I am not unique, most likely every one of us deals with the same scenerio. Time seems only available to do the things that we have to get done, while we come up short for time to be used doing the things we want to get done. When I ponder such things, I immediately fall back on the line in the Peaceful Warrior movie by Dan Millman, "Life is a paradox, quit trying to figure it out." That line helps me not waste too much time trying to figure out why time gets all used up by things I don't particularly want to do while there is no time for the things I want to do.
When I write, inspiration usually leads me in the core of what I write. When I am as busy as I have been, inspiration seems to never find it's way to me. I struggle and try and force an idea but they are usually one's I give up on after a few minutes. That busyness robs me of time and even inspiration.
This morning I was doing my Bible study and prayers. I prayed for inspiration (as I have for several days, knowing I was not hitting my weekly writing schedule) and a thought flickered and eventually came to light. So, here we are.
We run so hard through life, I wonder how many of us consider greetings. When the day begins and we see those we care about for the first time that day, do we consider how we greet them? Do we consider that how we greet them can make the day a great day or a lousy day? As I sat there on the couch, I heard my wife's alarm go off. Almost every morning, I get up at least an hour before her and do my study and prayer. I usually am positioned on a soft green couch which is backed up against the wall that the stairs go behind. Each of our three cats have joined me and fallen asleep in one of the three remaining couch corners. I can hear her tiny footsteps. Yes, tiny one's, she has really tiny feet. I hear the slightly unstable descent down the stairs to join me. I thought about how much I loved her and I wondered how I could help her day start on a positive note.
Something I saw a while back came to me. I am sure I wrote about this when it happened but it came back to my mind this morning. I was sitting on the deck by the pool at my wife's parents house some time ago, before her father passed away. He and I were sipping on a cool beverage, enjoying some down time and the warming of the sun. My wife's mom came out bearing tasty snacks and went back into the house. I will never forget the look on his face and in his eyes. He looked at her as if he had just seen her for the first time. It was the best example of an adoring love for a person and one that is forever etched in my mind. That in and of itself is amazing but also consider that they had been married longer than I have been alive, and that is a lot of years.
I wondered how often I see my wife that way. I wondered how often his wife caught him staring at her that way. Judging by that look I am sure, without even thinking, he made her feel special every day. He would make coffee and hand a cup to her each morning. He began each day with a small, almost unnoticeable expression of love and affection. I believe, in his heart, he wanted to express how much she meant to him in the first moments of each and every day. I imagine he woke each and every day thinking how blessed he was to have the love of his life with him all those years.
That encouraged me to start to do something every day to brighten the morning for my wife every day. I wanted to come up with something from my heart to express my feelings and start her day with a smile. I love her and don't want to be a downer for her in the morning but rather lift her up and help her feel appreciated and loved.
Just then, I heard those stumbling, tiny footsteps coming down the stairs. She turned the corner, and as usual, she smiled a big smile and said "good morning" with the sweetest of voices. It struck me, she had been greeting me with a sweet voice and big smile every morning for a very long time that told me she was happy to see me. It was a wow moment. For years she has been doing what I was just thinking about.
Instinctively, I responded, "good morning beautiful." I noticed a tender appreciative smile and I thought, I will greet her that way for the rest of my life. She is both beautiful on the inside and outside. I want her to know every day for the rest of her life that I see her that way. We don't know how many days we have left to let those we love know how much they mean to us. We might consider each day a treasure. How great for us to start each day realizing, we have been given one more day to appreciate those God has put in our life to love and treasure. How great to feel God has given us yet one more day to love and be loved.
How we greet those we love can make a world of difference in their day and even life. In fact, how we greet every one has the same impact. What if each and every one of us stopped and took a breath before we say anything to anyone and greet them in a way that will lift them up? What if every one of us could take a few seconds to set aside all the chores and obligations of our day, consider the person we are standing in front of and choose to greet them in a way that has the power to make their day wonderful?
(To all of you who visit this site) "Good Morning. I treasure you and am so grateful that you visit and have an interest in what you read here. You are an encouragement to me and a true blessing. I appreciate you and wish you the very best of days! You guys are just awesome!"