From the Master....
Master's Message August 2011
Greetings to all!
Wow! The time is really flying. It's August already, Fall is upon us and Winter will be here before you know it. There are so many things I intended to get done by this time that remain undone. My deck isn't stained, The trim still needs painted and the gutter guards are still in the garage. Not only is there work to be done but there are several people I have intended to go see that I haven't. Although I feel like I have plenty of good excuses, in reality I don't have any good reasons for not making time to visit or call those people who are most important to us or who would benefit so much from a little bit of my time.
On the day my dad died I made plans to go visit him. He lived in another town about 45 minutes away. We hadn't spent any time together for a long time. I had just been promoted and working night shift. It was my first day off in a while. I was really tired and the couch felt really good. When I woke up, it was almost noon so I decided to just stay home and rest. I'd go tomorrow.
When my mom called that afternoon, I figured she was going to ask why I hadn't come. Instead, all she said was "Your dad's gone." He had sat down some time that afternoon and passed away. He was alone.
Twenty years have passed but the guilt is just as strong as it was when my mother called. It was a missed opportunity that I can never get back.
I haven't always gone and visited my mother everytime I wanted to but I always go when I say I will. I dilligently try to visit people when I tell them I will even if it takes me a while to get to it. It was a painful lesson that I have come to live with.
As quickly as the year passes, so do our lives and there will always be more to do than we have time to do, or even feel like doing. However, for the most part, we get to choose what we do. Generally, what we choose to do reflects the priorities in our life.
What's your priority? A clean house, a well manicured lawn, a shiny car? I ask you to examine your life and decide what is really most important. I hope that you will find that it's people and not things.
Well, I guess the deck will have to wait, I'm going to see an old friend.
Fraternally thine,
J