"Got love?"

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I opened my email that morning as soon as I arrived in my office, just like I do each morning. I removed the spam—yes, I get it, too—and looked down through the list. I recognized our younger daughter’s email address on one of them so I scrolled down and opened hers first.

The message announced that I had an e-greeting card to open. So I clicked on the link and opened it. There was the cutest picture of a yellow Lab puppy like the ones we raise and a kitten, their noses touching. And someone had drawn in some hearts between them. The caption read, “Puppy Love.”

And our daughter wrote in, “Daddy, I know it’s not Valentine’s yet, but I couldn’t resist sending this to you. Love and kisses,” and her name.

I wrote her back and said, “Thank you, sweetheart! It’s never too early to send love. Love and kisses, Daddy.”

And it isn’t. Nor is it ever too late. Yea, I know Valentine’s is past for this year, but send someone love today. God gives it to you 365 days a year, so share it real often as you listen to life and make a life, not just a living.

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"Are you unselfish?"

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Did you catch some of the Winter Olympics from Torino, Italy? I did, simply because I’m fascinated by people who ski 87 mph down a mountain in record time. Or, athletes who scrub centimeters ahead of a heavy weight sliding across the ice.

For me, the highlight came before the games even started. Michelle Kwan made the women’s figure skating team, but just barely due to a groin injury. She planned to compete, but after practicing in Torino, discovered that she couldn’t skate completely healthy. She resigned and her explanation at a press conference was poignant.

Basically, she said that she put her need to compete—her drive, passion for the sport, and courage—behind what was best for the U.S. team. She signed her petition, agreeing to skate if healthy, and she was keeping her word to that by resigning and making room for Emily Hughes to compete.

I found it really refreshing that Kwan put her own needs second to the team’s. May her unselfishness inspire us all to listen to life and make a life, not just a living.

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"Things aren’t always like they seem, are they?"

Susan had wanted new kitchen cabinets for a long time, but her husband insisted they were an extravagance. He just didn’t’ see the need for new kitchen cabinets when the old ones worked just fine. So Susan went to visit her mother for two weeks, and when she came back home, she was overjoyed to find that beautiful new cabinets were installed in her kitchen. She couldn’t understand what changed her husband’s mind, but rather than ask him what made the difference, she was just happy to have new kitchen cabinets.

A neighbor came over to visit a few days later. “I love your new kitchen cabinets,” she said. “They are so lovely.”
“Oh, thank you so much,” Susan said. “I love them, too.”

Then the neighbor said, "All of us were so glad that the fire your husband had while you were gone was confined to the kitchen."

Things aren’t always like they seem, are they? So what! Just be grateful for all the blessings you receive, regardless of why you receive them. Thank God as you listen to life and make a life, not just a living.

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"Did you know that there’s a part of you that never ages?"

I recently met a college friend for lunch. We had not seen each other in twenty years.

When we first sat down, I looked at him and said, “Okay, I’ll lie to you if you lie to me—you haven’t changed a bit” and we both had a big laugh. The fact is we had both changed—a lot more gray hair and a lot less hair, a few more wrinkles and a few more pounds.

But you know, as we sat there eating and catching up, his laugh hadn’t changed one bit. He still had that same laugh that I remembered, and his eyes still sparkled when he laughed.

You know, our bodies age—our hair turns gray or loose, our faces wrinkle up, and we weigh a little more. But our spirits don’t—our laughter, our sparkling eyes, those parts of us that are who we really are.

So when you look in a mirror today, don’t look at your hair and wrinkles and flab. Look yourself in the eye and laugh. And when you do, know that you’re looking into your soul, the part of you that never ages.

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