Life is Too Short for regrets

February 8, 2011

Yesterday, I found out that a friend's friend had passed away.

It may seem strange that I am writing about the death of someone I had never met but please humor me and take a few moments to think as you read this note.

I met Lydia through an online group called Homeschool Alumni. As most of you know, I was homeschooled up till college. HSA has been a place to meet, greet and share with other kids who had similar experiences.

Lydia met Ben or "Ben.36" on HSA. I will let Lydia tell you about him in her own words:

"I never met Ben. He's one of the many online acquaintances I've formed on HSA. But he's one of the few whose blog I follow (a sewerrat's tale). He was an ex-ALERT man from Texas. It was through him that I learned about state of the churches in Spain and the extreme worldliness they have to fight. He got me praying for them and for his little cousins, that they wouldn't succumb to the pressure of the world. Last month he was beginning to talk to the Navy about joining. He was an expert with guns.... Ben died a few days ago. His gun went off when he was cleaning it and shot him in the heart right in front of his brother. He was with the Lord instantly, after twenty-four years on this earth."

Lydia goes on to say that Ben always made a point to let his friends know how much he appreciated them. He would even send a note asking friends how they were doing.

This made me realize, how often do I tell my family and friends that I love them and appreciate their presence in my life?

If (God forbid) I die today or next week, would I have left a t ask unfinished, a letter unwritten, an apology not said?

Ben was taken at the young age of 24. With death there is no one too young or too old. You can't cheat death and you can never be too safe. Who am I to say "it's not going to happen to me" or think that my family and friends would always be there? Am I waiting for the situation to be too late?

In her blog entry on Ben, Lydia said "Recently, I've been seeing him online a lot. I kind of wondered how he was doing, and almost said hi. I wish I had."

I don't want anyone to have that thought and so I want to encourage you all to take this journey with me: to get past whatever is holding us back from saying or doing what we have to.

Death will claim us all at some point. We can't run or hide from it. The only thing we can do is to live right while we are able. No regrets.

Thank you for taking the time to read this note and know that you are a friend that is very much appreciated.

<3

Danielle

"Ben was certainly not perfect, but he knew where he belonged: not in Texas, or in Spain, or in the Navy, but in heaven. And the Lord knew, too."

(Please check out Lydia's blog: http://www.eternalgloryseeker.blogspot.com/)