I remember the day as if it was yesterday. We'd all poured out from church and were getting into cars, heading home for our Sunday lunches.
Just before I jumped in the car, I gave our friend Paul a hug, he was due to be getting married in a couple of weeks and he and his fiancée were so in love. It was just hours later that we heard he'd been killed in a head on crash.
Everyone was devastated. It seems such a waste of a promising young man and someone who was so full of life.
How do you respond to the untimely death of a close friend or loved one? For me it was determine to make the most of every day, to love people fully today, without waiting for a better tomorrow.
In practice, this means making time for my kids, my family and my friends. It means taking the time to say our hellos and goodbyes properly - you never know when it will be your last chance.
It means telling my kids that I love them every day - even now that they're teenagers - if something happens to me or them, they'll know that even on a bad day they are loved and loveable.
Though my friends death was over ten years ago, his legacy lives on in the hearts of those who knew him, and in lives which are fully lived each day.
All names have been changed for privacy reasons.
No comments:
Post a Comment