Happy Monday - September 2023

 

This story by Suzie Eller grabbed me, and I thought it would be a great message for this beautiful Monday morning…

We’d all herded into the small waiting room at the crack of dawn, each of us there for a loved one’s surgery. I noticed a woman sitting across from her husband, frail hands clasped in his. When the nurse called him back, their lips met like two butterflies.

Hours later, the doctor sat to talk with her. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but the physician’s matter-of-fact words fell like bricks. I heard her intake of breath at the worrisome news.

This caused me to look at the man sitting beside me. Our hands weren’t gnarled with time, but several years had passed since we first fell in love and walked down the aisle. Children came. Activities, busyness, and commitments pulled and tugged at both of us all the time. We often talked about the season of life we were in, giving lots of grace to each other but also knowing that our relationship sometimes came last.

As I watched this elderly woman wipe away tears, I wondered: One day, when our hair is white with age, and our lips meet like butterflies, will I wish I had done anything differently?

That day, as I watched the older couple, it caused me to reflect on my marriage. Sure, I was present. My husband knew I loved him. Yet, I didn’t want to look back one day with regret, knowing I’d been absent, had taken him for granted, or had always given our marriage the last place in our busy lives.

That led me to look for ways to show him I loved and appreciated him — right then, amid our busy lives. None of this cost me anything, but I could see that it refreshed him. It refreshed us both.

As we live day-by-day, pulled in a thousand different directions, may we be intentional. Seasons will pass. One day, let us look back and know that our presence was refreshing when our loved one saw us coming.

Intentionally Own It Reflection: As you think of how those closest to you would describe who you are, what makes you such a person worth knowing? What guides you to live with intention toward those you’ve been entrusted to love and live your everyday life with?


Happy Monday was designed by Alyssa Kreutzfeldt to intentionally shape your attitude, perspective, and tone for whatever lies ahead - inspiring you to intentionally own your impact and personal growth! Visit bar33leadership.com/happy-monday to get a weekly dose of messages and quotes that can help influence your attitude and perspective.

 
 
InspirationBrett Hurlbut