TRIBUTE TO A VIRTUOUS WOMAN FOR A LIFE WELL SPENT: MRS. ‘DUPE OYEBOLU
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary, edited by E.M. Kirkpatrick, defines DEATH as: state of being dead: extinction or cessation of life: manner of dying: mortality, spiritual blessedness etc etc.
Each of the above dictionary meanings, apart from spiritual blessedness, which applies to the christian, who truly accepts that this world is only a temporally abode; that death is the entrance passage to his/her everlasting home, with God, in heaven. All the others, about what death is, leave a bitter/unpleasant taste in the mouth. The truth is that it is the inevitable price that all of us, mortals, owe our creator and must pay. Unfortunately, certain as it is – its certainty as to its exact time is a secret, kept from all mortals and only known to the Almighty, our creator!
As W.C Doane puts it, in his immortal essay on death:
“We are too stupid about death.
We will not learn.
It is wages paid to those who earn;
How it is the gift for which on earth we yearn,
To be set free from the bondage of the flesh;
How it is the turning seed corn into grain;
How it is winning Heaven’s eternal gain,
How it means freedom evermore from pain
How it untangles every mortal messh.
We are too selfish about death.
We count our grief far more than we consider their relief,
When the Great Reaper gathers in the sheaf.
No more to know the season’s constant change;
And we forget that it means only life
Life with all rest, peace, joy and glory rife
The victory won and/ended all the strife,
And Heaven no longer far away or strange”.
- W.C Doane
Yes, dear friends, our loss – indeed, irreparable loss - is Heaven’s great gain.
Our dearest Modupe Oyebolu is now at peace - in the bossom of her creator-our creator, reaping all the fruits of her labour – on earth, awaiting the great Rapture – when we shall all meet – to part no more!.
The various ways she favourably impacted our lives directly or indirectly- with sweet memories – which will linger on until we meet, again – at the feet of Jesus.
‘Dupe is not dead in the ordinary dictionary sense of the word. No.
While “Some people”, according to Henry Van Dyke –‘are so afraid to die, that they never begin to live”. The ‘Dupe Oyebolu that we all knew – lived her life in such a way as to be looking forward to meet her maker-even at the shortest notice.
She won the hearts of those she met on life’s pathway, and favuorably enriched their lives with her infectious smile that was devoid of any affectation.
The anguish which we felt at her rude and shocking demise, was only because of its apparent suddenness-leaving no room for even as much as a word of farewell. But this is because we refuse to learn. Death has never changed its mode of striking without notice. It will come when it will come and without notice. The unpalatable lesson, we, therefore, must learn is to heed the admonition of the words of the Psalmist, which in Psalm 90:12 Says:
“So, (Lord) “teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom”.
Adieu Dupe, aya Barr. ‘Seyi Oyebolu – Rest in perfect peace – in the bossom of your creator.
Prince J.A.A Adebayo