This week one of my neighbors and family friends lost their fourteen year old son in a tragic accident. He was on a camp out with his church boy scout troop. Like the other boys, he slept in sleeping bags and ate breakfast. He was new in the troop, just getting to know his troop-mates. On that morning his family was at home unaware that in a few short hours he would go down a short zip line, not let go in time and be flung against a tree which would take his life.
Life is fragile. Of this I'm sure.
I'm equally as sure that Being the weak and utterly imperfect human beings that we are, we forget this. Caught up in the whirlwind of life and stuff, we take our days for granted. That's okay. So we're weak. We can compensate for that weakness. We can take the time to hold the people we love close whenever we have the chance. We can say we are sorry even when we hurt them on accident. Most of all, we can be our best so that when we are reminded that we don't have forever to make things right, we've have few regrets.
Where am I going with this? I'm hoping that my aching heart and my words will give you the excuse you need to live today to the fullest. I'm hoping that if you have love in your life, you'll cherish it and if you don't, you'll find it or make it by helping others. I'm wishing for all of us to be more gently and less judgmental, that we'll embrace our differences and not waste energy on petty things that distract us from a fulfilling life. Most of all, I'm praying for my neighbors and the millions of others facing loss. One day, we'll face what they face, but until then I'm grateful for the reminder that life is terribly, terribly fragile and life is an imperfect yet sublimely beautiful gift.
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