The MOST Important Things in Life are NOT THINGS

Every day we see on the news; people dying…dying at younger ages and before their time should be up, dying from so many things… some that could be avoided, some that could not. When I see stories like this, it makes me think… would I be ready to go if my time came… would I have taken care of all the important things I needed to do before leaving this life? Where did my priorities lie? Did I see to the important things? Did I worry about money and material things more than my relationships and spiritual needs? Did I worry about what I was getting rather than who I was becoming? That brought my thoughts to PRIORITIES. 

Just what is taking up our time? Is it things that will bring us closer to our Father in Heaven? Are we making the things of Eternity, our priority? Are we taking time to let those we love KNOW that we love them? Are we aligning our actions with those feelings? 

I know, all too well that time can catch up with us all too quickly and we will be left with regrets of the things we didn't do, the things we didn't make a priority. 

This lesson has been one of my HARDEST and most important "Letters from Heaven" for me.  

Many years ago, my father was suffering horribly with Congestive Heart Failure. He was on ALOT of trial medications, that affected his personality and moods. Because of that, he and I ended up getting into a rather large disagreement and it doesn't matter what it was about now. It was Christmas and we were out to visit the family for the holiday. We had felt really strongly, the need to be there that year for Christmas with him. That ended up being his VERY LAST Christmas. 

I could not have felt more awful when my daddy was taken WAY too SOON! There were so many things I NEVER got to say… MOST IMPORTANTLY… I'm sorry, I love you so much; I NEED you! I needed to say those things but I procrastinated and fell short of saying them before it was too late. I wasted my time being mad and bitter, rather than just loving him and spending what would end up being his very last year of life here on earth, WITH HIM. I was supposed to have lots longer with him! I had years to apologize; at least I thought I did. Instead, because of stubbornness and my thinking I had years to make things right, my father didn't have a good Christmas for his last Christmas. I could have changed that. I could have just showed him I loved him rather than trying to prove I was right and he was wrong. It wasn't important in the grand scheme of things who was right or wrong, but what was important is that I didn't make my time with him count. I cheated him out of some precious memories and I let him die not knowing how deeply I loved him and how I absolutely LOVED being his daughter. And I let him die without nourishing that relationship for almost a year. He waited everyday for me to call…EVERYDAY. Mama told me after he died. It breaks my heart EVERY SINGLE TIME I think about how he must have felt EVERY SINGLE DAY that I did not call or write or let him know I loved him. He was my FAVORITE person in all the world and I neglected him and in the end, I hurt myself, as well. 

Oh, yes, I had my reasons, but in the end, none of those reasons was enough to justify what I did to his heart and soul. His heart may have been sick, but I…I was the one that broke it. Forever, there will be a sadness in my heart for the hole I put in his. All he wanted was for me to be his daughter and to understand him, love him, notice him and let him in my life. I took it away, without thought of what it would do to him or what it would eventually do to me and my family. I am responsible for what I did to that relationship and I am responsible for wasting time we could have had together. I am the one who is still repenting from that unwise use of precious time. Just days before he would pass away, I sent him a letter apologizing and letting him know that I loved him so very much! But, sadly… it did not arrive in the mail before he passed away from this life. He never got to read it, he never got to hear me say I love you again. I put my priorities in the wrong place. I made it my priority to make him see things my way, instead of just loving him. I didn't make time for the things of Eternity. 

Father in Heaven has given me a huge opportunity for growth as I have pondered this experience and many others in my life where I haven't had my priorities in the right place. I hope I am learning what He wants me to and that I use what I have learned wisely. 

I have learned that it's not things that make us happiest, but it's feelings and touches of the spirit that bring joy; REAL JOY and that we need to use our time here on earth wisely. For me, I've learned that I need to change my priorities to things of the spirit and I have learned that I don't want to waste time putting things off, making others wait for me to have time for them. If my heart is ever going to heal from the regrets and mistakes I made with my father in the past, I have to change my actions in the future. I need to use what time I have left, no matter how long or short that is; on the things of Eternity. 

Life is NOT perfect…We are NOT perfect and that's Okay!

I have learned that life is NOT perfect… not anywhere near perfect; to be
honest, it's MESSY and at times so very hard for EVERYONE!

Growing up,  I wondered why wasn't my life perfect like this girl or that guy
or that family… you get the idea. Because, on the outside, their lives looked
perfect, and so I judged my life on what their life APPEARED to be.  I didn't
see the behind the scene lives… I didn't see neglect, abuse, arguments,
health problems, mental stresses and the like.  I wasn't looking deep
enough. I was young;  I had not experienced enough life at that point to
have even a little bit of understanding in what life was really like, for all of us
on this earth.

I have grown so much since those days,  I have experienced life at it's finest
and I've experienced it at it's worst. I have found that we all do the very best
that we can, at the time, we are going thru each situation. Sometimes we do
a good job of that, sometimes we don't. Life is a real growing experience.
We are here to prepare to return home to our Father in Heaven. Every experience
we have here is a teaching moment, and I believe that He doesn't expect us to be
perfect at handling them. He sent His Son, as a Savior for us, for that exact
reason. He simply expects us to grow and learn from those experiences
and mistakes and to ultimately grow closer to Him and his Son, and to become
better people in the process.

Life is NOT perfect… We are NOT perfect and… THAT'S OKAY!

What are Letters from Heaven?

About a year or so ago, I had a dream. A dream that pierced my very soul and I still have not been able to get it out of my mind. I felt very strongly that I needed to share this concept with others, but I have struggled trying to figure out just exactly how I was to do that. In my dream, there was a child, to start with and then there proceeded to be more and more people… falling slowly down upon them from the sky were envelopes filled with letters, in essence… Letters from Heaven. It was awhile ago, that I was sitting in church and one of the most amazing ladies I know, said that the scriptures were our letters from home(our heavenly home), to support us, to answer our questions, to help us get thru the tough times and it was then that I began to understand my dream a bit more, and I started to formulate what I should do. 

This little blog is mainly for me. Writing heals my soul. Someone special to me, gave me a journal years ago and thus began my love of writing, of putting down my thoughts, my hopes, my dreams, and even my disappointments, but most importantly, it's where my first Letters from Heaven began to emerge, as I recorded the feelings and the things I was learning from my life experiences. I will share some of those thoughts here; my Letters from Heaven, in hopes that as I share, I will not only continue to grow but that I can inspire you to look for your own Letters from Heaven… in the everyday experiences you are having. Those Letters from Heaven are there for us… we just simply need to check the mail each day to find them.