It’s funny how the universe sends us messages often in scary ways. This morning David and I got into a car accident – we’re ok, thank God!!! 10 seconds later and it would have been a different story. It happened on a dangerous stretch of the PCH and could have been 100 times worse. Thankfully I forgot something at home and that small delay changed the course of our day. I believe it was a wake-up call and I am grateful for the message to be more alert on the road and pay closer attention. No one was hurt, just our cars.  Phew!!!

I just received this beautiful message from a true Modern Mom, Erica Diamond – founder of WomanOnTheFence.com. She reminded me to slow down today. Thanks for sharing, Erica… I hope my readers feel this one as much as I did.  I am too often guilty of doing this. ;(

F A M I L Y

I ran into a stranger as he passed by,
“Oh excuse me please” was my reply.
He said, “Please excuse me too;
I wasn’t watching for you.”
We were very polite, this stranger and I.
We went on our way and we said goodbye.
But at home a different story is told,
How we treat our loved ones, young and old.
Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
My son stood beside me very still.
When I turned, I nearly knocked him down.
“Move out of the way,” I said with a frown.
He walked away, his little heart broken.
I didn’t realize how harshly I’d spoken.
While I lay awake in bed,
God’s still small voice came to me and said,
“While dealing with a stranger,
common courtesy you use,
but the family you love, you seem to abuse.
Go and look on the kitchen floor,
You’ll find some flowers there by the door.
Those are the flowers he brought for you.
He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue.
He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise,
you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes.”
By this time, I felt very small,
And now my tears began to fall.
I quietly went and knelt by his bed;
“Wake up, little one, wake up,” I said.
“Are these the flowers you picked for me?”
He smiled, “I found ’em, out by the tree.
I picked ’em because they’re pretty like you.
I knew you’d like ’em, especially the blue.”
I said, “Son, I’m very sorry for the way I acted today;
I shouldn’t have yelled at you that way.”
He said, “Oh, Mom, that’s okay.
I love you anyway.”
I said, “Son, I love you too,
and I do like the flowers, especially the blue.”

Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than into our own family, an unwise investment indeed, don’t you think?

So what is behind this story? Do you know what the word FAMILY means?

FAMILY = Father And Mother I Love You