He raiseth up the poor out of the earth and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s and he hath set the world upon them.
1 Samuel 2:8
In South Africa culture, rain is seen as a blessing,
symbolizing major events. Cyril
Ramaphosa, deputy president of South Africa, opening the memorial for Nelson
Mandela reminded, “if it rains when you are buried, it means the gods are
welcoming you and the gates of heaven are opening.”
The memorial was held in
the 95,000-seat soccer stadium in Soweto Township, as leaders and dignitaries
from over 100 countries came to pay their respects. Mourners from every corner of the globe shed
tears and wept, but also sang songs, danced and paid tribute in celebration of
the man President Barack Obama eulogized as a ‘giant of history.’
Nelson Mandela, the man the world came to know as the leader
of the movement to stop South Africa’s apartheid system of racial
discrimination, died December 5, 2013, after an extended bout with pneumonia
contracted early in June of the year.
The former first elected black president had battled recurrent lung
infections since becoming ill during his 27 years of imprisonment. His work in unventilated conditions in
limestone and rock quarry labor camps contributed to his having come down with
a new infection shortly before he died.
After a week of obituaries often showing Mandela – president
of South Africa from 1994 – 1999 – with a saintly, iconic status, President
Obama rejected that view of him as “smiling and serene.” “Madiba himself
strongly resisted such lifeless portraits of himself. Instead, he insisted on sharing with us his
doubts and fears his miscalculations along with his victories.
“I’m not a saint, he said, ‘unless you think of a saint as a
sinner who keeps on trying.’ “It was precisely because he could admit
imperfection – because he could be so full of good humor, even mischief,
despite the heavy burdens he carried – that we loved him so. He was not a bust made of marble; his was a
man of flesh and blood – a son and husband, a father and a friend.”
In the immortal words of the late great Madiba:
“When I walked out of prison, that was my mission, to
liberate the oppressed and the oppressor both.
Some say that has now been achieved, but I know that is not the
case. The truth is that we are not yet
free; we have merely achieved the freedom to be free, the right not to be
oppressed. We have not taken the final
step of our journey, but the first step on a longer and more difficult
road. For to be free is not merely to
cast off one’s chains but to live in a way that respects and enhances the
freedom of others. The true test of our
devotion to freedom is just beginning.
I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made
missteps along the way, but I have discovered the secret that after climbing a
great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment have to rest, to steal
a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I
have came. But I can rest for only a
moment, for with freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my
walk is not yet ended.”
Coach Cam
Copyright © 2014 by Terrance Campbell
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