woman) gift maketh room for him (her).' Without question, Aity's talent has been taking her before kings and queens. But one thing she readily acknowledges is that success has come at a small price: her engagements often take her away from home at festive occasions like Christmas.

But this year, God who is the Master Arranger intervened and made Christmas to fall on Sunday, practically ensuring that she would spend it at home with family since she rarely misses Sunday service at Sure Word Assembly. Trust her, she made good use of the day and prepared what she described as special, special, for the family to mark Christmas 2011. Of course Sunday Sun took advantage of the opportunity and asked Pastor Aity to recall her most memorable Christmas experience. Excerpts…

Can you reminisce briefly on your childhood memories of Christmas?

We were always looking forward to Christmas because that was when our uncles, aunties and other relatives would come home with lots of gifts for us. My senior uncle, Uncle Morgan, would arrive home from Lagos with lots of toys and we had so much fun. You were sure of having new clothes, shoes and all those stuff children love.

Sometimes we used to travel to the village to spend our Christmas holiday. Sometime in 1978 or '79, the youths in my village started a youth club where we met daily to prepare for the Christmas Youth Day. Wow! It was so much fun running through songs, recitations, drama, and dance rehearsals for the youth day. I met with several cousins I had never seen before, who had also arrived home for the season. And then came the Youth Day. At the end of the day, the presentation of my group came tops. We couldn't sleep because of the excitement! The celebration brought so much bonding among all of us. It was an unforgettable experience!

What significance did Christmas hold for you then and now?

Christmas brought the story of the birth of Jesus home to me. As a child, we were always involved in acting or watching the re-enactment of the story of the birth of Christ and it left an indelible imprint on my mind. I still recall one of those times, my younger sister, Ikoedem (she lives abroad now), was acting the part of Baby Jesus. Lo and behold, on the D-day, the person who acted Mary couldn't carry her because this 'baby' was obviously bigger than the one in the manger! You needed to see the laughter watching 'Mary' struggling to carry her 'baby' on stage! Sadly, these days I see more of Santa Claus used as the image of Christmas! Santa is not in the Bible and Christmas is about Jesus, not about Santa. God help us!

Christmas today reminds me that God is a God of miracles; if a virgin could give birth to a baby, then, indeed, all things are possible with God! Also, I'm inspired that Christ was born in a manger and that did not stop Him from being the Saviour of the world. So, it doesn't matter what my background is, if I can only dare to pursue my purpose, I'm unstoppable. You know my new CD, which I've just released, is called Unstoppable. Check it out!

How did you spend Christmas?
Most Christmas seasons I spend half the day outside my home because I have one Christmas performance or the other; but luckily, this Christmas fell on Sunday. So I had a swell time with my family. People sometimes don't know that entertainers, media professionals, pastors, law enforcement agents, etc., who make the season enjoyable, make a lot of sacrifices. Sometimes, if you are not careful, you could end up tending other people's vineyard while neglecting yours. God forbid!

I gave gifts to friends and the less privileged. I cooked white soup, rice and stew very plenty (don't laugh o!) for my family, and of course, I wrote video scripts and worked out the video shooting time-table for my new Unstoppable CD. I am sure you must be wondering whether I really had a holiday or it was a working holiday!

What do you think couples and youths should do to make 2012 a beautiful and memorable year?

In this New Year, my simple advice to couples is this: please don't take your marriage for granted no matter how long you've been married. Find creative ways to make your marriage more enjoyable. Many homes are falling apart, so work at yours; nobody else will do that for you. If God has blessed you with a Hummer jeep, praise God, but please don't drive it into your bedroom; park it in the garage and build your home. Let wealth not drive you apart, let it be a blessing, not a curse.

No matter how much money you've come by, please keep it in the bank, don't let it make you swollen-head, so that you can remain reachable and humble enough to build your marriage because at the end of the day you will need your family. For youths, don't allow any adverse circumstance stop you from pursuing your dream. Start early and don't wait for everything to line up before you get started. When God sees your effort, He will send you help. Be adamantly focused, pursue your goals with unstoppable zeal and passion and you will be amazed at the outcome. Cari go! Remain unstoppable !