One Gift Before She Die

[Cris]

Personal note from Joe:

This Christmas I opened gifts from my sister that she had purchased for me just before she died. It was a heart breaking experience overall but one gift brought me to a stand still when I opened it. It was a decorative hour glass for my office.

I know she could have never known it was her last week alive when she picked it out but I will take it as her personal reminder to me of how short life actually is and how important it is to take advantage of every day.

A few days after she passed away I was helping my mom pick out clothes for the funeral and we found a beautiful black velvet dress in my mom's closet that belonged to my sister.

When I asked about it my mom told me Traci had bought it on sale and was waiting for a special occasion to wear it.

That's why this story has such meaning to me.

Don't save your life for a special day or special occasion. Today is a special
day, take advantage of it and always remember to never put physical things ahead of people in your priorities.
Thank you Traci for reminding me how precious of a gift life really is.

Joe

A Story To Live By
My brother-in-law opened the bottom drawer of my sister's bureau and lifted out a tissue-wrapped package. "This," he said, "is not a slip. This is lingerie." He discarded the tissue and handed me the slip. It was exquisite; silk, handmade and trimmed with a cobweb of lace. The price tag with an astronomical figure on it was still attached. "Jan bought this the first time we went to New York, at least 8 or 9 years ago. She never wore it. She was saving it for a special occasion. Well, I guess this is the occasion." He took the slip from me and put it on the bed with the other clothes we were taking to the mortician. His hands lingered on the soft material for a moment, then he slammed the drawer shut and turned to me. "Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Every day you're alive is a special occasion."

I remembered those words through the funeral and the days that followed when I helped him and my niece attend to all the sad chores that follow an unexpected death. I thought about them on the plane returning to California from the Midwestern town where my sister's family lives. I thought about all the things that she hadn't seen or heard or done. I thought about the things that she had done without realizing that they were special. I'm still thinking about his words, and they've changed my life.

I'm reading more and dusting less. I'm sitting on the deck and admiring the view without fussing about the weeds in the garden.

I'm spending more time with my family and friends and less time in committee
meetings. Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experience to savor,
not endure. I'm trying to recognize these moments now and cherish them.

I'm not "saving" anything; we use our good china and crystal for every special
event-such as losing a pound, getting the sink unstopped, the first camellia
blossom.

I wear my good blazer to the market if I feel like it. My theory is if I look
prosperous, I can shell out $28.49 for one small bag of groceries without
wincing.

I'm not saving my good perfume for special parties; clerks in hardware stores
and tellers in banks have noses that function as well as my party-going
friends'.

"Someday" and "one of these days" are losing their grip on my vocabulary. If
it's worth seeing or hearing or doing, I want to see and hear and do it now. I'm not sure what my sister would have done had she known that she wouldn't be here for the tomorrow we all take for granted.

It's those little things left undone that would make me angry if I knew that my
hours were limited. Angry because I put off seeing good friends whom I was going to get in touch with-someday. Angry because I hadn't written certain letters that I intended to write-one of these days. Angry and sorry that I didn't tell my husband and daughter often enough how much I truly love them.

I'm trying very hard not to put off, hold back, or save anything that would add laughter and luster to our lives. And every morning when I open my eyes, I tell myself that it is special. Every day, every minute, every breath truly is... a gift from God.

by: Ann Wells,
Los Angeles Times

James 4:14 says:

How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the
morning fog-it's here a little while, then it's gone.


Please don't let another day pass without letting your loved one know how you feel, spend as much time as you can with them, we don't get second chances once they are gone. Live as though each day will be your last, because it might very well be your last .

Blessings to you,

Joe and Melissa Turney
InspirationByEmail.com
January 2007