Tribute to someone I will never meet
October 24, 2010
When you purchase a new shirt it usually has sewn in the collar a tag which has instruction on how to care for and wash this clothing item. It also may have warnings and if these warnings are not followed your new shirt will be ruined. every piece of clothing is different, some need to be treated delicately with care like a silk blouse, whereas a pair of Levi's all you have to do is chuck them in the wash with some soap and let it run. But even the strongest jeans wear out and fade.
Humans don't come with care tags, I wish they did, but the truth of the matter is that most people are subject to how the world treats them or what the world tells them. I think a lot of the time we treat everyone like they are invincible as Levi's, and on the outside that is what most people act like, but inside everyone wants to be loved.
And why isn't everyone loved? Is it because of what they look like? How they talk maybe? It could be both of them but I'm fairly certain that the biggest reason we don't act like we love everybody is because we assume that they already know we love them, we assume that everybody knows how we feel and there is no point in telling them. It could also be that we are embarrassed, embarrassed to reveal our softer side to a world that doesn't value gentleness.
I have a question for you. That question is WHY? Why do we wait until it's too late to tell people we love them? why do we wait to tell people that they make our lives better simply by being themselves? Why do we wait until we discover that someone is hurt before we apologize? Why do we take back the joke only after it has offended someone?
This Sunday I found out that a fifteen year old boy I had never meet, who lived in my town, had shot himself in the head the Friday before. I asked my friend “do we know why he did it?” the answer was this “he just thought nobody cared anymore.”
How sad does it get. . . ?
For a long time I wondered what might have changed if just one person had told Braeden that they were happy to have him around, happy that they knew him. Would he still be here today?
Friends, we can't wait, we only have so long to be on this earth and who knows when you won't have another chance to change someones life for the better.
When I wrote this I didn't correct the punctuation or grammar because most of the time things from the heart are not perfect and some of the most important things people have ever said were not practiced or planned, they were simply said.
I pray that we can forget our fears and our pride and just tell people that we love them and that they are important to us. Please, no matter who the person is, no matter how annoying they can be DO NOT treat them like a pair of sturdy Levi's. Don't wait for someone to die before they know that people care about them.
Love your parents. Be kind to others. Don't be easily offended. Tell your friends what they mean to you.
And Braeden Rest In Peace. We Love you.
Sincerely M.S.P
