A few weeks ago while I was waiting, in a car wash shop, for my brother’s car to be washed, I picked up a copy of National Geographic to read. When I flipped to the second page, a photo of a man kissing a woman caught my attention. Besides the photo was the line, “Joel and Kathy Sartore have been married for 23 years.”
No big deal you may say. That was not what caught my attention anyway. What really grabbed my attention was the following passage:
The day before Thanksgiving in 2005, Kathy Sartore, married to photographer Joel Sartore, learned she had breast cancer. “Cancer is a thief. It steals time,” Joel says. “But cancer can also be a blessing, an amazing experience that forces us to set things right. My work had made me a stranger to my three kids. With Kathy sick, I knew it was time to stay put for a while.”
Kathy Sartore has beaten cancer and Joel is given a second chance to treasure his wife and kids. Life may not always be that generous and merciful; not everyone will get this kind of second chance. Some people did not even get the chance to bid farewell to their loved ones. A few years back, a friend shared with me an incident of his friend who regretted for not being able to rush back in time to see his father for the last time.
A quotation by David Grayson which I have always shared, “Looking back, I have this to regret, that too often when I loved, I did not say so.“ We certainly do not have the power to turn back time, to change history and to undo any regrets. However, we certainly have the power to create new history now and to leave no room for regrets.
Are there someone whom you care about and have not kept in touch with for a long time?
Joel Sartore said, “Kathy’s cancer made me realize how little time any of us really has.” Very true isn’t it? Quoting something from ‘The Last Lecture‘ by Randy Pausch, “Time is all you have. And you may find one day that you have less than you think.” We are always thinking that there is always time to let our loved ones know how much we love them, but the truth is, we will never know if there is a tomorrow.
Sharing with you a beautiful poem composed by Norma Marek in 1989, in memory of a lost child. Norma Marek lost her battle with cancer on 17th July 2004.
If I knew it would be the last time that I’d see you fall asleep,
I would tuck you in more tightly, and pray the Lord your soul to keep.
If I knew it would be the last time that I’d see you walk out the door,
I would give you a hug and kiss, and call you back for just one more.
If I knew it would be the last time I’d hear your voice lifted up in praise,
I would tape each word and action, and play them back throughout my days.
If I knew it would be the last time, I would spare an extra minute or two,
To stop and say “I love you,” instead of assuming you know I do.
So, just in case tomorrow never comes, and today is all I get,
I’d like to say how much I love you, and I hope we never will forget.
Tomorrow is not promised to anyone, young or old alike,
And today may be the last chance you get to hold your loved one tight.
So, if you’re waiting for tomorrow, why not do it today?
For if tomorrow never comes, you’ll surely regret the day
That you didn’t take that extra time for a smile, a hug, or a kiss,
And you were too busy to grant someone, what turned out to be their one last wish.
So hold your loved ones close today, and whisper in their ear,
That you love them very much, and you’ll always hold them dear.
Take time to say “I’m sorry,” “Please forgive me,” “thank you” or “it’s okay”.
And if tomorrow never comes, you’ll have no regrets about today.
____________________________________
Photo by Unsplash
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This is a truly inspiring story. It also is a very important story as it has a message that everyone should read. We as humans tend to take life and who we love for granted. We simply do not take a minute to realize that they may not be there tomorrow. It almost always takes a reality check close to home to click that awareness switch in our minds on. More than not it is too late and we have no one to blame but ourselves and regrets that could have been avoided if we just took that one minute.
thank you so much for the fabulous and meaningful story:)
@ Dorothy, very sad that sometimes we do tend to take life and who we love for granted. Many years ago, I learned something from Anthony Robbins’s seminar; a lot of people keep saying they have no time when everyone has 24 hours everyday. What they really mean were, they did not make time for whatever they should do or must do. For example on exercise, most people will say they are too busy working and they have no time for exercise. When we are honest to ourselves, we will realize that we do not actually make time to exercise. And when we do not have time for exercise, we make time for illness. It is that simple, we just have to ‘make’ time for loved ones around us and yet this very challenging.
@ a fil-am journey, it is great that your husband believe strongly in something so important.
What a beautiful and inspiring entry for today. I could relate so well because this is exactly what my husband strongly believes in, and somehow it makes me realize its importance….and eventually made me live with it!!
Debbie 🙂
.-= a fil-am journey´s last blog ..DANIEL’S FAVORITE TV SHOW =-.
you have a very good point BK, it is not about having time but making a time to set our priorities, like keeping in touch with our love ones, and even for us, loving ourselves. we do not have to wait for tomorrow what we need to do today.
.-= betchai´s last blog ..Cleetwood Cove Trail, Crater Lake National Park =-.
Such a wonderful reminder to live life to the fullest and do not take a minute for granted. Thanks for this inspiring post today!
.-= BeadedTail´s last blog ..Friday Features! =-.
@ Betchai, you are right, we need to love ourselves too. We certainly do not have to wait for tomorrow what we need to do today.
@ BeadedTail, this serves as a reminder to myself too, not to take people around me and not to take time for granted. Thank you. 🙂
Sometimes we tend to ignore what we already have till the moment it was taken away. Cherish what God has already given us everyday is a victory itself. Great story BK. Have a wonderful weekend. 🙂
.-= VanillaSeven´s last blog ..Cat on the Hot Tin Roof =-.
This is just like Tuesdays with Morrie.
Sometimes illness is a road sign. It says slow down and enjoy the view. Treasure what you have.
Cheers!
.-= Shu Fen´s last blog ..Pocahontas Was Real But She Never Loved John Smith =-.
@ VanillaSeven, I couldn’t have said it better myself, cherishing what has already been given to us everyday is a victory itself. Have a wonderful weekend too. 🙂
@ Shu Fen, I read part of Tuesday with Morrie; didn’t finish it. A very refreshing perspective; illness is a road sign for us to slow down.
“Time is all you have. And you may find one day that you have less than you think.”
so very true, tomorrow NEVER comes. so many times i sit and say i will do something tomorrow and time is just passing me by. it waits for no one. even with my schedule, i keep saying i will do it tomorrow and here i am with no schedule. i need to get to it now! there’s no such thing as tomorrow.
.-= natural´s last blog ..I am conductor, hear me cook =-.
@ Valerie, good to see you back here. Sad to say, I understand exactly what you went through. There were moments that I put off what could be done today to tomorrow. And thus this serve as much as a reminder to me as I hope to others too.
I rewrote a quotation by David Grayson “Looking back, I have this to regret, that too often when I loved, I did not say so” into my notebook. Thank you for the post that enabled me to see myself better/to grasp the secret of the recovery from lots of my sorrows.
@ Tomas, thank you for the kind comment. I am happy that this post was useful to you in aiding your recovery from lots of sorrows.
thumbs up for the eye opening post and it’s a great reminder for all of us. we should treasure every moment of our lives and make the most of our time with our loved ones.
.-= liferamblings´s last blog ..Roadtrip to New Zealand =-.
@ liferamblings, thank you.
It is a very inspiring article which reminds me that I should live my life to the fullest and enjoy whatever have today. God bless have a nice day.
.-= carms´s last blog ..Today =-.
@ Carms, thank you for dropping by. We should all remind each other to live our lives to the fullest.
This is actually what I have been thinking right at this very moment. We often take for granted those people we should treasure and would realize it only when we are threatened that they’ll be taken away.
Thank you for leaving a comment on my new blog, BK 🙂 Can we exchange links?
.-= Sasha´s last blog ..WW – Grab a spot for reading 🙂 =-.
i can’t explain to you what i feel right now. When i read the title, i was teary eyed already because somebody died who was very near to my heart but i wasn’t be able to tell him that i love him so much more than he knows. He always sang the song “If tomorrow never comes” to me when he was still alive. Now i understand why he loves that song so much.
Great post BK. Thanks for the visit and comment too. have a great day. See you again.
.-= katherine´s last blog ..Chicken Barbeque =-.
@ Sasha, it is never too late to learn to treasure those around us before it is too late. Thank you for your interest for a link exchange. Pardon me that I do not do link exchange at this blog at the moment.
@ Katherine, sorry to hear about your loss. I believe that he will always be close to you in your heart.
You have captured this sentiment eloquently in this post.
@ Karen, good to see you back here. Thank you for your kind comment; I am just doing my best to put forth my thoughts.
I think this is why dogs are so happy- they live in the present, always ready to say “I like you, let’s play!”
.-= sharkbytes´s last blog ..Down By the Creek =-.
@ sharkbytes, perhaps you are right. 🙂
When one falls ill and lies on the sick bed, then everything doesn’t matter except our family members.
.-= eastcoastlife´s last blog ..Leak(s) – WW =-.
@ ECL, exactly.
I had to hold back the tears as I tried to finish reading your post. This was too powerful and it evoked a lot of emotions on my end. Thank you also for sharing this beautiful poem.
.-= PinkLady´s last blog ..An Urgent Plea For Prayers =-.
@ PinkLady, glad that you like the poem, when I first read it, I could sense an emotion of regret in it that prompted me to put together this post.
That is so beautiful! And so true, people take life for granted. You should cherish everyday.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful post. Have a great day.
.-= Sue´s last blog ..Thursday Thirteen "Facts About My Son" =-.
Visiting here again and gaining more insights reading your wonderful posts!
Debbie 🙂
.-= a fil-am journeyyahoo.com´s last blog ..IT’S A………………..??? =-.
@ Sue, yes, we must learn to cherish everyday.
@ Debbie, glad there are something you can gain from this post. 🙂