From her baby brother Stephen Murphy
Good morning everyone. It's another beautiful day that
the Lord has made. Everyday is created perfectly
regardless of the circumstances and God is still in
control.
In case you're wondering , I am Meide's baby brother.
Most of my interaction with my sister happened while
we were growing up at 26 Majuba Avenue , Bosmont ,
2093. Being the youngest of 8 siblings , someone
needed to take care of me when my mom was occupied.
That duty went to Meide. Children sometimes have
inventive names for people and my name for Meide was
"Tienie". Tienie was responsible for getting me
dressed for church on the frantic Sunday mornings
before handing me over to my dad who was waiting with
the Brylcreem and the brush. We were never on time for
church.
Being the baby of the family I got to sit back and
watch and learn from my parents and older siblings
about life. I was spoilt for choice with everyone
being a character in their own right but arguably
Meide became the most animated of the bunch. Meide had
many positive traits , please allow me to remind you
of some of them.
Meide knew the importance of seeing the funny side of
situations. One day while I was staring at one of my
mom's plants , I decided to take a bite into one of
the juicy leaves. It seemed like a good idea at the
time. My mouth was on fire and after hearing my
screams Tienie came to my rescue. After hearing my
explanation with tears running down my cheeks and
seeing the teeth marks in the leaf she broke out in
hysterical laughter. Needless to say , I didn't see
the funny side of it at the time but I also never bit
that poor plant again.
Meide was accommodating. During my high school days I
had a newspaper round which included the then brand
new Waterval flats complex where Meide had moved to.
With over 100 subscribers I needed a base to load and
offload and she offered her home to help me out. Even
though I sometimes inconvenienced Meide and her family
, I was never made to feel like I was in the way.
Meide spoke her mind. One was never in doubt as to
where one stood with her. If she was giving you a
piece of her mind then you knew all about it. After I
returned from a working holiday in the U.K. 10 years
ago we had a family gathering , I forget what the
occasion was. All the women in my family were in the
kitchen washing up when I volunteered to help to
demonstrate my new found kitchen porter skills that I
had acquired in England. Meide put me out of the
kitchen. There was little room for falsehood in her
personality.
Meide was resourceful. At times in her life it was
difficult to make ends meet but like every good mother
she made a plan. Meide would often arrange
complimentary theatre tickets for the family. From
this I developed an appreciation for the arts.
Watching a ballet at the State Theatre was wonderful.
Meide knew that the little things in life mattered.
This is one of many sound principles to live one's
life by. Someone once said , "there are infinite
possibilities in small beginnings if God is in them".
Looking through Meide's photos this past week I found
a postcard that I had sent to her from Egypt a few
years ago. Even though it was just a piece of paper it
was important enough to her to store in her memoirs. A
few months ago before embarking on a lengthy trip to
Israel I scheduled a lunch appointment with Meide. I
dressed casually but Elander found the occasion
important enough to dress up and look smart. My sister
had class.
Meide was attractive. This was easily her greatest
asset. She had friends all over the show. I heard my
dad comment this week that Meide knew the whole world.
Luke 2:52 is a blueprint for successful living and it
says , "Jesus grew in wisdom , in stature and in
favour with God and man". Meide's ability to find
favour with people was truly remarkable.
Three years ago while living at a Christian mission in
central America , I got an image in my mind that
lingered for months. There were endless rows of
shelves with books on them. Each book represented a
life of a child of God. Within the pages of the books
were written events documenting the goodness of God in
that person's life. I realised that all the words
contained in that vast archive still could simply not
do justice to the goodness of God. The Lord has
blessed my family bountifully and if you could locate
the Murphy family section of that archive I saw then
you would find a few volumns. Somewhere in there would
be Meide's life , 46 years of blessings , she has been
nothing less than that to me. Reminiscing with my mom
this past week I was told that Meide really loved me.
We've lost an absolute sweetheart.
King Solomon wrote , "to everything there is a season
, a time for every matter or purpose under heaven. A
time to be born and a time to die". God is always
speaking to us but we are not always in the position
or place to hear Him. If the timing of my sister's
passing has anything to do with the Lord getting a
message to you at this point in your life then I pray
that you will be open to whatever that message is and
walk out of this place today with a seed in your
heart. Jeremiah 29:11 says ,"For I know the thoughts
and plans that I have for you , says the Lord.
Thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for
evil , to give you hope in your final outcome". God
has plans and purposes for your life waiting in the
wings but they cannot be implemented without your
approval.
Thank you for honouring my sister with your presence
today. May the Lord richly bless you.