If Tomorrow Never Comes

Final

And as if reading my thoughts I heard a voice say out loud and clear.

“Your family will survive this, every single one of them. You have fought the good fight and your Maker is very pleased with you. The God you have served will take care of your wife, your children, your mom, your Dad and your sisters. He would be a source of their comfort and he will never let them walk alone.”

After that, I saw something I had not seen before.

I saw a lot of people, different races, dialects, cultures and builds and everyone looked happy and surprisingly young and fresh.

I saw myself looking young and strong walking ahead as people around me hug and welcome their loved ones.

Then, I saw them and froze for just a second… my Dad, Mom, son, daughters, sisters and friends, were all there and were all looking incredibly young and healthy.

My son, an adult now, oh what a handsome man he grew out to be, came forward and gave me a bear hug and then, he introduced me to his wife and children.

My daughters, oh my God, how beautiful they look, took turns and hugged me and introduced me to their husbands and children too.

Then,  I found myself hugging my sisters, in-laws, nieces, nephews, and friends, and the whole place was filled with laughter and merry-making.

It was a fine day and a good feeling.

And there was one more thing that was very pleasant to see…the land was vast and had this lavish green grass all over and animals, including the wild ones, were all walking around and were not attacking anyone.

Then, it clicked…Paradise!!!!

I have read about this and yearned for it and now here we were, all very happy in paradise.

***

Henry Kojo Kpodo was born on 12th July 1971 in Winneba to Mr. Raphael Kwame Kpodo and Mrs. Agnes Tetteh Kpodo.

He was the first and only boy of four children. 

Henry started his basic education at the then ATTC Demonstration School (now UNIPRA South) in 1977.

He was enrolled at the Winneba Secondary School (1989-1993) for both his GCE Ordinary and Advanced Levels Certificates Examinations.

While awaiting admission to the University of Cape Coast he spent a semester as a student at the then Takoradi Polytechnic in the HND Marketing Department.

He had his graduate and postgraduate degrees at the University of Cape Coast and the University of Ghana, Legon in 1999 and 2006 respectively.

Between 2000 and 2001, Henry Kpodo worked as a Teacher at the Adisadel College, Cape Coast.  

He began his professional career at the University of Education, Winneba, as a Senior Administrative Assistant at the Division of Human Resource in 2001.

He rose through the ranks to become Assistant Registrar in 2009 and Senior Assistant Registrar in 2014.

He worked at the Registrar’s Office from 2004-2006, the Division of Human Resource, from 2006-2009, the Faculty of Educational Studies, from 2009-2016, and the Office of the Vice Chancellor, from 2016- 2018.

He served as a Senior Assistant Registrar at the Quality Assurance Directorate of the University of Education, Winneba 2018.

Henry met and married Phoebe Agyei in March 2007. Their marriage was blessed with three children, a male and two females.

Henry studied the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses, made spiritual progress, dedicated his life to Jehovah and symbolized it with water baptism on 25th December 1999.

Henry had great respect for the Bible and deeply loved the only true God, Jehovah. He was never missing at the congregation meetings and conventions.

He regularly preached the Good News of God’s Kingdom from house to house.

He served as an Elder in the Winneba South English Christian Congregation until his death on Wednesday 12th September, 2018.

Death has been a monster for mankind for millennia and it spares no one.

Neither the rich nor the poor can reverse the loss of a loved one.

The wise and intellectuals are without answers, the strong one weeps just as heartbreakingly as the weak. But Jehovah, the Creator has promised with no uncertainties to bring back to life in Paradise on earth through his son Jesus Christ, millions who have fallen in death (John 5:28, 29 Acts 24:15).

Kojo Kpodo had an irrevocable faith in the promised paradise. Henry believes that the dead will rise again and be blessed with life eternal. Therefore, though we mourn his loss, we find comfort in God’s promise of resurrection and life everlasting. 

He would be mourned and missed to the bitterest core of the heart by his wife, children, mother, father, siblings, numerous relatives, workmates, the entire Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses and countless loved ones for his kindness, generosity, love, hard work and most of all, his strong faith in his Creator, Jehovah God.

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