Award-winning Nigerian Nollywood actress, Kate Henshaw has explained to her fans how she contemplated suicide and fought against the mindset.
In a lengthy post made by the Nollywood star on her verified Instagram account, she shared one of her pictures from 2015 and explained how she battled the mindset of suicide after losing her belongings to a fire incident and triumphed over it.
Following the #throwbackthursday trend, the thespian wrote, “#TB to 2015….. READ PLS IF YOU CAN… Thank Almighty God that we don’t look like what we have been through… This was after the fire incident where I lost all my worldly stuff… I say worldly because they were just stuff… I still had my life but I was so devastated that I didn’t know how to move on…I didn’t think life was important at the time…
“JUNE 25, 2015… I contemplated suicide for some moments… Felt there was nothing left to live for… The premiere of our series “DO GOOD” was days away and @africamagic, then @wangistar was the head said, ‘you don’t have to show up, we will understand’ but something inside of me said, ‘you are not staying down, you will go.
“They got me a stylist to dress me and make-up was done by @lolamaja. I remember the stylist telling me I couldn’t go to the premiere with my hair like this, that I should expect backlash & criticism from the press…” she said.
She further stated how she became homeless at the time and she was gifted a shoe to attend her movie premiere. Moreso, she revealed that at the time her comfort came from reading the Bible, precisely the book of Job.
Henshaw said, “Not one to be intimidated, I insisted on going like this….No one will tell me how to show up anywhere for an event that celebrated my craft… Uncle John Obayiwana & his daughter @feeljeni gifted me the Gucci shoes on my feet… I still have them and will wear them till they are tattered… it’s mine after all… I kept reading the book of Job in my bible all through the time I was homeless. It sort of comforted me…but I was angry with God and this was a real feeling…”
She told her 2.6 million followers that the reason she shared the story was to encourage anyone who is going through tough times.
The actress said, “I am sharing this to encourage anyone who feels they have lost ‘everything’ and there is no hope left… There is nothing that we will go through that God cannot bring you out of. I had to find my faith again. I just had to be strong and know that He had better ahead for me. He sent me help from so many unexpected sources.
“So, when you see me dancing and happy all the time know that I have been through the fire and come out on the other side because God gave me beauty for ashes, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness & oil of joy instead of mourning.
“He ALONE is FAITHFUL, WORTHY, AND deserves ALL OF MY PRAISE. In Chris alone, my hope is found…” she said.
First published in Daily Trust
