Never Take Them for Granted

By: Samantha S. Daviss

“The things you take for granted,
someone else is praying for”
–Unknown

 To me in life there are a few things that people take for granted, but to me they are the biggest things in life.

     

     1)      Family and your kids

     2)      Your health

     3)      Friends

 I can’t stress enough how true this is. We all look at family the wrong way; we look at family as a burden or a nuisance when they come to visit for a few days. Why not look at it as a blessing? Feel blessed and honored that they are comfortable enough around you, in your home, and around your entire family to come spend a few days. Like the old saying goes “Guests, like fish, begin to smell bad after three days.” –Benjamin Franklin

And that is such a true statement. After about three days of changing their routine, their life, and molding into your ways of doing things, they begin to get the itch to leave, just as much as you want them gone. So when they come, make them feel warm and welcomed; because soon they will be gone. And I don’t mean from that visit, I mean from your life. So enjoy the time you have with your family.

And your precious angels. All the “Moms” that you hear about three hundred times a day, the feet you find in your face when you wake up in the morning, all the toys you bend over to pick up, and the massive mounds of laundry that you battle through weekly. I promise, one day you will miss all of it. You will wake up in silence wondering when the pitter patter of little feet will come strolling in during your shower, you will get bored looking for clothes to wash or toys to put away. But have no fear, just as I said before, never take your family for granted and they will return. So cherish those visits and the time you have with your kids or grandkids now.

Your health, now that is something we all take for granted. Whether you are young or old, whether its terminal or you clipped a portion of your finger while pruning bushes. It all creates a pause and an inconvenience in your typical life. Sometimes your health issues can be very scary, some are minor and will heal with time, but nonetheless, you can’t take lightly what the good Lord has given you. 

Don’t abuse yourself, don’t over indulge, and don’t due purposeful harm; because I promise there is someone out there who was diagnosed with lung cancer from second hand smoke, when they have never touched a cigarette in their life; but yet you are perfectly healthy smoking a pack a day.

I am not saying don’t live life. You have to indulge every once in a while. But don’t make it a daily habit to where you do bodily harm both internally and externally to yourself.

And finally your friends. My friends have always been family to me. As they say, “Always remember you can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family. Maintain honesty and integrity and be true to yourself first and foremost.” –dapmd

This is so very true. Be selective in whom you want to surround yourself with; but be open to those being different than you are. Uniqueness is what makes the world go around, so be sure to understand that no two people are alike. But treasure those that you have selected and those that have chosen to be a part of your life. They are valued treasures that you should never ever release.