July 5, 2013 Africa blogger "Bakhita" Previous articles
God's Will - Do we have a say?
Have you ever wondered what you would do if you were faced with a situation where you had to make a decision on whether a loved one lives or dies?
Our beloved Nelson Mandela has been in hospital fighting for his life, suffering with a lung infection. The doctors have put him on life supporting machines and have advised the family that he is in a vegetative state and it’s entirely up to them to make the call. Mandela has a large family. His daughters, his wife and some of his grandchildren are of the view that he can hear them and he is still responsive and therefore they cannot play God and take away his life by asking for the machines to be switched off.
On the other hand, there is another grandchild, who seems to have been the closest of them all to Mandela. He is even aware of Mandela’s will and has slowly started making preparations for his final resting place.
The entire country and almost the entire region seems to be slowly coming to terms with the gravity of the matter and seem to accept that Mandela will soon no longer be with us. Many South Africans are keeping vigil outside the hospital, bringing flowers and singing solemn songs. In the African culture, this is unacceptable because they seem to be already mourning the person, and yet he is not yet ‘dead! At the same time, the President is trying to encourage the country to go ahead and prepare for the celebration of Mandela’s ninety fifth birthday later this Month!!
With all these going around them, the immediate family is still stuck with the decision to switch off the machine or not to switch off.
I’m not in a position to say if I would call for the machine to be switched off or not. All I know is that the family should use the strength to be together in prayer rather than pull apart in different directions. They should pray for the Lord's will to be done. They should pray that Mandela does not get to suffer pain anymore. They should treasure every moment that they still have with him, even though he cannot speak because, they can still go to him, touch him, see him and speak to him and pour out their hearts. Many of us out here did not or may not realize how much our fathers meant to us until they were gone. So many times I want to call my father and just tell him what a rough day I had and hear him say that in the morning it will be all right because the sun will shine. I want to tell him that my son came top of his class and that my son is exactly like him in so many ways. I want for him to come home and for the children to run and jump on him and all want to speak to him at the same time. When he was there, I probably did not let the children spend their holidays with him because that would mean that I take them to the village and leave them there, as I had to be at work in the city.
Mandela
is a father to all of us, not just South Africans but the entire
Let God’s will be done. Amen!!
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