My good friend Susan Cartier LIebel recently wrote a very reflective post called, ….Don’t Forget What’s Important.Susan describes the events of her week as her family and her take care of her Aunt as she passes from this world to the next. But what strikes me as just as important from Susan’s post is the statement about the family taking care of each other during this time.

We are privileged to have each other…time is suspended, no one is thinking about their work or their personal issues…it’s all about caring and celebration and unity. It’s been truly unbelievable. There is even a lot of laughter because there is comfort in knowing we are there for one another and that life coexists with death very appropriately.

However, that statement actually causes me concern. Not for Susan, but for all of us. Why is it that such events seem to cause us to step back from our work to spend time with family. I know from my own experience, I tend to forget how important family truly is. I know from my own experience, I don’t spend enough time with them. And like many of you, I spend too much time doing those things, that in the end, no one will care about.

We live such hurried lives chasing false gods dictated by ego and consumerism that sometimes we miss out on the beauty that is life…and death.

And that is so true. We are so caught up in chasing after the all mighty dollar or that false sense of success we miss out on so many things. Just last night, my wife and I spent the evening at our church’s valentine banquet. And how timely Susan’s post and the speaker were. He left us with this thought. The speaker last night expressed he visited recently with a pastor who mentioned he has experienced so many times holding the hand of someone who was taking their last few breaths. And the one thing they almost always never say is how much they wish they had spent more time at the office or at work. Or out on the golf course or any other unimportant activity. They almost always say how they wish they would have spent more time with family and friends.We all need to take Susan’s post to heart and to never regret that we did not spend more time with our family and friends. We have to never forget what is most important.