If Tomorrow Never Comes...

I recently attended an emotionally wrenching event. It was the funeral for a man who was leaving behind two girls under age 15 and his wife. Talk about something that struck way too close to home! The music for the service was interesting. The song played at the opening was The Dance by Garth Brooks, which offers gratitude and reflection on the positive experiences of life-the ones that you don't often get to try and do over.

The song at the end of the service, however, was what really shook me. The song, If Tomorrow Never Comes, is the story of someone contemplating if his spouse, family and friends would know just how much he loved them if he were to pass away. Sitting in the service with the three most important people in my life and hearing that song was emotional to say the least.

This past week I had the privilege of addressing a group of college students taking a public speaking class. After the presentation one student asked me, "Do you still get nervous?" My short response was, "Yes." My longer response was, "But my nervousness now is different. In the past it was due to fear of speaking in front of a group. Now my fear is that I won't share something of value that helps someone in the audience live a fuller life."

Who do you know today that needs to hear the worn out cliches like, Life is short, or No one ever lay in their deathbed and said they wished they had spent more time at the office? For one spouse, father and friend, it's too late. Tomorrow did not come.