Give Me My Flowers

Yesterday was an eventful day.  Mondays are typically sermon recaps.  And I’ll definitely recap the sermon.  But in the midst of all of my planning, life happened.  It would be foolish to ignore the fact that Kobe Bryant, his thirteen-year-old daughter, and seven other people lost their lives in a helicopter crash.  So unexpected.  Unbelievable.  Heartbreaking.

While my day was going along yesterday, his wife got a phone call that I know had the power to take her breath, knock her off her feet, and leave her speechless.  Has anyone else had a perfectly planned day and then life happened?  I’m not one of those people that can say I know how she feels, because I can’t experience her personal pain.  But, I do know that I can experience my own pain and relate to hers.

In times like these, we get sentimental.  We hold our loved ones tighter.  We find it easier to forgive them.  We get reflective.  We want our personal communities to know that we cherish them.

Give people their “flowers” while they’re alive.  So, they can smell them.  So, they can gaze on the beauty of them.  So, they know just how important they are to you.  Make it a practice to say “I love you” even when it’s uncomfortable.  Even when it’s not what your family does.  Start off with a side hug if a regular hug gives you the heebie jeebies.  In time, it will come more naturally.

I heard someone say that you must do something one thousand times to create muscle memory.  I didn’t take the time to fact check this.  The point is that it takes repetition to make unnatural habits stick.  I pray that we’re kinder to each other today.  I pray that we are more patient.  I pray that we inspire peace.  If we practice it enough, it will become who we are.  #wepreach