I have been looking back where I have been to where I am today and in doing so, I have felt that I needed to contact some of those who have been a part of the journey.
(What I appreciate about Facebook is that it has allowed me to be in touch with so many people that I would otherwise not have any way of contacting)
This is one such moment:
Connie is a former classmate. She was always a very sweet and kind person. We were friends in school but have not really kept in touch since graduation. I remember a project she did that really touched me. And I wanted to let her know.
Hello Connie,
I hope you and your family are doing well. A memory of you came to my mind and I wanted to share it with you.
When we were in high school we had a class assignment to write about something we wanted to see invented and make a drawing of it. Being secretarial minded and I suppose a little lazy, I wanted a machine that my boss could speak into and it would type his words out so that I would not have to take dictation anymore.
But then I saw your invention.
I was so ashamed of mine because it was from selfish ambition but yours was to better mankind. I don't know if you even remember, but you invented a machine that on one side you fed the symptoms of someone who was sick and on the other side the cure came out. I can still remember the drawing. I thought that was such an awesome thing that you would care about others so much. It made me think I should be less selfish in the future and think more of how I could help others.
Connie, I know you lost a child and you wish there could have been a machine with the cure on the other side and I am very sorry if I have stirred up any sad emotions. I just feel that sometimes we fail to tell others even how the smallest things they have done has impacted someone else's life. And we wish we could have when it is too late.
I just wanted you to know that I am one of many that your life has touched... For the better.
Love, Paula
I was not sure when or if she would reply. I could tell by her Facebook page that she was not on Facebook very often. But later that same day, I received this:
Dear Paula,
I was so happy to receive your message. I do not remember that class assignment but am so glad you did. You have no idea what your message means to me. I am beyond grateful you shared that story with me. Little did I know at the time, that would be my lifelong dream and for reasons I could have never known back then. And for some reason, I really needed your message today. Yes, I cried but they were happy tears. Obviously, I still wish I could invent such a machine. I have been so blessed in spite of many hardships and I took this year off from 3 years of nonstop charity work raising money for children's cancer research. I have devoted so much time to help others in hopes that just one parent never know the pain that Bob and I both know as parents. You may recall that Bob too lost his eldest child to Cystic Fibrosis and I lost my daughter to a very rare illness that most will never even hear of. Our experiences changed our lives forever. I guess what matters is what you decide to do with it. Always know you did not stir up any sad emotions but rather just the opposite. It always makes my heart glad to know that someone is thinking of others and especially my daughter...one of God's special angels. Thank you, Paula, I will remember this forever!
Love, Connie
I am sharing this because this is what I would have missed had I not let her know about something that she did that touched me so many years ago. I have learned that the things that we think are shameful and embarrassing to us at the moment are also stepping stones on our pathway to making us who we are, and other lives that we touch.
Lord, thank you for friends, old and new. Thank you for all the times in my life that you used someone to influence my life. Thank you especially for allowing me the opportunity to thank them so that they will know all the good they do really matters, whether or not they see it at the moment.
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