In Memory...

Today I should've been back home. Today I should've been with my family. Today my family attended a service in my church to witness a window being dedicated in memory of my Mum. My Mum died just before my twelfth birthday. She was only 32 years old. I never got a chance to say goodbye to her and not one day goes by where I dont think about how she impacted my life and moulded me into who I am today. I see myself get more and more like her as I grow older. I often haunt people back home because I am so like her. My Nana tells me that my very laugh is so much like hers. I tell you this as a reminder. We dont know when our time is. We dont know how long we have. We didnt expect to lose my Mum. And we still live with the shock of it all. My Mum died of something that could hit anyone...at anytime. I sunk into such depression after my Mum died. But my Best friend saved my life. Caroline Brown has been my lifelong friend. A girl who has never give up on me. Because of her, I am here, because of her I found Jesus when I needed him the very most. If she hadnt have got me out of the mess I was in, I would be a totally different person in a totally different place right now. And how did she save me? She never gave up on me. Dont give up on people. No one is a lost cause.

Today I want to remember my Mum. Remember the good times. Remember that no matter where I go, or what I do, I will never lose sight of her because every time I look in the mirror I see her. The two most personal things my Mum left on this earth is my brother and myself. I want to make my Mum proud. I want her to look down on me and say "that's my girl right there". I learned so much from this woman. Stuff that has changed me drastically in every aspect of my life. But I especially learned that we never know our time, we never know the time of our loved ones, we never know the time of the stranger next door. Seize every opportunity. If you get an opportunity to talk to someone about Jesus, take it, you may never get it again. I would give the world to go back. I would give the world to just hear her voice again, to hug her one last time, to tell her that I loved her and no matter what happened that would never change. But I missed it. And I kick myself everyday for it. Dont make the same mistake I did.

If you get the opportunity to help someone, do it. If you get the opportunity to love on someone, do it. If you get the opportunity to make a difference in this world in the small time you get, jump for it. Life is just a mist in the scheme of things. We dont have much time but there are plenty of people out there who need YOU, right NOW. Run to them. Seize every moment, Seize every opportunity.

"I shall pass through this world but once, 

Every good thing therefore that I can do, 

Or any kindness that I can show

To any fellow creature, 

Let me do it now. 

Let me not defer or neglect it, 

For I shall not pass this way again"

Seize the day. Never miss an opportunity. Never part on bad terms. No one is a lost cause.

In Memory of Viola Smyth

Died 04-19-2005