I saw this on Facebook today and have to admit that it had an impact on me. I have been thinking about this very thing for the past few weeks. You see, I have had a LOT of funerals lately. Some of them were for people who were, for all practical purposes, left alone. They lived pretty much alone and died pretty much alone. But their wakes and funerals? People came out from the cracks and filled the funeral home and, even, the church.
Why? Why does this happen this way?
So often, we do not pay attention to a person when he or she is alive. But, the moment that person dies, we become wracked with guilt because we did not do enough for that person, we did not speak enough with that person, we did not give that person enough of our love and our time.
Hey, I’m not trying to put this on your as some kind of guilt trip. I am just as guilty of this as anyone else. There have been a lot of people in my life with whom I have lost contact or do not attempt to contact. Some even live in the same locale. It is almost like “out of sight, out of mind”. But then, when that person dies, there is no longer anything we can do about it, is there?
Have someone who means something to you? Let that person know. Have someone whom you no longer speak to but consider important? Reestablish contact and let that person know that you care. Do it before it is too late.
Now, for some of my friends who are reading this, do not set the stopwatch to see how long it takes for me to contact you. Like everyone else, I have excuses and I think some of them are very valid. The next several weeks will be extremely busy during Lent preparing for Easter. But, remember, my phone not only dials, it also rings. If I do not call you quick enough, be good enough to give me a call, eh? 🙂
To the people I do not say this to enough: I love you all!