Too Short

“People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.  If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway. If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.” ~Mother Teresa

I love this quote.  And lately, I have been thinking a lot about the first two lines. People really can be unreasonable and self-centered sometimes.  But we are never told to forgive someone only if they deserve it.  We don't deserve it, but Christ forgives us...  

Anyway, I think I've been thinking about this lately because of some dear friends of mine that have experienced a serious fracture in their family relationship. Now, this is not meant to call them out or nitpick them or even to tell them to fix things...I don't know all of the details...it would be a far cry for me to tell them what to do.  But it breaks my heart for them...and it also has been a good reminder for me of forgiveness, love, apology, and a whole slew of other things that can often break relationships when ignored.

When I was younger, I remember being at home one evening and hearing a 20/20 or 60 Minute special of some sort playing in the background as I did homework or ate dinner, whatever the case may have been.  The story was about a teenage boy who died in some incident or another.  I can still hear his mom's strained, heart-broken voice as she told her story to the interviewer.  As tears (no doubt) fell down her cheeks, she said, "As I watched him get in the car that morning, he said, 'I love you, mom'.  Those were the last words I ever heard him say."  That sentence rocked my 13-year-old mind.  I don't remember a single other detail from that story.  All I remember is thinking, "If I were to die, I want the last words my parents hear me say is that I love them."

From that moment on I never left the house (or let my parents leave the house) or went to bed without making sure the last thing I said was, "I love you".  And I still do that.  It's even carried over to others in my life.  Hubs, other family, friends.  For those who don't understand my ulterior motive, I could see it getting a little annoying and weird.  Example:

Me: "Bye.  Love you!"

Other person: "Love you, too!  Hey, by the way, are you still coming to the <insert event> next week?

Me: "Yep, we'll be there!  Love you!"

Other person: "Ok great!  Tell <insert person> I said hi!"

Me: "Will do!  Love you!"

Other person: *didn't she say that already?* "Uh, yep, love you, too..."

Yes, I realize that could be a bit exaggerated.  But then again, not really.  Pretty sure similar conversations have actually taken place between me and others. People are gonna know I love them, gosh darn it!

Maybe I do take it over the top sometimes.  I'm sure that people understand I love them even if I say it before other things.  I don't think that someone is actually going to say upon my death, "The last thing she said to me was 'I love you.  Good-bye.'  Oh, how I wish she had said it in reverse order!!!" <insert sobbing scene from "The Christmas Story" when Ralphie imagines his future self going blind>  

But it's the principle.  I just never want my last interaction with someone to be me slinging fiery daggers of angry or hurtful words that I can never take back into his or her soul.  I can't even imagine the thought of someone I care about leaving this earth--and knowing that I was too stubborn to forgive or apologize. Yeah, that's right, I went there: people die.  We aren't guaranteed our next breath.  I don't mean that to sound morbid or to make you live in fear that at any moment you or your loved ones might leave this world.  But the reality is that life is way too short to hold grudges, stay angry, be selfish, or to not apologize. 

No, I'm not saying that you can't get mad or have disagreements or do something dumb (well, we shouldn't do dumb things, but we do...and we will), but it's what you do after it's all said and done that is important.  Do you need to tell someone you forgive them or that you are sorry?  Or maybe you just need to make sure someone knows you love them.  'Cause after all, life is just too short.   

What A Pain in My...Knee!

Good gracious, it's been a minute since I last posted!  I'm sure many of you are just dying to know what became of my rose water from my previous post.  Well, I, in fact, called it: it sat there for about two weeks until Hubs finally persuaded me to toss it.  *Sigh*.  But I do appreciate those of you who gave me suggestions and links about what I could have done with it had it survived!  There's always next time... ;)

Speaking of "next times", the next time I go work out at the gym, I won't be doing squats.  Yeah, rose water to squats.  That's my segue. Anyway, Hubs has been an excellent trainer in my workout regime these last few weeks that we've been hitting the gym together...but him encouraging me to try some squats was just a little too much.  First of all, I apparently have absolutely zero balance.  As I attempted to do a proper squat, I kept slowly tipping backwards onto my heels, pushing my toes back toward the floor to no avail.  Second, my knees just can't handle it.  Yep, I'm one of those people.  My knees crack and pop like a bowl of Rice Krispies sometimes at the slightest bend.  I walked home from the gym that day with a pain shooting through my right knee...and possibly a bruised tailbone from slipping off the exercise ball mid-crunch...but I'll leave that one alone...

At home, I sat with ice on my knee while drinking my green smoothie and watching "Nashville" from the previous week.  And I started thinking about how loathsome and tiresome a knee pain is...or any pain for that matter.  How often have we experienced the ache of an over-worked knee, a burn from an stove coil or curling iron, a virus that invades our immune system and runs us over like a semi-truck?  How about something simple as a splinter in the thumb or the connection of the door frame with our "funny bone" (sidenote: I wanna know who came up with that name.  Not funny AT ALL, Misinformed Elbow-Nicknamer)?  What about the searing emotional pain we feel from losing a loved one to cancer or a car accident?  The loss of a job, the argument with a friend.  Pain comes in many forms and facets.  And whether it's big or little, pain affects us all.  The truth of the matter is that in this life, on this earth there...will...be...pain.  It's not going to end, and it's not going to get better.  We are a broken, fallen, imperfect people living in a broken, fallen, imperfect world.  But at the risk of me sounding like Debbie Downer herself, let me give you some hope.  As I sat there thinking about inevitable pain, I thought about another truth...a beautiful truth...  

"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore**, for the former things have passed away.  And He who was seated on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new."

What powerful and comforting words for those of us who know Christ as our Savior!  Someday God is going to make all things new...a new home for us, new bodies...and there will be no more pain.  None.  I can't even imagine a life completely without pain.  Of any kind.  No more sickness, no more broken hearts.  But that will be a reality someday.  Enduring through pain and heartache now doesn't seem as horrible when you look at it in light of eternity.  Sure, it's not fun...at all...right now.  But knowing what's ahead makes it a little more bearable.

God never promised us life would be sunshine and roses (or daisies, if you happen to love those...which I do), we forfeited that possibility at the Fall, but He promises us His love, faithfulness, holiness, protection, and provision...we just need to trust Him and endure.  And someday, when He makes all things new, we'll know it was all worth it.

**emphasis added by author
[Scripture taken from Revelation 21:4-5a]