While There is Still Time

Today would have been my DS's 70th birthday if she hadn't passed away this past December. I miss her a lot. Still, I wouldn't trade a million bucks for the happy memories we shared through the years. I am also glad to know that I told her often how much I loved my little sister.

I freely tell a lot of folks these days how much they mean to me. I tell them when they've done or said something that was special. I mention their good points. I don't care if it sounds sappy or mushy.

See, I have some regrets about having not said those things to some folks in the past. I have had friends tell me, when I've mentioned that I should have done this or that, that I should not "dwell" on the past. I don't dwell on it, but I truly do try to learn from it and from my mistakes.

None of us knows how much time we have here. That makes every moment more and more precious.

I don't mean, by all of this, that I flatter or falsely build someone up. But I do try to thank people wherever appropriate, and I try to let them know that I value them in my life. I still miss the boat now and then, but not nearly as often as I did a decade or two ago. I suppose that is progress. I am so glad that God has patience with me - I am such a slow student of what he tries to teach me.

Father, thank you for helping me to brighten someone's day with a kind word or two, of thanks, of honest compliments, of praise; help me to be gracious enough to do this more and more often as days go by.