TILL DEATH DO US PARTVolume 100, Tuesday, 23 January 2011
Romans 7:2 - "For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage."
I spent the past weekend in Maseru. I was attending a funeral of a father of a dear friend of mine. His father passed on at the age of 67. He had been married to his wife for over 40 years. On Friday night there were prayers at the home and my wife and I attended. After the service, my friend invited to pass our condolences to his mother. We knelt next to her as she was seated right in front of the casket of her late husband. We did not have words to say. As we knelt, she touched both our hands and began to speak. We listened whole heartedly to her words. What came out of her mouth stunned us.
She said to us “My children, as you can see I am seated in front of a casket of my late husband. I am sad yes, but I am also grateful that I honored my vows. We made vows to each other that only death will separate us. We stuck it out together for over forty years and today we are separated by death. I urge you my children to hold on to one another. There is no better feeling one gets than to see that they stood by their vows until the end. So, please take a leaf from my life and do the same. I know it is not easy, but try.
God will help you if you ask him”. My wife and I were speechless. Here was a mother who had lost her life partner and instead of receiving from us, there she was giving to us. Instead of rolling in her sorrow, she was self less and used her situation to encourage and empower young people like us to follow her great example. By the time we left her, our hearts were so full of emotion. We just did not know how to respond. We had never come across anything like this before. We had never experienced such selflessness at such a moment of grief.
When we got to our hotel room we both spoke about it and made a pact that we will pray and ask God to bring about such a sorrowful yet joyous experience in our lives. We recommitted ourselves to our vows and promised each other that until death do us part. We woke up on Saturday and attended a funeral of a warrior of a dad. We were in awe right through the service at how much God had blessed this man and his family.
His children did an outstanding job to celebrate his life through a funeral service that was so much organized and full of great narrations from people of all walks about a life well lived. My wife and I left for our home much more empowered than we had arrived. We left full of hope, full of optimism that during the days and times that we live in it is still possible to honour your vows and stay with your marital partner until the end.
To the Ralebitso family, thank you for being such a great example to us on how a family should be. Thank you Mama for your words of wisdom. In your time of sorrow, you chose to give. The lessons you gave us are much greater than the theory we had in our heads on marriage. You used yourself as a living example that it possible and that it is doable. May our heavenly father give you and your family comfort. May he give you strength to move on. May he keep your family together. May his angels ever dwell with you until the end of time. Re a leboga.
I pray that those of you who are married who get to read this bulletin find it in your hearts to recommit to your spouses and make a new promise that ‘till death do you part’. With God on your side, it is possible. Happy and blessed marriage to all!
God is good all the time and all the time God is good!
Simphiwe Mdlalose
23 January 2012
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