I grew up with practical parents. A mother, God love her, who washed
aluminum foil after she cooked in it, then reused it. She was the
original recycle queen before they had a name for it. A father who was
happier getting old shoes fixed than buying new ones.
Their marriage was good, their dreams focused. Their best friends lived
barely a wave away.
I can see them now, Dad in trousers, tee shirt and a hat and Mom in a
house dress, lawn mower in one hand, and dish-towel in the other. It was the
time for fixing things. A curtain rod, the kitchen radio, screen door, the
oven door, the hem in a dress. Things we keep.
It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy. All that
re-fixing, eating, renewing, I wanted just once to be wasteful. Waste meant
affluence. Throwing things away meant you knew there'd always be more.
But then my mother died, and on that clear fall night, in the warmth
of the hospital emergency room, I was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes
there isn't any more.
Sometimes, what we care about most gets all used up and goes
away...never to return.. So... While we have it..... it's best we love
it.... And care for it... And fix it when it's broken......... And heal it
when it's sick.
This is true. For marriage....... And old cars..... And children with
bad report cards..... And dogs with bad hips.... And aging parents...... And
grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth
it.
Some things we keep. Like a best friend that moved away or a classmate
we grew up with.
There are just some things that make life important, like people we know
who are special........ And so, we keep them close!
I received this from someone who thinks I am a 'keeper', so I've sent it
to the people I think of in the same way... Now it's your turn to send this
to those people that are "keepers" in your life. Good friends are like
stars.... You don't always see them, but you know they are always there.
Keep them close!
When you die, 10 things GOD won't ask you:
1..... God won't ask what kind of car you drove. He'll ask how many
people you drove who didn't have transportation..
2..... God won't ask the square footage of your house, He'll ask how
many people you welcomed into your home.
3..... God won't ask about the clothes you had in your closet, He'll ask
how many you helped clothe.
4..... God won't ask what your highest salary was. He'll ask if you
compromised your character to obtain it.
5..... God won't ask what your job title was. He'll ask if you performed
your job to the best of your ability.
6..... God won't ask how many friends you had. He'll ask how many people
to whom you were a friend.
7..... God won't ask in what neighborhood you lived, He'll ask how you
treated your neighbors.
8..... God won't ask about the color of your skin, He'll ask about the
content of your character.
9..... God won't ask why it took you so long to find Him and ask Him
into your house, He'll lovingly take you to heaven and not to the gates of
Hell.
10..... God won't have to ask how many people you forwarded this to, He
already knows your decision.
