Recently Rev. Solomon Adegbolagun, the President and Founder of Centre For Righteous Living (CRIL) and Lady Elder Mrs Florence Olawale Adegbolagun marked the 45th anniversary of their marriage, even as the matriarch of the house Mama Adegbolagun, who trained and worked in Lagos in Ilesa, Ife and Lagos turned 70 on January 17, 2022. A birthday https://ptlnewsng.com.ng/birthday/ thanksgiving service is slated to hold on Saturday, January 22, 2022.
Here PTL News had an interview with Daddy and Mummy and here are their views as to their family on their 45years of blissful and fruitful marriage, as well as their feelings on Mama’s 70th birthday.
Baba Adegbolagun spoke first, he shared about their 45 years of their marital bliss saying, “When God directed my path and gave me a picture of success and victory, He laid a future before me and gave me path to achieve them by giving me a good wife.
“It has been God all through for the journey of the 45 years. If not for God it would have been disastrous because Jesus touched my life, I became born again, my life came to the pattern He drew for me and has not failed. That is the summary of my 45 years of marriage, the greatest being that God provided and ordained an anointed partner for me which marked the success so mentioned possible.”
Rev. and Mrs Adegbolagun also spoke on the background and other things that gave strength to their successful marriage as they also advised younger ones how they can also enjoy their marriage.
Before Marriage, How we Met
“I was on a chance to marry an unbeliever though a Christian, that lady I thought because of her beauty would give me joy and a future when I succeed in marrying her. But God, knowing the plan he had for me allowed that woman to have a relationship with another man, that man got admitted to Unilag the second year I got admission to the same Unilag. I had already been displaying the picture of the sister on my table, but the sister told me to remove her picture from my table. I then consulted my friend who was the one between – Folabi Bamgboye. He advised me to leave it and see what would happen and I said if she would disown me for another man that means she was not for me. I removed her picture from my table and got disappointed.
“That same year was when I met my wife, from another scene made from heaven. It was like what Satan wanted to use to put me to shame God used it to honour me, and used it to lead to my future.
“I got born again at a programme organised by the Christian Union, in a spiritual emphasis led by Bro Mike Oye. It was this emphasis that I carried to Students Christian Movement programme held at Baptist Academy, Obanikoro, at the annual SCM Biennial Conference. I was the Lagos State Secretary of SCM as the host. The National Travelling Secretary was Rev. Udoh. In the SCM we did not use choruses in our fellowship then. At that programme I was asked to lead choruses with large crowd of students mostly from the southern part of Nigeria. While doing that the Reverend pulled me out that I wasn’t doing it well, I felt bad and ashamed as a young Christian.
“At the end of the programme some of them came to console me, among them were six student nurses from Wesley Guild Hospital from Ilesa. I took interest in them being an Ijesa man. After they had left I sent a Thank You letter to all of them, and only one replied, and when she replied she gave me Christian consolation and counselling I desired, and that later became my wife.”
Step of Faith
“After that I desired to get linked to her to get more of such exhortation. What transpired then made me see her as an angel. I saw her as a God sent saint who was blameless. At the time she always sent me the lectures they had then at their Bible Fellowship Study from Pa Elton, a British Missionary who was based in Ilesa then. They came like a tonic and relief to me and we used it at NCF. We then introduced it to NCF and we began to use it.
This relationship that started in December 1972 was growing steadily purely on Christian relationship without any amorous or sexual perversions as I did not want to offend the angel of my life. When I was writing my final year exam, my wife was writing me letters which I received everyday of my exam. I did not understand.
One day after all these I wrote to ask of that brother in her life for me to thank him. Even then I could not find the courage to ask her for a relationship.
After prayer and fasting I had the courage to write her in which I wrote if it would offend her she should cancel it. Yet the Lord led her to a Yes answer. We met in 1972 but the discussion of marriage did not happen until 1975. We remained Christian friends before marriage. When I realised it was possible I had to invite her and her group to bring their fellowship to Erinmo. Their leader then was Miss Bola Williams who later got married to Bola Sanni, the leader of Advertisers of Jesus Christ.
After that programme my mother also had great interest in her and her group. She then became a member of our family. She on her own would go and take care of my mother even when I was not at home.
My friend who later became my wife did not give me an answer immediately. I had to go through one of her friends, Sola Adekunle, now Mrs Sola Ajisafe. She was the one who counselled me to wait until the answer came. It took time before the Yes came. She contributed a lot to my spiritual development and God used her for me to overcome some temptations of those days. That relationship led us to knowing her parents in December 1975, and eventually marriage on December 18, 1976.”
Our Wedding and Our Faith
There were very interesting scenarios in knowing her family. My wife insisted on not carrying along alcohols to her family for introduction, against the traditional practice, but the senior ones wanted it. The father saved the situation that they knew my wife’s new faith.
Then too, I belonged to Erinmo Club, I told my friends not to bring alcohols to our reception but they later organised a separate reception for us another day where they were free to do what they liked. During the marriage reception my brothers said they would not shame them. They had already served them but my friends succeeded in removing the drinks in the course of prayers.
Our Home
In our life we set a standard for a Christian home. No doubt we had several storms on our paths but the Christian faith helped us to overcome them. God gave me the grace to overthrow my wife in the faith to become the priest of the house.
We had our storms due to our differences in backgroud but within a short time we overcame them. We made up our mind that before prayer all misunderstandings would be resolved. God used that to help our marriage.
Our children or anyone that lived with us would not see our differences and each time we had difference we resolved it on daily basis. We take active interests in Christian organisation. There is no occasion we are separated except in our place of work. The Christian background helped me and we were able to surmount the problems and difficulties.
Ministry
Today God has also given us to have our ministry, my wife and I have our individual NGO, our children except the last one is yet to settle down in marriage and hopefully by the end of this year. On this journey the Lord has helped me to stand by Pastor Abegunde at Liberty Evangelical Church, the Church which I led for 11 years only to leave to start our own – The Last Commandment Ministry with Churches in Oshodi and Akesan in Lagos.
In all these the backing, encouragement and lifting of hands have been exceptionary. She is always on my side. I find strength in that.
She today stands by me and through that standing I give God the praise and herself even when I was ill and the doctor said it was terminal my wife was there fully. But today, God has given me a life abundant with my children taking care of me and my wife. Today both of us are in sound health and the joy of the Lord. My wife has also passed through a lot health wise.
Advice
My advice strongly for younger ones is to seek the face of the Lord, once you have the hand of the Lord in your affairs the end will be glorious, praise worthy and enviable.
At 45 it’s just as if we are just starting our journey, fresh and we are together. An aspect of my wife’s life is that she is very accommodating and generous. There was a time we had almost 20 people in our home, with nothing less than 20 marriages conducted and sponsored by us, these included those of my children, the children of my brothers that died young and those that depend on us.
Money in Marriage
Initially we were operating a joint account, but when responsibilities came we began to share responsibilities. While I used my money for the children’s education and projects, her own money was and still is used to buy food and take care of the family including clothing. Till today, my wife buys everything, and thank God for our children too. They have been very supportive.
God used us to set the entire family free -Mama 70, Lady Elder Mrs. Adegbolagun also tells her story
When I was growing up, immediately I entered school of Nursing I had already known Christ through Pa Elton’s crusades. I then had one boy in mind but the boy could not cope with my new Christian life. My dad knew him and was interested in him. With God’s intervention the relationship got broken, and I had to face my life.
My new Christian life was quite challenging at home. For instance, when my father sent me to buy drinks for his friends then, he would rather see me preaching to them. I graduated a nurse before going for midwifery. My husband and his mother were at my graduation, and my father asked about my husband who later requested I should introduce my husband.
We had a lot of challenges even in the School of Nursing where we were tagged SUs. There was a time they almost expelled four of us, as some people in the school were complaining about our lifestyle saying we didn’t make use of make-ups, and when they selected girls as hostesses and ushers they would leave us behind. It was through the intervention of one of our lecturers that we were not expelled.
Another challenge we had in our marriage was about this culture and tradition of not eating salt and oil when one newly gives birth. God used us to set the entire family free. We are getting better and better because of Christ and becoming model to many. My husband is very kind and loving. When I was sick he also took good care of me.
Advice to Young ones.
What I will advise them is to marry Christ before marriage. It is then they can have peace at home. It is a very strong foundation and God has been faithful to give us good children and God sees us through. During the labour of our last born caesarian section was recommended. I told my husband and my husband rejected it by writing No on his complimentary card, and the child was delivered with no operation.
The celebration
It is an event of high praise. It will be a thanksgiving service. We want to appreciate God. We may not be where we are supposed to be but there is every cause to thank God. We have known each other now for 50 years. We met in 1972, agreed to marry in 1975 and married in 1976. It is an appreciation service. Getting God’s choice for you places you on your path of life’s success. Anything God does would not fail. Bringing God into your marriage brings peace and joy.
For our marriage, it’s abour Christ at the beginning, Christ at the middle and Christ at the end.
Mama’s Profile
Mummy Adegbolagun trained and worked at Wesley Guild Hospital, Ilesa as a Nurse, and later got transferred to the then University of Ife Teaching Hospital Complex. She crossed to Lagos to work at Igbobi Orthopaedic Hospital, and Yaba College of Technology. She also worked at Lagos Polytechnic Health Centre as Chief Nursing Officer and at Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education, where she retired.
Thanks for reading this. Please like it, comment and share this story. Also follow Julius Adegunna, and PTL News on our Social Media handles or call 234-8033260387, 8120969883. If you have been blessed by our website, you are free to bless us in return. Reach out to the Publisher for donations and supports. God bless you.
