They were the most profound promises of our lives!

“To have and to hold” is a huge act of trust to give one’s body over to another.

“For better, for worse” is the most profound promise of them all. It is an acknowledgement that your life together could have a downside.

“For richer, for poorer” can put a big strain on the couple. Dreams don’t always come true.

“In sickness and in health” are experienced during the course of every marriage. In the event of sickness, the healthy spouse should be the primary care giver.

“Till death do us part” is for most of us a long time. This particular promise is not open to interpretation. It is absolute.

Promises made must be promises kept!

If not today, when?

Is it a love created by physical attraction?

Is it loving someone because of the financial security he or she can bring?

Is it wanting to possess the other person?

II think real love is not self-serving in any way.

Simply put, real love is the desire to see the loved one enjoy the best life possible.

It is not circumstance dependent! It is given regardless of events that occur all through life.

Real love is therefore a genuine focus on the wellness of the loved one.

Real love is expressed in DEEDS performed on behalf of the one loved, not WORDS alone!

Talk is cheap. Deeds require effort and commitment.

Can you have real love for someone who doesn’t love you? Yes! If your love is real, you only want goodness and blessings for them always.

PRACTICE REAL LOVE!

Are you doing something important with your life?

There are two categories of importance: Important to you and to others.

Do you look upon yourself only as an individual or as a member of society? This is a very vital issue that each of us must address.

We must be TAKERS and also GIVERS if our world is to be at peace.

A growing percentage of every community is made up of people desperate for food and shelter!

None of us should ignore this reality because it won’t diminish without the help of GIVERS!

Last Sunday, I spent the day with a 26 year old man I’ve known for nine years. Since birth, his daily life has been one of struggle, desperation and betrayal.

We take food and shelter for granted. He does not and never did.

What’s important? He and the millions like him!

If not today, when?

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We all do it from time to time.

It is most often used on three occasions:

1. When we disagree with someone, but don’t want to be disagreeable.

2. When we are with someone we dislike, but don’t want to show it.

3. When we are hurting inside, but don’t want others to know.

It is a mask we wear to get through a situation that could otherwise spin out of control.

It is a convenient way to protect ourselves, but is, however, not genuine. It definitely won’t lead to a deeper understanding between you and the other party.

Political Correctness fosters ingenuine behavior. A fake smile, therefore is a valuable tool if you’re into Political Correctness.

This type of behavior is another reason we aren’t as close to people as we should be.

Honesty is the most essential building block of good relationships!

Try it. You’ll like it!

As the head of a big-city hospital’s emergency department, Susan O’Mara has always focused on providing quick answers to people in crisis:

A relative desperate for information.

An injured person facing a very long wait.

A colleague exhausted from dealing with fed-up patients.

But until a special training class a few months ago, O’Mara didn’t consider whether there were ways to be more compassionate in her response.

The training taught the doctor to pause and listen, and not respond defensively to an angry patient.

She said it has helped her focus better and find a deeper well of sympathy, even as she deals with trying situations.

“You want to get patients from Point A to Point B with compassion, and also not internalize and feel badly yourself,” she said.

“To approach someone who is angry with compassion is the holy grail of emergency medicine!”

Will you become more compassionate?

Rebekka Garvison could feel the passengers’ eyes rolling as she walked toward her seat carrying her newborn, Rylee.

They were flying from Kalamazoo, Michigan, to Fort Rucker, Alabama, where Rebekka’s husband was stationed.

Minutes into the flight, Rylee wailed. A nearby couple glared, so Rebekka moved.

Rylee was still crying when their seatmate, Nyfesha Miller, asked if she could try holding her. Rylee quickly fell asleep in Miller’s arms and stayed that way throughout the flight.

“Nyfesha Miller, you will never understand how happy this act of kindness has made my family,” Rebekka wrote on Facebook.

“You could’ve just been irritated like everyone else, but you held Rylee the entire flight and let me get some rest and peace of mind.”  (CBS News)

Acts of kindness, particularly when offered to strangers, make the world a much better place.

When is the last time you did some kind thing for a complete stranger?

If not today, when?

I have a friend who is a 26 year old African American. He was recently hired by a new employer.

When I asked him how it was going, he said he was working to overcome the “stereotype.” I never thought about what must be a common obstacle for people of color.

So unfair!

When will we learn to accept people as individuals rather than simply as members of a certain group?

Surely, we are capable of becoming more inclusive in our relationships with people of different ethnicities and races.

It must begin with you and me!

Are you willing to grow out of your comfort zone and help mend our fractured society?

Millions of our fellow citizens are out of work with little or no savings.

If there was ever a time in America to look out for our neighbors, it is now!

If not today, when?

Prayer broke out all over this summer—Walmart aisles, gas stations, roadsides.

In a Columbus, Georgia, Walmart, an African American man walked up to a white police officer, and within seconds, the two were holding hands with heads bowed in prayer.

In Kentucky, a homeless man and a police officer were photographed in a similar position.

“They stood this way for about 30 seconds,” said the woman who posted the photograph.

In Mississippi, Deputy Sheriff Josh Harmon posted on Facebook: “Had one of the most amazing experiences of my life.”

An elderly black woman] comes up to me and says, ‘Your life matters. Can I pray with you?’ And we prayed. And people joined in. They were black, white together.

There was no hate. It was just praying.”  (goodnewsnetwork.org)

This story is about GLUE! Do likewise! Help GLUE our society back together!

If not today, when?

A few years ago, when I was driving to my job, I saw Wayuu children (An American ethnic group living in the northernmost part of Columbia.) on their way to school in the distance.

It was raining and the little ones were riding on donkeys.

I was devastated.

I am a language therapist with a focus on inclusion, differentiation and educational coaching.

I had to do something.

How can we expect equal employment opportunities if the education is not of good quality?

From that day on I have been supporting an ethno-educational centre. I advise the teachers.

I want to do more but the local government doesn’t seem to care.

I give my work and one step at a time, I have been blessed to see several of these students become professionals.

But, you can always do more! (randomactsofkindness.org)

Parenting is an awesome responsibility!

Your children will learn more from your actions than from your words.

You are the ultimate teacher of your kids. So, you have to be believable if you want your children to pick up your good habits.

In other words, you can’t be a hypocrite who preaches one set of behavior while doing the opposite!

Actions such as smoking, drinking, drug use, vulgar language and disrespectful behavior are noticed.

Parenting is a battle between you and other influencers that will shape or misshape your children’s system of values.

Peer pressure and bullying have always been there, but social media is a new, powerful influencer.

If you are a parent of children who are not yet adults, your kids are trying to grow up in a chaotic world with mixed messages coming through their cell phones night and day.

You must be the trusted source of what is right!

If not today, when?