In January of last year (2022) I had to have a biopsy on a mass that had been discovered near one of my kidneys. It was a very scary time for my family and me. Our minds went to the very dark place of thinking, “Oh, what if this is terminal cancer and I only have a short time left?”.
The biopsy result was that the mass was benign.
This event, however, made me stop and think. There are some key people in my life. I wanted to leave no doubt in their minds that I loved them. I decided that not a day would go by that I did not let them know that I loved them. I decided that every morning I would send these people a text letting them know that I was sending positive thoughts their way and that I loved them. This has gone on for over a year now and I am still just as committed to doing this as I was at the beginning.
Toward the end of last year it was discovered that this mass was growing and needed to be removed. Surgery was scheduled for January of this year. As I was being prepped for the surgery the team dealing with me brought me papers to sign. These papers acknowledged that I understood I might die during the course of the procedure. While they did not believe the mass to be cancer (it wasn’t), its location was very close to two major blood vessels. They told me there was a very real possibility that I could bleed out during this surgery. As scary as that news was, I was surprisingly at peace. I knew that I had taken steps during the past year to be more loving in general. I also knew that I had daily done what I could through words and deeds to let those people who mattered most to me know that I loved them.
Not to be morbid but let me give a reminder here. None of us get out of this life alive. That sense of peace I felt as I was thirty minutes or so away from the real possibility that I might not wake up from the surgery I was about to undergo is something I want to impart to you. Do not pass up every opportunity to show and tell those who are important to you that you love them. Do not fail to let them know you are sorry if you have said or done something that has brought them pain.
Note – That last statement was carefully worded. I did not say to ask their forgiveness. Tell them you are sorry. Your words or actions may have hurt them so deeply that it will take them a long time or they may never be able to forgive the words or deeds. We do not have a right to demand forgiveness. But we can truly and humbly say, “I’m sorry.”
Are there people in your life that you would be sad to know they were unsure of your love for them? Are there people you know you have hurt but your pride or embarrassment are keeping you from telling them that you were wrong and are sorry you hurt them? You need to let them know and they need to hear these things from you. Tell them, “I love you.”
Think about it.
You are loved. Peace.
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