Just some early morning thoughts from me to you…
“Say what you want to say when you have the feeling and the chance. My deepest regrets are the things I did not do, the opportunities missed and the things unsaid.”
Jim Keller
Rainy days seem to bring out that reflective spirit that dwells within all of us—at least they do that for me. Today seems to be no exception, as I sit here, with the rain falling softly outside my window, reflecting again upon something which I really don’t like to think about…
If tomorrow never comes.
Books have been written about it. Songs have been sung from generation to generation to remind us. The lesson of that simple statement penetrates our hearts when loved ones leave us all too soon.
If tomorrow never comes.
From wherever the reminder enters our life, on both rainy and sun-lit days, it always seems to cause us to brake to a stop for a moment, often being moved to tears, vowing to commit to change the way we approach the rest of today and all of our tomorrows and how we treat all the important people and things which are a part of them.
And yet when tomorrow does come, the tyranny of all the urgent worldly things seems to overcome the reminder we had of the important, the penetrating clarity of the moment is forgotten, and our vow to change is set aside as simply another item on a long list of well-meant intentions.
We love to watch “America’s Got Talent”, and a few years ago, an unlikely-looking-singer with a natural country style stole the stage, the moment, the hearts present in the audience and those watching on television with the reminder of that message from an old Garth Brooks’ song—
“Sometimes late at night, I lie awake and watch her sleeping…
And the thought crosses my mind if I never wake up in the morning,
Would she ever doubt the way I feel about her in my heart.
If tomorrow never comes, will she know how much I loved her…”
It was another much-needed reminder for me. And I need it today, maybe you do as well.
Reminders which enter my life when a trip takes me away from Lynda, or a time together with our children ends, or the days slip by too fast when we have our two precious Granddaughters with us, or watching them grow so fast, knowing the day they will be off to other adventures and callings is just around the corner.
How do your reminders enter your life?
In the day-to-day scramble of what the world characterizes as seemingly important and urgent stuff, we all find ourselves slipping back and ending up woefully short of where all those reminders point us. Worldly things like ladders to climb, careers to advance, games and trophies to be won, resumes to improve, status to seek and money to be made.
And in the scramble to answer the siren call of the world to things that don’t really matter, the urgency and importance of the important people, moments, and things are set aside, lost and relegated to tomorrow, if it ever comes. Our intentions are good, aren’t they? We really will do it. We will do better. We really will spend some time together, take a trip to where we’ve never been, play a game as a family, read a book and take a walk—tomorrow.
But, what if tomorrow never comes?
And the song continues—
“’Cause I’ve lost loved ones in my life
who never knew how much I loved them,
Now I live with the regret
that my true feelings for them never were revealed.”
If tomorrow never comes. There will be that moment, for every one of us.
Why not begin to live today as if that moment were now?
“If tomorrow never comes will she know how much I loved her…
So tell that someone that you love just what you’re thinking of…
If tomorrow never comes.”
Just something for us to think about—and to do something about—today and tomorrow and for all our tomorrows—if they come.
In His Name—Scott
Copyright 2016. Scott L. Whitaker. All rights reserved.
