Doubt, Fantasy and Truth with Oluwatobilola Oyekanmi
#21stcenturyBiblestories Issue 003–2020
“March 2019 was my 500 level community health medical school practical examination. The sun was scorching that particular afternoon and I had a terrible headache, not to mention how anxious I was about the practical exam. Certain instructions were given before the start of the exam, numbers 12, 20, 29 and 32 were called, also. These numbers were station numbers and they were regarded as rest stations. We were just supposed to rest and maybe finish what we couldn’t finish in the previous stations there. However, there was a clause, number 12 is only a rest station if you have not passed through number 11. I guess my anxious self didn’t understand that statement, all I understood was there were four (4) rest stations and number 12 would be answered after the exam and that was it.
The exam commenced and I was still anxious, but scaling through the stations one after the other. Some went well, some didn’t go well at all, but I had to keep moving (forgetting things that are behind and pressing forward like brother Paul will say). I got to number 11, that was a station where we were supposed to clerk a patient and get certain information. While we will be scored for the skill of clerking, the answers gotten from the patient was to help answer number 12, the following station.
I finally got to number 12, I was so happy, it was one of the rest stations. I looked at the question in front of me and I just smiled and said to myself, “Thank God for rest stations.” The three minutes allotted to each station went by and I moved and continued my exam. At the end of the exam after signing the attendance, I met my friend and asked her why there was a question at number 12, a rest station. Further asking if we were still going to attempt number 12 since we were signing attendance already. She looked at me in shock, both her hands on her face trying to cover her mouth and she asked, “Tobi, you didn’t answer number 12?” I replied, “Yes, that was the instruction given.” She exclaimed, “No, Tobi, the instruction said attempt number 12 only after attempting 11 and it was for those who at the beginning were stationed at number 12.”
That was a shocker for me. My hands began to shake, my heart began to race, I was practically losing it. I started shouting, “I am going to repeat! I have failed! I didn’t touch a whole question, it wasn’t like other stations were great for me.” Tears started rushing down my eyes like blood giving set (20ml/min) and my eyes were red. I ran to the hostel and told my roommates. I cried and cried and cried. Throughout the whole day, I was sad. It was like I was in bondage, I was scared. It was like my heart was caged and all I could hear was, “You would repeat, definitely.”
My pillow was wet as my face got drowned in my tears. Then a friend of mine walked into my room and told me that her practical exam was not great, she had a bad exam too. Suddenly, after establishing that we were practically in the same shoes we set out to School of Nursing (SON) field, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, at about 10 pm. When we got there, we sang praises to God with teary eyes and sincere hearts. We prayed out our hearts to God and sang praises again. We both walked to SON gloomy and scared, but I tell you the joy we felt thereafter was something else. My heart was no longer caged. I was free. I was not scared anymore. I had joy stretching deep from my soul!!! I knew something had been let loose on the inside of me. I knew that the Holy Spirit had freed me from the spirit of fear.
This is my 21st-century miracle and if you have been following, you would see it is very similar to the Bible story in Acts 16 vs 25–31 about Paul and Silas. They were bound in the prison, but they choose to pray and sing praises to God and the Holyspirit came, broke the chains and they were made free.
Our story didn’t end there. When the result of that exam came out, my friend and I did tremendously well.
So yeah, miracles are true and they still happen. It’s an everyday experience for me.”
Whoosh! What an experience! This made me remember my undergraduate days. You could literally feel the tension during the medical school examinations and the pains of those who had to repeat the examination. I am glad Tobi and her friend came out victorious and she is now testifying of the faithfulness of God.
Oluwatobilola Oyekanmi is a final year doctor-in-training and blogger passionate about kingdom advancement. She can be reached here on Medium at Oyekanmi Oluwatobiloba, on her blog, Tinybubbles20 and, and on Instagram @tobilobaoyekanmi
This article is a sequel to the article Doubt, Fantasy and Truth where I spoke about the disbelief of some people in the authenticity of Biblical accounts. The #21stcenturyBiblestories movement was enacted not only to establish that the Bible tells no lies but also communicate that individuals in the 21st-century experience similar accounts as presented in the Bible.
Please kindly maintain the hashtag trail (#21stcenturyBiblestories) when sharing on various platforms. Thank you for staying put until the very last word. I hope this article has sparked something revolutionary in you.
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