I received some very sad new today. My neighbor across the street suffered a massive stroke last week and now the doctors and family have come to the conclusion that she will be taken off life support tomorrow.
She and her husband have been married for over 40 years. Both have been in and out of the hospital since my family have lived in this house. Because of that my Dad has offered his services to them for a number of things. From things like taking out their garbage cans to taking the newspaper they never ordered off their hands. This was to my delight because I have a fancy for the funny pages. About a month ago the wife approached my father with a handmade doily. She told him it was a gift for our family. He brought it home and showed it to me. It was the most intricate doily I have ever seen. I stared in awe of it's size and detail. My father went on to say that she wanted to teach ME how to make things just like this. She wanted to teach me how to crochet and knit too. I felt very honored to have been offered this opportunity. The thought of being taught these dying arts by someone who was well advanced in years and had lived through many historic things (Her husband was a Nazi youth. Don't worry, he has since changed his way of thinking) seemed very romantic and Anne of Green Gables-ish. I was sure I would learn a lot more from her than just how to work with my hands. I told myself that I would visit her the next day.
But I didn't....So I told myself I would go the next week.
But I didn't....Then one day I woke up and told myself I was going to visit her that afternoon.
But I didn't.
In fact, I never went over to her house.
Receiving the news that she will no longer be alive within a few hours has really shaken me up. I put it off too long. I probably wouldn't have become an expert at knitting, but I would have had the chance to spend some time with this woman who was kind enough to think of me as a prospective pupil. She wanted to bestow her knowledge onto me, but I never took advantage of it.
This has made me realize several things. First of all, it's a reminder that we are never promised tomorrow. It can all be taken away in a flash. We can die in a tragic car accident, crossing the street, or some other unfortunate event. But not only that. Someone else can be taken way just as easily. That one person we always see sitting my themselves. The one that you keep telling yourself you will introduce yourself to and get to know. That one co-worker who doesn't seem to fit in. Or even that really annoying family member that you tolerate during the holidays when you have to see them. They could be gone in an instant. And all the things that you wanted to say or take back, all the questions you wanted to ask or even to answer will remain untouched.
My heart is heavy with the realization that I let an opportunity like this slip by. It's a hard lesson to learn, but I know now that putting things off for tomorrow can be a viscous thing. So even though this note is a little bit of a downer I hope it inspires you to not procrastinate. Try to think of areas in your life where the doors has been opened but you have yet to walk through them. Take advantage of the time you have with the people around you.
Also, please keep my neighbor's family in prayer. They are preparing to say goodbye and it's going to be a very hard ordeal.
Thanks for reading.
-Jen
No comments:
Post a Comment