A poem that I read at the funeral of Emmanuel Kulongo on Friday 23rd August 2013.*
Triumph
It is the triumph
of the Christian faith that it enables its followers to suffer loss and be
strong...
To maintain a grip of steel, then willingly give.
To love, and lose, and dare to love again.
To believe in promises while relinquishing the right to personal claims.
To accept tears as glittering gifts and as diamonds rare.
To believe that we are perfectly loved, even when suffered to drink anguish.
To have unwavering trust though we don’t understand.
It
is triumph.
To
embrace and even welcome whatever God’s providence ordains.
To suffer softly.
To
remember that His feet are washed best with tears.
To
remember He has never once made a mistake.
To
remember there is a reason why we are trusted with every sorrow.
To
remember His name is made great when His children love Him anyway.
 |
| Manni and his siblings |
Now it's our turn.
Our turn to tuck in this treasure.
To give our precious gift Emmanuel
Wakoli Kulongo back to the Giver.
Me thinking this is the worst kind
of personal loss— but at the same time wondering;
Is it really loss when you give a
gift?
What God has taken is it loss? No.
Nothing
is lost if it is a gift given back...
That the closing pages of
Emmanuel’s life pointed us back to the cross,
His Creator wounded to the delight
of Satan and pleasure of those he came to save.
A lonesome death appearing like victory belonged to another,
But with His closing words 'It is
Finished'
Christ yields His final breath in
completion of His great conquest over sin and over death.
And in yielding all and letting go of life itself.
Christ bows His head conqueror in
all things.
Therefore it is triumph!
That the last lesson Emmanuel’s life taught, is that Satan can do whatever to the body
But he cannot, touch the soul that
abides in Christ.
Therefore it is triumph!
 |
| Manni and his wife Gloria (2010) |
That many comfortable knees
finally found the ground.
True confession and repentance.
Surrendered hearts.
We uplifted our brother.
In those final moments.
Hearts sustained only by prayer
and Psalms.
The four of us standing strong and
united.
Singing sacred lullabies.
Emmanuel drifts to sleep.
Walls left resounding “O Lord, How
Great Thou Art"
In
The stillness of the night.
Eyes
filled with tears.
We
remember...
 |
| Manni and his Son Josiah (2011) |
A devoted Son, Brother, Husband, Father and Friend
A life bound to the altar, dedicated to service
A heart patient and tender
Loving rebukes and reproofs
Smoothies and fruit juices
Back flips and handstands
Dangers of the night lurking, finding refuge in a drive home.
Always insisting notes are nailed without compromise
Ink ridden pens, tethered pages, worn out bibles
Eating the little book together
Finding strength in the high places together
 |
| Manni and I (2008) |
And what once felt like nightfall, now feels like the moment just before dawn
And when dawn should reach eternity on that glorious morning
We shall meet Emmanuel again
Crying “O death, where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory”
And together we shall say “It is Triumph!”
Later, when this
pearl finds a temporary place of rest and after thoughts, words, prayers and
tears have finished their work for the day, what is left for us is a lesson
worthy of the gift through which it came;
Faith doesn't
mean that if we believe hard enough, pray hard enough, we'll love the outcome.
Faith, is believing that
God’s perfect will has been accomplished, regardless of the outcome.
 |
| Manni, Gloria and Josiah (2012) |
Therefore I stand here
today, Thanking God for Manni’s life,
How he stood up tall and
graceful and gave his heart to a merciful God.
And by faith, I believe,
that through Emmanuel’s life and his death, Christ has triumphed!
If video does not play, please use the following link:http://vimeo.com/74576711
In all things, Christ triumphs!
♥ Miss Daisy ♥
* Some exerts of this poem have been adapted from Sean Neblett's poem "Triumph [Like a Pearl]
