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Monsieur’s daughter —(Part 7)
‘Sir’ Ms Odame said when David Asante answered the call, ‘my name is Victoria Odame. I’m a teacher at Research School in Koforidua. I would like to come and see you concerning a student called Sarah’.
”Okay, madam. I would be very glad to meet you. How can I make your trip easier?’
‘I was going to join a bus to Accra’.
‘Here’s what we will do. Take a taxi and ask them to bring you to Accra. I will speak to the driver, give him the directions and pay him when you get here’.
The taxi stopped in front of the house. The gate opened, and the driver moved to the long driveway and stopped. ‘What a beautiful house?’ He said.
David and Adoma came out to meet them. Adoma paid the driver as David and Sarah stared at each other.
‘Please come in and sit down’, Adoma invited. She served them with water.
‘You are welcome’, Adoma continued. We have been waiting anxiously since you called this morning. So please, let’s hear you’. Before she could open her mouth, Sarah rose, moved to David, hugged him and sat on his lap’.
They both broke into tears. Adoma and Ms Odame also broke into tears.
‘Sorry madam’ David said. ‘This whole episode has been a very difficult one. But let’s do the proper thing. Let’s here you first, and I will also speak. I’m sure we need to answer some questions immediately’.
‘Okay sir. I have been taking an interest in Sarah, because although she’s brilliant academically, she seemed to be troubled.
Following my discussions with her and some whispers I had been hearing, I went to Aboso Senior High School, and spoke to your former colleague, Mr Hanson. He told me that you were an exemplary teacher who was loved by all, and he also told me about the unfortunate events that caused you to leave for Germany. So I returned to Koforidua with the view to finding the appropriate means of helping to solve this problem’.
‘Great. Ms Odame, I have to thank you for finally helping us to solve this problem. Now, let me state the facts. This is what happened.
‘Gladys and I met and got married whilst we were both teachers in the school. Some months into our marriage, she told me that she needed to spend some days with her parents, and I agreed.
It turned out that she was actually spending time in a hotel with her ex-boyfriend, Simon. This happened again, after Sarah was born. I got wind of this, and told her that I was no longer interested in the marriage.
I started preparing to travel to Germany. She pleaded for forgiveness, but I stood my ground. Then she told me that she would punish me for rejecting her.
She came out later to say that Sarah was not my child, but Simon’s. She went and hid her somewhere, obviously expecting that I would fight to take my child. I was actually going to do that, but my parents advised me that it was almost impossible to win such a fight.
They advised that difficult as it sounded, I should leave the child with her, because she would come back to me eventually. I have absolutely no problem taking care of you, Sarah. I am taking care of quite a number of kids who are not mine. So that is what happened. My hands were tied. I have been trying to find out how you are doing.
I kept hearing that you were doing well at school. I also heard that Gladys and her husband were having problems, but I kept hoping that my daughter would at least be okay till it was possible for me to go for her’.
‘Sarah, now you have met your dad. You will be free to …’
‘I’m not going anywhere! ‘ she declared as she held on to him’.
‘You don’t have to worry about that, Sarah’, Adoma said. ‘We have been looking forward to the day you come home. This is your home. Now, you have to meet your siblings’. She called Abrefi and Adaawa.
‘Girls, we told you that you have a sister who would join us anytime. Now here is she’.
‘Sarah?’ Abrefi asked.
‘Yes’, Adoma replied. The girls hugged her and took her away.
‘Now’, David said, ‘I think it is time to call Madam Gladys’. He dialed the number.
‘My name is David Asante. I’m here in my house with my daughter Sarah. I hear you have told her all sorts of crazy stories about me. I could make life very difficult for you, but I won’t.
You are your own worst enemy. I don’t think you should be expecting her anytime soon. What do you say?’
Gladys stayed silent for over a minute, and cut the line.
‘Food is ready’, Adoma announced. ‘Everybody please come to the table’.
Sarah chatted excitedly with her siblings as Adoma and David chatted with Ms Odame. She kept staring at her father.
‘Now, Ms Odame, after you have brought such joy into our home, should we allow you to go back to Koforidua today, or should we wait till we are ready to release you? I could call your husband and ask permission.
And please don’t tell me you didn’t bring anything for an overnight stay. There are several supermarkets around here. We can fix that problem quickly’.
‘I will beg you to release me. Now that I have been so warmly welcomed here, I already feel part of this home. Koforidua is not that far away, so I will visit often’.
‘Well, let’s see what the kids have to say. Ladies, shall I release Ms Odame to go back to Koforidua? ‘
‘No!’ They shouted, and all broke into laughter.
‘Ms Odame, I will have mercy on you. But we are going to do something to make it easy for you to visit us. My wife wants to show you something. Please follow her’.
‘Adoma led her to the driveway as they others followed. They stopped in front of the car.
‘This is a Toyota Corolla 1600. It is very reliable, and good on petrol consumption. We are giving this to you in appreciation of your help in getting our daughter back to us.
And here in this envelope, is a little contribution to help you with maintenance. And here in this other envelope is a gift to help with your children’s school fees’.
As she stood, stunned, and stared from the car to the envelopes, David put his hand around his family’.
‘Let’s leave her to take a look at her car. Ms Odame, one of my drivers will drive you to Koforidua and leave your car with you. We are waiting inside’.
By Ekow de Heer
This week I have a very strong desire to put on my Apostolic Cap and talk about the power available to children of God which we can utilise to generate positive outcomes, in our lives.
There is a phrase in the Bible that if Christians meditate on, can immensely transform their lives. In Matthew 28:6 there is a phrase “… as he said…” according to the King James Version.
Thus phrase forms part of a statement declared by an angel of God to two women who were disciples of Jesus who had gone to his tomb early in the morning on the third day after his death.
According to the Biblical account, the stone covering the entrance of the tomb had been rolled away and an Angel was sitting on it and he made the statement to the effect that the Jesus they are seeking is not there and that he had risen, as he said before his death.
His resurrection affirmed the authenticity and dependability of the word of Jesus and therefore the word of God.
Christianity has to do with faith in the word of God. Pastor Mensa Otabil said if we view Christianity as an inside out view, you would go inside to operate the power that is in you.
As a Christian, the spirit of God and therefore the power of God, dwells in you. Anyone who is aware of this truth, does not go around seeking to have a so called powerful person resolve his or her spiritual issues.
Most Christians who move from prophet to prophet, do not believe that the spirit of God which operates in a Pastor or Prophet, is the same spirit that dwells in him or her.
In fact , that Christian may be more ‘powerful’ than the Prophet or Pastor he is going to for prayers because he is living a holy life, which is pleasing to God, for God is no respecter of persons according to Acts 10:34-35.
God does not give out his spirit in different measures to indwell believers. The spirit of God that dwells in a new convert, is the same spirit that dwells in a Bishop or a Prophet or an Evangelist or an Elder or a Deacon.
All you need to do as a child of God is to believe in the word of God and know that it works and that according to 1 John 4:4 we, Christians, that the Spirit of God dwells in us have overcome the world and Jesus in us, is greater than the Devil who is out in the world, wrecking havoc all around.
If we realise that we have overcome the Devil and everything he controls, then we can believe and act in faith and make declarations and just as Christ declared that he will die and on the third day, he will rise from the dead and it manifested as he said, there shall be a manifestation of our declarations also.
The problem of modern day Christians is that, a lot of them, do not study and meditate on the word of God, so they do not witness the manifestation of the power of God, in their lives.
Such an experience over time, give them the impression that the spirit of God dwells in different dimensions in believers. This then leads them to seek solutions to their challenges from so called powerful men of God.
Some Pastors also fall into this misconception of the measure of the spirit of God in believers. When the size of a Pastor’s church for instance, is not increasing the way he had been praying for self-doubt sometimes begin to set in.
Especially, if he begins to compare his church with that of say a colleague from the same Bible School, then he begins to wonder if there is not a spiritual secret he is not aware of.
This is when, if care is not taken, fellow Pastors who appears to be very successful in the ministry but are using occultic powers, could sway them from the narrow path and get them trapped in the Devil’s clutches and eventually and inevitably, destroy their lives. God bless.
By Laud Kissi-Mensah
Introduction
You have been there. Twenty tabs open comparing laptops. A blank page for an email you’ve been “thinking about” for three days. A menu with 30 options and you leave hungry.
This is decision paralysis: the state where the volume of information, options, or perceived stakes prevents you from making a decision at all. It’s not laziness. It’s a cognitive overload response.
In a data-rich environment, it’s becoming the default mode for both individuals and organisations.
This article breaks down why it happens, how it shows up, what it costs, and how to break it.
1. What decision paralysis actually is?
Decision paralysis is a failure of the decision-making system to convert information into action. Psychologists call it ‘analysis paralysis’ or ‘choice overload.’
It has three components:
1. Cognitive overload: Working memory can hold between four to seven chunks of information at once. When you try to track 20 variables, the system freezes.
2. Anticipatory regret: You overestimate the pain of making the wrong choice. The brain avoids the emotional cost by avoiding the choice.
3. Ambiguity aversion: Humans prefer known risks over unknown ones. When outcomes are uncertain, we stall.
The result is not neutral. Not deciding is a decision. It costs time, momentum, and opportunity
2. Why it’s getting worse now
2.1 Infinite options
Amazon has 350 million products. Netflix has 6000+ titles. Dating apps have unlimited profiles. The paradox of choice: more options increase initial satisfaction but decrease final satisfaction and increase regret.
2.2 Information abundance without synthesis
You can find 50 studies on sleep. Each one has caveats, conflicting results, and different methodologies. Without a framework to integrate them, more data creates more confusion, not clarity. This connects directly to the “data-rich, wisdom-poor” problem.
2.3 Reversibility anxiety
In the digital age, most decisions feel permanent. A bad post goes viral. A bad hire is public on LinkedIn. A bad career move is visible. The fear of irreversible error makes people delay.
2.4 Algorithmic mirroring
Platforms show you what you already engage with. This creates an illusion that there’s one ‘best’ option you are missing. You keep searching, convinced the optimal choice is one more scroll away.
3. How it shows up
Personal Level
Cannot pick a career path after six months of ‘research’
Spend two hours choosing a movie and watch nothing
Delay sending an email because it ‘isn’t perfect’
3.1 Organisational level
Teams spend 80 per cent of time in meetings gathering data, 20 per cent deciding
Product teams delay launch waiting for “one more data point”
KPIs multiply but no strategic choice is made
3.2 Common cognitive tells:
Endless comparison tables
Asking for one more opinion
Reframing the problem instead of solving it
Feeling drained after thinking but not acting
By Robert Ekow Grimmond-Thompson
