Speak up or forever wonder...

Its never a good day when a death becomes the only option to free oneself from pain, and takes the life of someone you love, endear or even just happen to have a few good little memories with. Our first reaction is to want to know the how, why and when, but even after you find out all that heart wrenching information there's still a piece of you that wonders how and why. Then sets in the heart felt sentiments to be expressed as the friend or family member of the deceased, to the deceased, to the family members and to each other as friends of both. "You were a great friend! You were the life of the party! I'll never forget the way you smiled. Prayers for the family of ... are going out"! Emotional and heartbreaking tragedies seem push from the back of our minds to the forefront of our existence a slideshow of repressed memories - of conversations and events - that included the one who is no longer here. A rolodex of dates and places - where revisiting the past - brings a smile to our lips and  tugs at our heart strings all the while we're STILL wondering how and why, and what would have made a difference. What if  the statement "You're a great friend" or "Your smile is infectious!" would have made the difference? Could that have change the course that lead to a tragic ending? What if it would have? Would you have spoken up sooner or more often? Would you have reached out even more, stretching beyond your comfort zone no matter your fear of non-reciprocation? It's not just in times of loss that we should be reminded to extend kind words, appreciation, acceptance, tolerance, compassion and most of all LOVE. These are what we're to do everyday, with each other - with those that we're close to, those that we meet in a chance encounter, and those that we've lost touch with.  Ephesians 4:2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love.  Remember, the next time you run into someone from your past or meet your closest friend for lunch or even have that chance encounter with a stranger, your smile or kind words or even a genuine statement of appreciation could be the determining factor for that person who thought their already made choice was the only choice they had. Take the time to break our of your comfort zone, let down your walls, reconcile a friendship or relationship or express your love and adoration... Speak up or forever wonder if what you could have said would have changed the path of the person your now so gravely miss.