Friday, January 11, 2008

Just a little bit longer..........

Yesterday morning Chet and I decided to listen to a conference talk for our "morning devotional". I was in charge of choosing it, so I looked through this past October's talks and ended up picking "Don't Leave for Tomorrow What You Can Do Today" by Elder Claudio R. M. Costa. I just picked it randomly and thought it might be on procrastination. I guess somehow I missed this one in real time. Anyways, it is an excellent, excellent talk! The poem in it amazed me and brought me to tears as I thought about my little family. It seems as though recently I have heard of some lives taken "unexpectedly", and this reminded me of how precious every moment really is. Here is a copy of the poem- the author is said to be "unknown".

If I knew this would be the last time I would watch you sleep,
I would hug you tighter. I would plead with the Lord to protect you.
If I knew this would be the last time I saw you walk out the door,
I would hug and kiss you and call you back to hug and kiss you one more time.

If I knew this would be the last time I would hear your voice in prayer,
I would record every gesture, every look, every smile, every one of your words,
So that I could listen to it later, day after day.

If I knew this would be the last time,
I would spend an extra minute or two to tell you, "I love you," instead of assuming you already knew it.

If I knew this would be our last time, our last moment,
I would be by your side, spending the day with you instead of thinking,
"Well, I'm sure other opportunities will come, so I can let this day go by."

Of course there will be a day to revise things,
And we would have a second chance to do things right.
Oh, of course there will be another day for us to say, "I love you."
And certainly there will be another chance to tell each other, "Can I help with anything?"
But in my case, there isn't one!
I don't have you here with me, and today is the last day we have—our farewell.
Therefore I would like to say how much I love you,
And I hope you never forget it.

Tomorrow is not promised to anyone, young or old.
Today might be your last chance to hold tight to the hand of the one you love and show all you feel.

If you are waiting for tomorrow, why not do it today?
Because if tomorrow never comes, you certainly will regret for the rest of your life

Not having spent some extra time for a smile, a conversation, a hug, a kiss,
Because you were too busy to give that person what ended up being their last wish.

Then hug tight today the one you love, your friends, your family, and whisper in their ears how much you love them and want them close to you.
Use your time to say,
"I'm sorry,"
"Please,"
"Forgive me,"
"Thank you,"
Or even,
"That was nothing,"
"It's all right,"

Because if tomorrow never comes, you will not have to regret today.
The past doesn't come back, and the future might not come!

This reminds me that it is ok to let some things "slide" like a perfectly clean house, etc.... when it means spending that extra little bit with your family. My friend recently put this video up on his blog- and it also impressed me to spend more time with my kids or Chet when they ask- instead of "when I have time".



So, even though I wasn't going to post all of this (because I try my hardest not to be a sappy person)- but it has been going through my head for the last couple of days and figured- there must be a reason:) Maybe, so when I go back through and read my blog- I can constantly be reminded.

So, enjoy your time RIGHT NOW! No matter what!:)

3 comments:

Monica said...

Love it, Bertie. So, so true... The poem, the commercial, your thoughts. It made me think more about enjoying and making the most of every moment with my loved ones! It's too easy to say "tomorrow..."

Burk Family said...

It's hard to remember that all the time. Thanks for reminding me about that talk. It was one of my favs last conference.

Katie said...

Wow Berts! Good post! Makes you think...