Appreciate What You Have...

 

Our “across the street” neighbor lady likes to use sidewalk chalk to write messages on her drive.  Last week, she posted one that hit especially close to home for me.  The message?  “Appreciate what you have before it turns into what you had.”  In all probability, she got that quote from somewhere…where, I don’t know.  Nevertheless, it’s a great line and deserves to be explored.

 You may think you don’t have very much, or at the least it wouldn’t be a big deal if what little you may have became something you had.  If you’re thinking like that, you need to dig deeper.  “Appreciate what you have.”  Don’t think about only material things.  Think about the “other” things…friends, family, relationships, health, job, spouse…those things we often take for granted in life.  Think about those things and appreciate them, protect them, guard them because these things and these people are more precious than any material thing could ever be.

 And these things can easily be things you once had rather than currently have.  You can easily push friends away from you by inappropriate words or actions.  You can ruin family relationships and your relationship with others in the same ways.  You can throw away your health through unhealthy habits and actions.  You can lose your job and lose your spouse just by uttering words that should never be uttered or engaging in just one act of infidelity or disloyalty.

 Gaining the trust of friends and developing a love for others in deeper relationships are not easy or flippant processs.  Sometimes it takes years to more fully develop the kind of friendships and relationships that we all crave.  However, just a few misplaced and ill-timed spoken or written words can shatter that trust and faith, resulting in broken relationships and the prospect of having to rebuild…sometimes with great cost and difficulty…that trust and faith again.

 And just one act of infidelity, a one-night fling, can destroy or at least forever change the otherwise great relationship you have with your spouse or significant other.  It is so easy to slip into compromising situations…many times without even knowing what is happening until it’s almost too late.

 I can’t begin to tell you how often I’ve had to rebuild relationships or seek new ones over the years.  I also can’t begin to tell you how many times my friends, relatives, and my wife have overlooked and forgiven things I’ve said or done that might otherwise have resulted in a break in trust and faith in me.  It greatly saddens me to know that I have put these my friends, relatives, and yes, my wife through that pain.  Knowing this gives me an even greater resolve to think before I speak, consider before I act, and slow down before I rush headlong.

 Just changing two letters in a small word…turning “have” into “had”…means a life change…a forever difference…a future that will never be what had been.  Please stop and think before stepping off of the pier into the ocean.  Please take the time to weigh the consequences of your words and actions.  Consider who you hold dear before you flippantly or selfishly toss them aside in favor of something or someone you shouldn’t be involved with in the first place.

 Appreciate what you have before it turns into what you had.”  Blessings.

Tim and Clara

 Good morning !!   I was perusing YouTube yesterday during a break and came across this human interest, feel-good story.  You may have seen something about it a few years ago.  Rather than re-tell the story, I will mainly quote from a viral Facebook post about what happened on an airplane between a blind and deaf man named Tim and a young woman, then age 15, whose name is Clara Daly.  A woman named Lynette Scribner tells the story in a June 20, 2018 posting on her Facebook timeline.

Ms. Scribner writes, I saw this gentleman, Tim, in Boston’s Logan airport with his sister that he had been visiting.  It appeared he was both deaf and blind, as I observed her signing into his hand for him to feel her words.  When he came aboard the plane he had been assigned the middle seat of my row.  The kind gentleman named Eric, who had the aisle seat, graciously gave it up for Tim.

At this point, Tim was traveling alone.  The flight attendants sincerely wanted to assist him, but had no way to communicate.  I watched as they didn’t flinch when Tim reached out to touch their faces and arms.  They took his hand and tried so hard to communicate with him, but to no avail.

Tim had some verbal ability, but clearly could not understand them.  Eric did his best to assist him with things like opening coffee creamer and putting it in his coffee.  When Tim made the attempt to stand up and feel his way to the restroom, Eric immediately got up to help him.

The flight attendants were talking among themselves and someone suggested paging to see if anyone on board knew sign language.  They did page that request.  That’s when this lovely young woman, Clara Daly, came into the picture.  Fifteen years old, she learned ASL because she had dyslexia and it was the easiest foreign language for her to learn.

For the rest of the flight she attended to Tim and made sure his needs were met.  It was fascinating to watch as she signed one letter at a time into his hand.  He was able to read her signing and they carried on an animated conversation.  When he asked her if she was pretty, she blushed and laughed as Eric, who had learned a few signs, communicated an enthusiastic “Yes” to Tim.

I don’t know when I’ve ever seen so many people rally to take care of another human being.  All of us in the immediate rows were laughing and smiling and enjoying Tim’s obvious delight in having someone to talk to.  Huge kudos to the flight attendants of Alaska Airlines who went above and beyond to meet Tim’s needs.

I can’t say enough about this beautiful young woman named Clara who didn’t think twice about helping her fellow passenger, and Eric’s instant willingness to assist as well.

It was a beautiful reminder, in this time of too much awfulness, that there are still good, good people who are willing to look out for each other.

This is Jay again.

Can you visualize the scene?  Here’s a 15 year old young woman spending her flight time of about five hours seeing to the needs of a rather grizzled older man who can neither see or hear.  Additionally, a man seated next to him also is helping out as much as he can with the basic needs of this gentleman.

I don’t know Ms. Daly.  Nor do I know Eric or Tim.  I don’t know if these people are aware of Jesus’ teaching on who is their neighbor.  I don’t know if they are familiar with the story of the Good Samaritan or not.  What I do know is that they set an example for us all on being a neighbor to someone, especially someone in need.

If you ever begin wondering just who your neighbor is and what your responsibilities toward your neighbor are, just familiarize, or re-familiarize yourself with the story Jesus told about the Good Samaritan.  Also, review the story of Clara Daly, Eric, and others as they helped this man on a flight across the country.  Then do some soul-searching and come up with the answer that is blaring at you in bright flashing lights.  Then, love your neighbor as you love yourself.

 

Blessings.