If I knew it would be the last time
That I'd see you fall asleep,
I would tuck you in more tightly
And pray the Lord, your soul to keep.

If I knew it would be the last time
That I see you walk out the door,
I would give you a hug and kiss
And call you back for one more.

If I knew it would be the last time
I'd hear your voice lifted up in praise,
I would video tape each action and word,
So I could play them back day after day.

If I knew it would be the last time,
I could spare an extra minute or two
to stop and say "I love you,
"Instead of assuming you would know I do.

If I knew it would be the last time
I would be there to share your day,
Well I'm sure you'll have so many more,
So I can let just this one slip away.

For surely there's always tomorrow
To make up for an oversight,
And we always get a second chance
To make everything right.

There will always be another day
To say our "I love you's,"
And certainly there's another chance
To say our "Anything I can do's?"

But just in case I might be wrong,
And today is all I get,
I'd like to say how much I love you
And I hope we never forget.

Tomorrow is not promised to anyone,
Young or old alike,
And today may be the last chance
You get to hold your loved one tight.

So if you're waiting for tomorrow,
Why not do it today?
For if tomorrow never comes,
You'll surely regret the day

That you didn't take that extra time
For a smile, a hug, or a kiss
And you were too busy to grant someone,
what turned out to be their one last wish.

So hold your loved ones close today,
And whisper in their ear,
Tell them how much you love them
And that you'll always hold them dear

Take time to say "I'm sorry,"
"Please forgive me," "Thank you," or "It's okay."
And if tomorrow never comes,
You'll have no regrets about today.


 

It is only a tiny rosebud,
A flower of God's design,
But I cannot unfold the petals,
With these clumsy hands of mine.
The secret of unfolding flowers
Is not known to such as I.
God opens this flower so sweetly,
When in my hands they fade and die.
If I cannot unfold a rosebud,
This flower of God's design,
Then how can I think I have wisdom,
To unfold this life of mine?
So I'll trust in Him for His leading,
Each moment of every day,
I will look to Him for His guidance,
Each step of the pilgrim way.
The pathway that lies before me,
Only my Heavenly Father knows,
I'll trust Him to unfold the moments,
Just as He unfolds the rose.

When you get what you want in your struggle for self.
And the world makes you king for a day.
Just go to a mirror and look at yourself.
And see what THAT man has to say.
For it isn't your father or mother or wife,
Whose judgment upon you must pass,
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
is the one staring back from the glass.
 
Some people might think you're a straight-shootin' chum,
And call you a wonderful guy.
But the man in the glass says you're only a bum,
If you can't look him straight in the eye.
He's the fellow to please, never mind all the rest,
For he's with you clear up to the end.
And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test
If the guy in the glass is your friend.
 
You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years.
And get pats on the back as you pass.
But your final reward will be heartaches and tears
If you've cheated the man in the glass.

As fall the leaves, so drop the days
In silence from the tree of life;
Born for a little while to blaze
In action in the heat of strife,
And then to shrivel with Time's blast
And fade forever in the past.
 
In beauty once the leaf was seen;
To all it offered gentle shade;
Men knew the splendor of its green
What cheered them so, would quickly fade:
And quickly, too, must pass away
All that is splendid of to-day.
 
To try to keep the leaves were vain,
Men understand that they must fall;
Why should they bitterly complain
When sorrows come to one and all?
Why should they mourn the passing day
That must depart along the way?  
Edgar Guest

My Mother kept a garden,
a garden of the heart,
She planted all the good things
that gave my life it's start.
 
She turned me to the sunshine
and encouraged me to dream,
Fostering and nurturing
the seeds of self-esteem...
 
And when the winds and rain came,
she protected me enough--
But not too much because she knew
I'd need to stand up strong and tough.
 
Her constant good example
always taught me right from wrong--
Markers for my pathway
that will last a lifetime long.
 
I am my Mother's garden.
I am her legacy-
And I hope today she feels the love
reflected back from me 

Just as a rose day by day unfolds
Your heart reveals the beauty it holds
For the seeds of joy and laughter you sow
Blossoms in blessings wherever you go.
Grounded in love, you generously share
The goodness that stems from kindness and care
And rooted in hope, you cheerfully face
Each season of life with gladness and grace.
I often thank God for the blessing of you
Your sweetness of spirit and all that you do.
I pray that, just like a cherish rose
Our friendship forever blooms and grows

After a while you learn the subtle difference
Between holding a hand and chaining a soul,
And you learn that love doesn't mean leaning
And company doesn't mean security,
And you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts
And presents aren't promises
And you begin to accept your defeats
With your head up and your eyes open,
With the grace of a woman,
Not the grief of a child
And you learn to build all your roads on today,
Because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans
and futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight.
After awhile you learn that even sunshine
Burns if you get too much
So you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul,
In stead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers
And you learn that you really can endure...
That you really are strong
And you really do have worth,
and you learn and learn...
With every good bye you learn.
---
Veronica Shoffstall 1971

If I do not want what you want, please try not to tell me that my want is wrong.
Or if I believe other than you, at least pause before you correct my view.
Or if my emotion is more than yours, or less, given the same circumstances, try not to ask me to feel more weakly or strongly. Or yet if I act in some way other than your design for action, let me be.
I do not, for the moment at least, ask you to understand me. That will come only when you are willing to give up changing me into a copy of you. I may be your spouse, your employee, your child, your parent, or your friend. If you will allow me any of my own wants, or emotions, or beliefs, or actions, then you open yourself, so that some day these ways of mine might not seem so wrong, and might finally appear to you as right -- for me. To put up with me is the first step to understanding me. Not that you embrace my ways as right for you, but that you are no longer irritated or disappointed with me for my seeming waywardness. And in understanding me, you might come to prize my differences from you, and far from seeking to change them, you might preserve and even nurture those differences. Author Unknown to me

My words were harsh & hasty
And they came without a thought.
Then I saw the pain & anguish
That my bitter words had brought. Bitter words that I had spoken
Made me think back through the past;
Of how many times I'd uttered
Biting words whose pain would last. Then I wondered of the people
I had hurt by things I'd said;
All the ones I had discouraged
When I didn't use my head. Then I thought about my own life
Of painful words I've heard;
And of the times I'd been discouraged
By a sharp and cruel word. And now clearly I remember
All the things I might have done;
But, by a word I was discouraged
And they never were begun. So, help my words be silver boxes,
Neatly wrapped up with a bow;
That I give to all so freely,
As through each day I gladly go. Silver boxes full of treasure,
Precious gifts from above;
That all the people I encounter
Might have a box of love

---Florence Littauer 

People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centered ...
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives
Do good anyway.
If you are successful you win false friends and true enemies ...
Succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow ...
Do good anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable ...
Be honest and frank anyway.
People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs ...
Fight for some underdogs anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight ...
Build anyway.
People really need help but may attack you if you help them ...
Help people anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth
Give the world the best you've got ... ANYWAY.