I Got So High That I Saw Jesus

Hi Subfamzzz 🤭

I went to an amusement park yesterday and accidentally met God.

I mean I genuinely believe there was a moment my soul left my body, had a brief conversation with the Lord, and then returned because, apparently, my time had not yet come.

Yup! You’re probably wondering how I ended up in that situation. Okay, let me start from the beginning.

I had been looking forward to the day for days. I had seen TikTok videos of the park, of people screaming, laughing, wailing.. lol. It looked like freedom. It looked like something I hadn’t felt in a while… and I was so eager to feel it.. to feel alive.

From Ogun State to Apapa, Lagos. When we got there, the first thing that welcomed us was noise.

Not music, or chatter. S-C-R-E-A-M-I-N-G.

The kind that makes the voices in your head say, “Run away! Run away!! Run away!!!”

I looked at my sister. She looked at me. My friend looked at both of us. Nobody needed to talk. We all knew what was happening in our minds.

But we had already come this far to turn back.

We bought our cards, topped them up, and stepped in. Surprisingly, it wasn’t the mad crowd I feared. People were scattered… some groups laughing near the exits of rides, others queuing calmly. A small win for someone who gets anxious in packed spaces.

We hadn’t even decided our first move when a group came down from one of the taller rides, faces flushed, already heading toward the next one. We tagged along like lost puppies. Their next choice was the pirate ship. You know the one with the big swinging boat that rocks higher and higher until your stomach forgets which way is up? Yup! Definitely that one.

Before I entered, I did serious observation. I watched the people that came down before us. I noticed something very important… that the edges go higher than the middle. I mean.. edges are for brave people or people who like flirting with death!!!

My friend sat beside me. My sister took the spot right behind, dangerously close to the edge. I was already whispering small prayers when a guy walked up and asked if he could join our row.

“Yes, please,” I said quickly. Then, because I’m nothing if not strategic.. I said again, “Come sit on my right.” Boom!!! I was now safely sandwiched. I mean I felt protected in the middle. Everything was balanced.

There was also a lady sitting opposite me. Stranger, but she had that kind of energy that makes you feel like you know her already. She was hyping me, telling me to scream and enjoy it, and I liked her instantly. She’s definitely that kind of stranger you meet and immediately think, “this one is my person for today.”

Then the ride started. At first, it was calm. Almost suspiciously calm. I even smiled small. I thought, okay, maybe people are exaggerating this thing online.

Then it started going higher.

And higher..

And higher…

And higher!!!

It was swinging back and forth, but the more it swung, the higher we went, and suddenly I was no longer on a ride. I was somewhere in the air trying to understand my existence.

I closed my eyes.

That was my mistake.

Because once I closed my eyes, I completely lost reality. I didn’t know if I was going forward or backward or up or down. I just knew I was not in control of anything anymore.

So I started screaming.

Yup! The kind that comes from your chest and has no shame attached to it.

At some point, I grabbed the guy beside me. I don’t even know when it happened. I just know I was holding his hand and leaning on him like he was my lifeline.

I kept bargaining with God in my head.. God If I survive this, I’m changing. I’ll be better. I’ll turn a new leaf. Just get me down. My heart felt like it was doing somersaults inside my chest. Gbim Gbim! Gba Gba!! When the ride finally slowed and stopped, my face was hot and red. The lady across from me pointed and laughed.. “You’re crying!”

Everyone was teasing each other, but lightly. No one escaped unscathed. The guy I’d clung to had recorded the whole thing… eyes open, calm as anything. I asked for the video. We exchanged Snapchats. My sister kept whispering “How I Met Your Mother” in my ear with the most mischievous smile. I rolled my eyes so hard I nearly strained something.

Next up, they wanted to try the motorcycle ride.. this one doesn’t just swing but spins while doing it. I took a closer look at it and tapped out. “I’ll hold the bags and take videos for you guys,” I told my sister and friend. Boundaries, people! I had just survived a pirate ship… I wasn’t pushing my luck.

But then, while they were getting strapped in, I saw her.

Drumroll….

Oyinkansola. Yes! Our famous Oyin on Substack. Someone I had only ever seen online, someone whose work I genuinely admire a lot. I recognized her immediately. She was already seated, buckled, looking like she belonged on the ride. I couldn’t believe it. What are the actual odds??

When the ride started, my sister and friend were screaming their way through the spins, but my eyes kept drifting to Oyin. She was radiant.. A guy beside her was covering his face and yelling (you will know who he is later on.. lol). But Oyin was Jubilating. She had her hands in the air, smiling like she was having the best time of her life.

My eyes kept going back to her like I was being dragged. There’s something about seeing someone so free in a moment that is terrifying to you. Because damn! How was she not thinking about anything? Just living in the moment like nothing else exists.

When the ride ended, I went up to meet her and said hello. I had this small fear that i might be wrong (but I know my eyes weren’t deceiving me), I was also scared that she wouldn’t respond well, or that I’d just embarrass myself. But I did it anyway.

When I told her that I knew her, she looked at me like, really? From where?

I said Substack. And then she paused for a second, like she wasn’t expecting that answer. Which is fair, because I bet people usually say Instagram or TikTok (she’s a star). I told her my name, and then… she knew me.

Do you understand that feeling??? I mean how do i actually explain it? That someone you’ve been following for so long, someone whose words have stuck, someone whose posts you’ve gone back to, reread, fully comprehend… knows you?

Then she turned to the guy beside her and said, “Dami, Jolomi from Substack.”

And that was when it hit me again. Because that name too… I know it. Damiiiiiiii.. another person I follow and love his works.

And now both of them are standing in front of me. I don’t even know how long that moment lasted, but it felt longer than it actually was.

Because my head was just full of one thing: What are the odds? Like I mean, out of everywhere, out of everyone, out of all the random days in this world.

This is how, where and when it happens.. and I know I’d forever cherish the moments.

Subscribe

Afterwards, the earlier group was now heading to the Space Travel ride… the big one. The one I’d been secretly dreading for days. My sister tapped out (smart). My friend said “God forbid” (also smart). We had all watched the TikTok videos before and they had said they would never. But me??? I climbed in, buckled up, and told myself “I can’t do this” hehehe.

Anyways, my dearest gentle readers… the pirate ship was nursery school compared to this.

Likeeee… the Space Travel ride is a different conversation with the afterlife. It lifts you into the air and then starts flipping you upside down repeatedly, pausing just long enough for you to fully process your mistakes in life, before turning you again. At some point, I couldn’t even scream anymore. My voice disappeared.

Eyes closed most of the time, but when I dared open them, the world looked beautiful from up there, like a spread out painting… which felt very ironic considering I was convinced I was about to die.  All I could think of was God, this is not my time. I haven’t lived my best life yet. I haven’t been to Paris, or fallen in love, or even had kids… Please God... I’ll even go back to join the choirs. Please just get me down safely.

I called on every name I knew.. Lord, Olodumare, Chineke, Mbangiji… I was speaking in tongues.. kadosh-ing.

I needed to sit after that ride. My body was done. We found a spot, ordered water and meat pie. I couldn’t eat… my throat still felt tight, but the cold water helped. Then the nausea hit properly. I found a discreet corner and let it out. Not full vomit, but enough to remind me that my body had been through war. (Hehehe!!! Mighty Jolomi threw up at an amusement park? The secret dies with you.)

Later I spotted Oyin on the Space Travel too. Of course she did it. That girl fears nothing.

We ended the day with calmer things. The Ferris wheel, which felt like peace after everything. Just sitting there, no fear, no screaming, just quiet and breeze. And then karting, which turned out to be the best part.

Come on, for someone that has never even held a steering wheel before… I was driving fireeee.

I don’t even know where that confidence came from, but the moment I touched that thing, something just entered my body. I was a full maniac in the karting room.

Hahahaha… okay I’m lying.

I was not a maniac. I was just driving rubbish, crashing into people’s cart.

Anyways guysss… A day was had.

Looking back now, a few things sit with me.

First, fear is loud, but it’s not final. Sometimes you have to do the thing that makes your stomach drop just to remind yourself you’re capable of more than your anxiety gives you credit for.

Second, joy looks different on everyone. Watching Oyin throw her hands up while the rest of us were white-knuckling it was a lesson. Life will spin you upside down whether you like it or not. You can grip the bar and pray, or you can laugh and let the wind hit your face. I want to practice the second one more.

Third, connection can sneak up on you in the strangest places. Who would’ve guessed I’d end up full-on crying on a random guy’s shoulder, or blackmailing a complete stranger with video evidence of her wig flying off mid-ride? And then there were Oyin and Dami.

And then, most importantly… Fun doesn’t have to be perfect. It can be messy, loud, and still end up as one of the best days you’ve had in forever.

Thanks for reading❤️

Here are some picturesssssss