10TH DECEMBER 2021 – 3RD MARCH 2023
The blessed Queen of Paradise, my late wife, Sister, mother and grandmother, Joy Nzubechi Son of Man Odoemena (Nee: Juliana Ifeyinwa Dibua), today marks precisely 448 days since you took your vacation to the world beyond leaving behind your precious memories which will linger throughout eternity of eternities for good in the hearts of all who were personally and practically acquainted with you for the period you sojourned in the human realm with humans. My physical, spiritual and divine acquaintance with you in marital relationship and other walks of life proved to me that a man, indeed, marries his character.
Without any iota of exaggeration of facts or flattering, I proved you beyond human doubts to be (i) A Doyen of motherhood (ii) An Amazon wife (iii) An Indefatigable partner in God’s vineyard. Above it all, you were a role model to others, a woman of contagious generosity, an unrepentant optimist, an untiring intercessor and an advocate of the brethren before the Son of Man, a self-sacrificing devotee of Christ and a disciplinarian. These qualities, undoubtedly convinced me in particular and all the saints of God the world over that you were indeed and will remain the WOMAN OF SUBSEQUENT CREATION assigned by divinity to the Son of Man and to no other.
Your sterling qualities which are worthy of emulation endeared you to the hearts of all the believers of the gospel of Christ throughout the whole world. The time and effort you spent in nurturing your offsprings, especially your biological children spiritually and morally as evidenced in their characters made it very easy for me to cushion the devastating effect of your vacation because they are and will remain a big source of consolation to my soul.
448 days today is just like a minute to me because your picture, your apparition and your gentle spirit hover around me, around the whole family and surround our matrimonial bed always. Your vacation, indeed, created a very big vacuum in my life and our matrimonial bed has remained wider than me since then.
Oftentimes, I feel like hearing your gentle velvet tone voice saying “NNAM O” each time I gaze at your enlarged photograph. Every morning, from 2.00 am, I maintain tranquil, tuning my ear to see whether I can hear my usual “COCK-CROW VOICE” at down saying “NNAM O, LET US PRAY”, but all in vain. In the morning, I desire to see my beautiful baby and darling doing her early morning jugging walkabout in the compound after prayers and limping up to pluck some guava fruits from the guava tree in the compound but all seem to be mere illusions and apparitions. Sometimes, I feel like coming to visit you there and to abide with you there but I will always hear the master’s voice saying “it is not your time yet”.
I proposed my own trip to take my vacation to the world beyond, the spirit and the bride said ‘no’ this time and cancelled my proposal. Then I remembered your voice before you departed telling me in plain language, “NNAM O, TAKE HEART, WATCH OVER THE FAMILY. BE CONSOLED BY THE LOVE OF OUR CHILDREN. I LOVE YOU, I WILL REMAIN LOVING YOU, EVEN IN THE HEREAFTER, YOU WILL STILL REMAIN MY HUSBAND. BE OF GOOD CHEER. DO NOT ABANDON YOUR COMMISSION BECAUSE OF MY EXIT FOR YOU KNOW I AM NOT COMING BACK FROM ABUJA TO MEET WITH YOU IN THIS FLESH”. The request you made that morning, which I cannot remember disclosing it to any human being, I turned it down because I hadn’t the heart.
I remember my words to you in reply, “I have heard all that you said. I will do all and even more as long as the Almighty God will give me the grace and the fortitude to survive this longest journey you are making”. I assure you most solemnly that I will remain doing the work of the Lord till my last breath here on earth and at the same time make sure that I bring all our children, grandchildren, sons-in-law and devoted brethren that covenanted their lives to our family while coming home in the end. Be sure of one thing, I must embrace you and at the same time continue marrying you as my queen in paradise. After your departure cometh no other. That is the much I can make public.
I remember very correctly that we wept sore. I used my handkerchief to wipe your tears and used yours to wipe my tears so that our children would not know what was happening. On Wednesday, 23rd of September, 2021 I lead you into your vehicle which our first son Chibueze and the younger brother Chukwudi used with the help of Brother Tony Egbuna to convey you to Asaba airport enroute Abuja. Needless to begin to rehearse my experiences with you and the entire family at Abuja and our last words to each other for they are all in tapes.
My amazing wife and darling of my heart, the incomparable woman whose love, honesty and transparency remained infectious and evergreen, your memories will linger until I meet with you in paradise. Whenever I go to bed, this song keeps on flooding my soul: precious memories, how they linger, how they ever flood my soul. In the stillness of the midnight, precious memories still unfold.
I use this precious day also, while remembering your physical exit, to express my gratitude to the entire brethren that make up the Bride of Christ Ministry Worldwide without any exemption for their invaluable support in making your burial a befitting, spiritual, global burial that will go down the annals of history in our generation as second to none. If it was possible, they could have continued to celebrate you every day as a sign that they really cherished you very highly as their beloved mother who impacted positively to their lives and families.
The neighborhood also are highly appreciated for they came out enmass, defying the insecurity situation to give you a rousing farewell. Your ex-colleagues in the office, your students in the university, your friends and well-wishers, to crown it all, your relations from Nsugbe and beyond turned out enmass to bid you farewell.
Finally, I give God the glory, honor, victory, praise and thanksgiving for bestowing upon me with godly children, godly in-laws, godly grandchildren who left no stone unturned in making sure that you were celebrated beyond the imaginations of all critiques and up till this day, they have never ceased from celebrating you.
I pray that the good Lord who is all-knowing, all-powerful, merciful and compassionate will remember all of you that rallied round me during that critical period and are still rallying around me even till this day for good on that day when salvation shall be made complete for his name’s sake, Amen.
Apostle Peter Odoemena, The Son of Man