I’m sure it’s no news that i lost someone really dear to me; someone who treated me like i came from her loins, a mother to me. I lost my mother-in-law but heaven gained her. She was simply an enigma, someone who impacted lives, who lived fully and gave selflessly.
She and my biological mum share the same first and second names, and they have bonded so well. She was mum to my sisters too, who are currently abroad and broke down when they got the news of her death. She and my dad who are both in the medical line also shared the same interest of farming, so they were ever comparing notes whenever they met. Both families had indeed become one. She received me into the family even before it became official. She made sure i felt at home andwas involved in decision making. I didn’t have to rethink before sending my daughter to Ilorin for over 3weeks for holidays. While she was there, she learnt the lyrics of all the songs in the classic movie, “Sound of Music”. She shares the same material as many of Grandma’s ankaras. They bonded so well over the past few years.
Yesterday, i was on the phone with an aunt when Ireoluwa, my daughter, asked me if i was talking with Grandma in Ilorin. I told her Grandma had gone to heaven and she asked when she was gonna come back….hmm, she’ll understand better with time.
I’ve learnt a lot from her; but one thing, i’ll like to share is the fact that she lived fully and with zest. She laboured like there was no room for play, and played hard like there were no challenges. She had obvious challenges and reasons to have lived more carefully. She was free to dare, to make mistakes, to venture, to stand for what she believed in, she never postponed her happiness, she was a great woman, a gift to her world. People flocked into her home, and i saw elderly people break down and weep, saying she impacted their lives, to some, it was their marriages, some, their health and that of their families.
The value of life is in living, in donation, in giving. Death makes us reflect more, and brings us more in touch with the fact that all we have once we’re gone is vanity, what counts is what speaks about us once we’re gone. I’m motivated, to live beyond the sphere of my lifetime, to leave a legacy.
I’ll miss you, but am sure you’re resting in God’s bosom where it’s all bliss and no pain, you’re watching over us, cheering us on. Adieu mama….} else {
12 thoughts on “A life well spent”
I’m in Ilorin now… and was tempted to wink at my mum as I would normally… she was my mum, but was also my friend.
We’ll be remembered, not for our materials, but for our impact and influence.
@Tope,
Well said. May you be comforted both at this time and every other time the pain of not having her physical presence comes
@Deolu,
hmmmn. Dont hold back, Wink on, she’ll wink back.
Make time to cry if you haven’t done so yet
May all she’s done in her life time be the seeds for the plentiful harvest of goodness you and your family will reap in the not-so-distant future and that was not a prayer. its a principle
May her soul rest in blessed peace. Great write -up Tope…it does makes one determined to live life and live it well. God bless and comfort you and your family
Nice read mam.
“The value of life is in living, in donation, in giving. Death makes us reflect more, and brings us more in touch with the fact that all we have once we’re gone is vanity, what counts is what speaks about us once we’re gone. I’m motivated, to live beyond the sphere of my lifetime, to leave a legacy.”
Leave a legacy.
http://www.adesojiadegbulu.com/man-in-the-mirror
yes ore, be comforted because we are guaranteed that in Him and ‘cos of Him we shall see again.
my love and condolences to you and ur family at this time.
As I was reading through this , I was wondering ……’what a great woman’
I was thinking, God I want to be as nice to my in-laws
I am challenged to be ALL I can be, Impact lives and people can say when I go to be with the Lord, she touched lives.
You really would miss her.
Please accept my condolences,
I remember ….”For me to live is Christ,and to die is gain”
@Deolu, Please accept my sympathies,
Please o, wink on.
It was good to read that your mother was also your friend
I am sure you are proud of the woman she was, a lot to learn from her.
“e ku oro eniyan”. ojo a jina si ra won o…..
sorry about the death of your mother inlaw sister dear , may her soul rest in peace , I can see remember her very well , seen her in most of your family functions , very agile and active , may God give you the fortitude to bear the loss , my regards to your husband
It’s amazing how we can all recount experiences of immense impact she had on us on a personal level, for me it was how she took her profession to an extra length giving me medical attention beyond the usual. And of course I can’t forget how she would remember my secondary school nickname so many years after I left secondary school and she would insist on calling me that name.I couldn’t help but pray that she forgot that name as I didn’t quite like the name then……but now I wish she can still call me the name as much as she wants….if only it could make her spend more time with us….but I have learnt that God’s decisions are best as far as death of His saints is concerned. We feel a loss but for her it is GAIN. Lets not be selfish but rather rejoice with her. She made it to the other side!!!
I still remember her care and genuine concern whenever i went for treatment at the clinic in FGCI..
If i heard that the nurse on duty was “MRS. AKINYEMI”, i would gladly go!
Our condolances, ‘Deolu & ‘Tope. Just be glad that mummy is in a far better place. Lets all aspire to see her, and a host of other loved ones we miss on this side of eternity.
D&T, DO PLS ACCEPT MY CONDOLENCES, FOR IT IS APPOINTED UNTO A MAN TO DIE ONCE THEN JUDGEMENT THOUGH I DON’T KNOW HER IN PERSON BUT FROM ALL I HAVE READ ABOUT MAMA, SHE IS INDEED A WONDERFUL AND GOD FEARING WOMAN, I KNOW SHE IS RESTING IN HEAVEN.
BELOVED, DON’T LET US CRY MUCH ON HER DEPARTURE, DEATH IS INEVITABLE, PLS LETS WORK OUT OUR SALVATION, FOR NO MAN KNOWS THE VERY DAY JESUS IS COMING BUT ONLY OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN.
GOD UPHOLD YOUR FAMILY TILL THE DAY OF HIS COMING.
LOVE U ——-
PHILIP