‘If Only I Knew’ by Lance Wubbels is a book I found in my stocking stuffer this morning, gifted by my wonderful wife, Sarah. The byline reads, ‘Gentle Reminders to Help You Treasure the People In Your Life’.

The inscription reads…

To
Spencer Ingvalson

The precious boy

who loved his yellow bike…

and his mother dearly.

You touched so many lives

for one so young.’

Lance shares in his introduction…

“While I was writing this book, the fourteen-year-old son of a friend of mine left home on his yellow bicycle, heading for soccer practice as he has countless times before, and was hit broadside in a street crosswalk by a car. The driver, a sixteen-year-old young man, was distracted and somehow never even saw Spencer until he hit the windshield. In that tragic moment, a boy’s life vanished like a mist, leaving behind a grieving mother who obviously loved him with all her heart.

We live in an uncertain world. When we leave home in the morning, we assume we will return in the evening. When we say good-bye to loved ones, we take it for granted we will see them again. We presume they know we love them, so we seldom say the words. Unfortunately, we fail to consider the mortal reality that this may not be the case… until it’s too late. Tomorrow does not always come.

Someone once said that “life is short, so keep short accounts with God,” That is wise advice, but I’d like to add that we should also keep short accounts with every person who is in the circle of our lives. We never know when life will be dramatically changed…sometimes permanently.

Think about it. Don’t allow the regrets of “if only I knew” to be the final marker of your life. Be swift to love. Hurry to be kind. Take the time to make someone feel special. Freely give hugs and kisses, and may “I love you” be often on your lips.”

~//~

Sarah, my children and I wish you and yours a ‘Merry Christmas’ and mucho blessings of joy, health, prosperity, love and laughter for this season and 2010! May you be swift to love, hurry to be kind and may others often receive blessings from your lips.