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Thursday, October 25, 2012

An Unforgettable Errand

I recently read a quote from President Woodrow Wilson, who once said:

You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement.  You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget that errand.  
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What a marvelous sentiment - how lofty an ideal - and how utterly impractical.  

The world at large is just too big an assignment for any one of us.  
But I agree with the idea that we are here to enrich each other whenever the opportunity presents itself.

There are so many ways to make the life of someone else richer, and many of them do not require abundant resources, great talent, or even lots of time.  They only require that we be mindful of where we are and who we are with, and that we make the effort to offer even a small service or affirmation of one another.

A little over a week ago I attended a potluck luncheon in the lovely home of one of the women in the Bible study group I attend.  She did not prepare any great feast, but instead invited us each to bring an ingredient for a taco salad buffet.  So no one had to cook very much of anything.  It was a terrific luncheon and we all enjoyed her hospitality immensely.

I meant to send a "thank you" note the very next day.  But I did not. Phone calls came in, appointments had to be kept ... life moved on.  Thus, I thought, "I will be sure to thank her again when I see her next Wednesday morning at the study group."

But this past Wednesday morning she was not there.  Instead she is in a hospital far from her home, where they removed part of her lung.  She will be hospitalized, another week to ten days, and will be in unable to leave her house for another three months or more.  She will not be returning to the study group.
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She enriched about twenty lives last week.  And this week, I impoverished my own a little, when I failed to follow through on my good intentions to send that card right away.  Yes, I will send a card tomorrow, perhaps with some flowers.  But those small gestures will be tinged with the sorrow of what she is enduring.
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I forgot my "errand" of not just living, but remembering to enrich someone else as soon as I have the opportunity.

Hope someone took the time to make your day a little richer, and that you found a way pass it along to someone else.  Until next time ...Marsha

10 comments:

  1. I am too often guilty of procrastinating on these types of things and living to regret it. This is a great reminder.

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  2. Once again, you have done a marksman's job in hitting the nail on the head with great wisdom and clarity. I really do hope you put these all together in a book someday-

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    1. Shelly,
      Once again you touch my heart. Blessings to you - Marsha

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  3. Post made me think of the little Sunday School song, "Brighten the corner where you are."

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    1. You know, Vanilla, I still sing that song to myself sometimes. :)

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  4. I too raise my hand to state that I too have been guilty of the same offense.
    I'm reminded of the saying "the road to hell is paved with good intentions". Crude, but true.
    Thank you for your insight...once again.

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  5. My goodness what a shock that must have been for you to discover your friend was in hospital. I hope she recovers quickly.

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  6. I think we are all guilty of this at times. It does make one feel guilty for not being thankful when someone enriches your life. However, I bet there are many times when you have enriched someone's life and haven't expected thanks.
    Lately I have been astounded at the acts of kindness towards me. A neighbour passed me in the garden the other day and said, "If you ever need help just ask us and we'll come." So I did. He pulled dead palm fronds out of the trees for me as I couldn't reach them. Just today we went to the local bottle shop to replenish our wine supplies. We suddenly realised there were too many boxes for us to carry and I had already returned the trolly (doh I had one of those days). Anyway the customer behind us ( a strapping young man) said, "Don't worry I'll carry it to your car for you." It is so nice to have this happen as we grow older and weaker and forgetful. I thanked him over and over and he answered, " No worries you have a nice weekend."

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    1. Diane,
      I am so glad someone nearby was a helping hand. We, too, had a neighbor give the LOC a hand today, moving our travel trailer in preparation for having some gravel put down where we park it. The young man was so gracious and told us how much he enjoys having us for neighbors.

      Just makes you thankful, doesn't it? Have a good tomorrow - Marsha

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  7. Very convicting and just the nudge I need to remember each day. Blessings to her as she recovers. How I let moments pass too easily...I need to be more intentional...thanks for this piece.

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