Treat people right, now

"A few hours later Jamie returned to them, strangely at peace. Whatever he and Sarah had shared in that time had given him the same radiance that remained in her now-still face when Trinity and the others went back in for a few moments. In death Sarah's lips still curved in a smile and Trinity remembered a conversation they once had.

"'Before I got married I heard a woman say that when she lost her husband, she felt sorry that she didn't treat him the way she wished she had. I made up my mind that I would always treat Jamie with all the love in my heart so if I ever lost him, I wouldn't be like that woman.' Softness crept into her eyes. 'I have too.'"

I was reading in my book today and found this quote, and I decided that I wanted to have this same outlook.

In another book I have read, it said to give your husband/wife a kiss every time you leave for work, because you never know if that's going to be the last time. You want to have something to beautiful and happy to look back on, not something to regret.

This same idea is reflected in numerous movies and TV shows, when people get in fights and then end up not having a chance to make up. For instance, on the show "The O.C." a main character tells her dad that he is going to die alone and then storms out, the last conversation she has with him before he dies.

Whether it's a loved one or simply the person in the office next to yours, make sure you treat people right, now. We never know how much time we are going to have, and you don't want to look back with regrets.

I am often at fault for not seizing the moment. I get stuck in a funky mood, and I treat people the way that I feel like treating them, or the way I think they deserve to be treated, and then I end up regretting it. I have never not had the chance to change my attitude or try to make up for it, but I don't want that to ever happen.

I want to be like Sarah and Trinity in the book - I want to always treat people, especially Nate, in a way that I will never regret it should something happen.

(Excerpt taken from "A Torch For Trinity" by Colleen L. Reece, part of the Inspirational Romance Reader, Historical Collection No. 1, published by Heartsong Presents, copyright 1992).