A Letter to Glen Pobee

Hello Cousin,

February 1989, the world birthed a fine young man so full of life and energy ready to light up our world but 3^rd March 2009 was too soon for the world to take you away.

The energies I know you carried went far and beyond your areas of jurisdiction, where you physically lived when you were here. Young, brilliant, up and coming you were and I know you were going to give a lot more to the world had it given you a little more time but we’ll remember the moments you shared with us all through your brief life with friends and family.

Some one once said that a man’s life is measured by those who talk more about him when he’s no more. I’m writing to tell you that friends and family all over are talking about you. They talk about the fine man you were, some say they never really had a chance to talk with you but loved your demeanour. Glen trust me when I tell you this you indeed left a big mark in so many people’s life, even those you may not have considered to be friends.

Cousin, friends and family are all mourning your departure and its hard on everyone, your mum and dad, your two lovely sisters and so many friends and families all together. Your departure was so sudden and unexpected that it has left everyone in a state of shock and pain.

Brother I came home this Thursday to help with preparations for grand-pa’s funeral and was told that the reason for which I came home -Aunt Nicole, your mum –to help with making slides for grand-pa’s funeral had rushed back to Canada on hearing of your passing away. I was dumbfounded and couldn’t speak. Glen tears wanted to stroll down my cheeks but I would not let them. Aggrieved and perplexed my state sat there in my seat for minutes that passed me by.

I write to tell you that we all deeply mourn for you and to promise you that we will be strong together as a family for I’m sure that’s what you wish for us now. We tell you that we will be the best in this world because you our brother let big shoes for us to fill in fulfilling what life wouldn’t give you time to.

I promise to remain true and faithful as a brother to your sisters and I promise to do everything in my power, God help me to care for them and watch over them even as you would do if you were here. To your parents I will be as their son and love them as you would. Not to say that anyone could replace you, of course no-one can’t but you being the first grandson of the family we know you will always be there. Whatever good you wanted you do, I will do. Whatever amazing you wanted to see, I will see. Wherever wonderful you wanted to go, I will go.

I pray for one thing that you are in a more peaceful and happier place you deserve to be. We say rest in peace! Opps! Cousin, before I end this letter, everyone wants me to tell you that they love you very much.

 

P.S. Reply soon…

 

 

Your brother & cousin,

Edwin.

 

POEM TO THE MEMORY OF JOEL KOJO KOPPOE (My Grandfather)

This poem here wasn’t written by me…it was written in honour of my grandfather for his funeral.

DEATH IS ONLY A PART OF LIFE

 

We enter this world

            from “THE GREAT UNKNOWN”

And God gives each SPIRIT

             a form of its own

And endows this form

             with a heart and a soul

To spur man on

            to his ultimate goal…

For all men are born

             to RETURN as they CAME

And birth and death

             are in essence the same

And man is but born

             to die and arise

For beyond this world

             in beauty there lies

The purpose of death

             which is but to gain

LIFE EVERLASTING

             in GOD’S GREAT DOMAIN

And no one need make

             this journey alone

For GOD has promised

              to take care of his own.

 

 

Mrs. Helen Steiner Rice

 

Grand-pa’s in a more peaceful place

I talked to my mum last 3 weeks, and I got to know that her dad, my grand-dad passed on, on Tuesday to A MORE PEACEFUL PLACE. I remember the last time I saw him; he was in so much pain. It was a Sunday when my parents and I went to see him after church. He wasn’t able to go to church because of the pain. Grand-ma had been saying in the last week before the Tuesday that he acting unusually strange. Maybe it should have clicked but why would anyone think that his time was near.

            I remember my mother saying that when he was younger he claimed that when he was older he would prefer to die than be a burden to anyone. Well, words, words however much you refuse the power in it, they work. Warning people!!!

            If for nothing at all, I’ll forever remember the funny and humorous nature of the man. He was a really nice person who would joke about everything. The nice things my mind could form about the man was the way he related with everybody especially his in-laws. Many times when issues came up, he would agree more with his in-laws than his own children. I had seen it many times with my parents and the way he would joke about it would make you agree with him. There was one time (I don’t really remember the very details) but I think my mum, his daughter and my dad and the family went to see him on one of those Sundays (we almost always went there on weekends mostly Sundays) and my mum was drinking on of her concotions which she said would make her tone down and my dad was like, “you take this things way too much.” Thinking at least a father would go with his daughter, he would support my dad and say, “all these things don’t work, if you fat, you fat.” Yeah right! Even he didn’t believe that.

              It was nice growing up among my grand-parents, especially since they were the first couple I saw blessing their marriage in a church way when they were very old. I remember being a page-boy with my cousin Ben at that wedding. He had six strong, ambitious children with my grand-pa and they loved each other so much.

             Mum’s stories about grand-pa were mostly the stories he told them when they were young and that the man had so much hair all over is body. She said when they were children, she and her siblings would braid the man’s hair on his stomach or was it his back or both…hmmmmmm…the man was hairy. But then he lost all when I met him.

            You know the irony of his death. His wife, my grand-ma thought she would die before him but nope…God does is own things His way.

 

Grand-pa we love you. Rest In Peace.  

 

 

The Dream of Life

I had no reason to want to live

Happiness was not a consistent factor

I had no passion for life

Love came surely from family and friends

I had no purpose in life

I felt unfulfilled

In the nights I did not want to wake up

I prayed to God;

To prevent all my worthless living

To make me not see the light of day in flesh

But He never did

Then I had a dream

A dream that my creator wanted me

To be the leader of His people;

A dream that pushed me on

A dream that gave me a purpose for life

A dream that granted me the desire to keep on living

Now!

I no longer want to die

I surprisingly do not want to sleep for long

For there’s a lot to be done

I have a mission to fulfill

If I die without doing it

Then I would be useless

He did not give me a reason to only live on

I had a reason

To give my all

And now to die for the cause

A cause I will die for trying

My time is short

Three score and ten and a few more

I have a lot to do

So I pray for life each day

And He grants it to me

 

The Vanity of Life

I know maybe you were drawn to read this because of the title. I mean how can life, be vain! You’d say unless probably, you are not having a blast of what life has. Yea, sure I agree with you. I had always read the book of Ecclesiastes as a kid, and I still do many times, of course you can never finish reading things like that. You’re done; you still go back to them. Anyways, if you have read that book, maybe at least come across a pat of it. We would agree that, Solomon, the wisest man ever, call life vanity. He says it is like the grasping of the wind.

As a young boy did not quite get why? Someone the whole world looks to as the wisest man, calls life vanity! Just 10 years old I had life, I enjoyed it. As a small boy why would I say my life was nothing! It could not have been, I had my family, my friends in school, in my community, in church. My parents could give me all the things I needed. At least I was not naked, hungry, living in the streets. Hope you get me to this point. Look at your life; would you call it nothing, even if you had nothing. You have dreams and goals right, that makes you move on, doesn’t it?

Well, then after all the thinking, I grew into a teenager, around 16 years, revisited the book as usual, this time reflecting on this saying, perhaps you would call it a child’s thinking, but it couldn’t have been. It was real! It was happening to people. Let’s take this illustration to assess this. A man spends almost 25 years of his life, if not 30 in school. Of course generally after, he works. In the process, he has probably been with a woman, he wants to marry. Things get okay, they get married, they have kids, same cycle again with their kids, and parents see their grandchildren. I mean they are just okay! Well satisfied with what they have achieved so far (on the average) and then they pass out…Is that it? Is that all there is to life, you come, you grow, you acquire, you pass on, you die! I mean guys, let think about this for a moment, about this big thing call LIFE! So bigger than we can understand then for sure, I don’t know it all! I damn sure don’t! The whole concept is vain…

Vain! In a sense that, life is not for living only for ourselves, our dreams but for sharing our lives with others. Imagine for instance a miser, of course we know he doesn’t spend, much more give. Now put the same man in the illustration in the paragraph above. Trust me at the end of the road. We really have ONE BIG BORING one! Could you live that life? That Empty LIFE?

God gave us this life to share, of course HIM first. When you get your source right which is God, you can start off, not by yourself alone, but with HIM. Now imagine a man who gives; he puts a smile on people’s faces. His joy would be full, why? Because, he has found something to die for. Why did I say to “die for?”

Once I saw a tape, “The Six Principles of Success,” by Myles Munroe. He said, “When I gave my life to God, I thanked God so much for giving me a reason to live.” You know what God told him,” That’s good! That’s why I can’t use you now. You have found something to live for, when you find something to die for, you’ll be ready.” You see, the miser is living for his money, not dying for it. If you put a gun to his head, and tell him to choose between his life and money. He won’t think twice about leaving the money. Now! The man who gives, to put smiles on people’s faces, ask him to choose between living and dying for man he helps, with the same gun on his head. He wouldn’t think twice about laying down his life. Why? Because he realizes that the whole reason for him living is to share his life, he doesn’t mind dying for it.

Solomon said it “It is vanity.” He referred to the attainment of physical things. Do you have something or someone you would die for? Who you would give your all to see better? That’s life!

 

The Day Has Began

The sun is coming again

The moon is slowing fading

Away

The birds are singing happily

On the trees

Singing

To the dawn of the morning

The day has began

The sun is now in the heavens

Shining brightly on the globe

The farmer is very tired

The clothes are dried up

Women

With wretched clothes

Prepare themselves

Awaiting the farmers

The moonlight is out

The village children are dancing

Round the great fire

Awaiting

The story of the night

The day is slowly ending

(DEDICATED TO ALL NEW BORNS)