>Subject: Keep > > > > > > > > > > >Keeper >*************** >I grew up with practical parents. A mother, God love her, who washed aluminum >foil after she cooked in it, then reused it. She was the original recycle >queen, >before they had a name for it... A father who was happier getting old shoes >fixed than buying new ones. > > >Their marriage was good, their dreams focused. Their best friends lived barely >a >wave away.. > > >I can see them now, Dad in trousers, tee shirt and a hat and Mom in a house >dress, lawn mower in one hand, and dish-towel in the other. It was the time >for >fixing things.. A curtain rod, the kitchen radio, screen door, the oven door, >the hem in a dress. Things we keep. > > >It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy.. All that re-fixing, >eating, renewing, I wanted just once to be wasteful. Waste meant affluence. >Throwing things away meant you knew there'd always be more. > > >But then my mother died, and on that clear summer's night, in the warmth of >the >hospital room, I was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there >isn't >any more. > > >Sometimes, what we care about most gets all used up and goes away...never to >return.. So... while we have it..... it's best we love it.... and care for >it... >and fix it when it's broken......... and heal it when it's sick. > > >This is true. for marriage....... and old cars..... and children with bad >report >cards..... and dogs with bad hips.... and aging parents..... and grandparents. >We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it. > >Some things we keep. Like a best friend that moved away or a classmate we grew >up with. > > >There are just some things that make life important, like people we know who >are >special........ and so, we keep them close! > > >I received this from someone who thinks I am a 'keeper', so I've sent it to >the >people I think of in the same way... Now it's your turn to send this to those >people that are "keepers" in your life. Good friends are like stars.... You >don't always see them, but you know they are always there. Keep them close! > > >TEN THINGS GOD WON'T ASK ON THAT DAY. > >1.... God won't ask what kind of car you drove. He'll ask how many people you >drove who didn't have transportation.. > > >2.... God won't ask the square footage of your house, He'll ask how many >people >you welcomed into your home. > > >3.... God won't ask about the clothes you had in your closet, He'll ask how >many >you helped to clothe. > > >4.... God won't ask what your highest salary was. He'll ask if you compromised >your character to obtain it. > > >5.... God won't ask what your job title was. He'll ask if you performed your >job >to the best of your ability. > > >6.... God won't ask how many friends you had. He'll ask how many people to >whom >you were a friend. > > >7.... God won't ask in what neighborhood you lived, He'll ask how you treated >your neighbors. > > >8.... God won't ask about the color of your skin, He'll ask about the content >of >your character. > > >9.... God won't ask why it took you so long to seek Salvation. He'll lovingly >take you to your mansion in heaven, and not to the gates of Hell. > > >10.... God won't have to ask how many people you forwarded this to, He already >knows your decision. > > > >
