Do me a favor as you are reading this, stop and make a list of the 10 most important people in your life. Now, if each of these people were suddenly taken away from you today, what regrets would you have? My guess is many of us would be sharing some of the same regrets. I should have spent more time with them. I should have told them I loved them more. I should have told them how proud I am of them. I should have forgiven them for that wrong thing they did. The list could go on an on of the regrets you might have.

Having a loved one taken away from you unexpectedly and having those types of regrets is a feeling none of us want to have. The problem for us is we feel there is so much time. Even though we know our lives are temporary we don’t fully grasp it. It isn’t until the unexpected happens and you lose a loved one that you understand the frailty of our lives. Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 (NLT) says, “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest.” So your challenge is to give the proper love and attention to those who mean the most to you while you have them.

One thing you have to do is take time every day to first thank God for bringing them into your life. Thank God for the parents you have, thank God for the siblings you have, thank God for your children, and thank God for your friends. Whoever those important people in your life are, thank God for them. We have to follow Paul’s advice in 1 Thessalonians 1:2, “We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly.” Your best way to show appreciation for those you love is to thank God for them.

Another thing you need to do is spend quality time with them. Now this is a tough one for many of us in this work all the time world. Our schedules tell us we don’t have time for anything else. You skip your child’s game or event because you feel you can just catch the next one. You don’t go on that walk with your spouse because you feel there will be plenty of time for walks in the future. You don’t pick up the phone to call your parents more because you feel they will always be there. But this is where you open yourself up to regret because they won’t always be there. You don’t have all the time in the world with your loved ones. You have to enjoy them each day they are with you.

The final thing you should do is open yourself up to them and let them see who you really are. This may sound like it doesn’t need to be said but so many times we hide our true selves from even those we love. You only show them the side you want them to see. Your loved ones should know the real you and you should know the real them. The only way this happens is spending the time to open up to them and in return they feel free enough to open up to you. This is where the true connection happens. This is where you get to appreciate them for who they truly are and see the gifts God has blessed them with. 1 Corinthians 12:7 (NLT) says, “A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.”

None us us knows the day, hour or minute those closest to us will be taken from this earth. You have to take the time to show them how much they mean to you while you have them with you. Yes our lives are busy, and yes the pace of life gets hectic sometimes. But your busy schedules, and all the things you pack your days with, won’t matter when you have to say goodbye to someone you love. At that moment, all you will want is more time to tell them how much you love and appreciate them.

Truth in Love! ~ Chuck