Joyce lost the bursary. She felt like such a disgrace. She went back to her village and her father disowned her, he kept saying she wasn’t his daughter any longer. He almost had a stroke. He was really embarrassed. She was banished from her family and they cut all ties with her. She gave birth to a beautiful girl and named her Precious. John was not even stressing or afraid, he knew that those two children would be taken care of.

Joyce didn’t have anywhere to go so John offered her a place to stay but because of pride she refused. Eventually she was forced to go and share the bed with him. John’s family wouldn’t allow Joyce to stay with them whereas they were not married. They went to Joyce’s family to introduce themselves and it went well. They even began with the lobola negotiations and John’s family deposited half of the amount they required.

John’s family said that they would cover all her college tuition fees. She went back to the college and every student was talking about how bad she was. Her self-esteem started dropping but still excelled in her studies. She completed the first year and second year. During the third year her marks were low. She was also concerned, and that’s when she went for counselling.

There was a vast improvement and everything went back to normal.

She felt like there was a dark-cloud hanging over her, but after counselling she began to notice that the light was defeating the darkness. She completed her tertiary studies and John’s parents took care of her graduation ceremony. Samuel and Precious were also taken good care of and that was Joyce’s desire for her children. She was over the moon; her excitement was really beyond measure.

She was lucky. Immediately after her graduation, Joyce was called up for an interview and secured a job as a teacher. Everything was finally coming together. Her father was happy for her daughter and John’s parents were happy as well for helping her become the shining star she had always been.

Joyce started working and after her third wages she went to visit her family to apologise for everything she had done. She was forgiven. Her parents asked her to bring the grandchildren and that showed how they accepted her back. They were so happy to see their grandchildren because they had never seen them before. She was living a good life that she even managed to pay back the loan for her college tuition, with interest included.

She was loaded.

She tried to give her children the life she never had. After four years she conceived and this time around it was good because she had money to support her children. It was a bouncing baby boy and his name was Proverb.

Samuel went to school at the age of six and always got encouragement from both his parents. He was a genius, he started getting hundred percent at many subjects. Precious wasn’t left behind either. They were clever, so excellent, they were shinning like a star in the middle of the night, so bright. John and Joyce went six years without bringing another baby into the world, they even said their three children were enough. Proverb went to school at the age of six, but he wasn’t as bright as his siblings. In that sixth year, she got pregnant again.

They had another healthy baby boy, named Martin. Martin was seen as the dumbest of them all, he always acted so crazy. He didn’t have a vision in life, he was living to please others. But Joyce took care of Martin through thick and thin. Joyce and John concluded that they should take a break from having children but again one thing led to another. After three years, Joyce got pregnant.

They got a baby boy again, he was so cute and his name was Vision. Sadly, John’s dad passed away. He died from stroke; he had been unable to move, eat or talk. He was a loving person; the whole community knew how great he was. John inherited everything that his father owed. And that meant the family was well off.

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Tell us what you think: With the state of our economy, do you think family’s should have lots of kids?