Worth Reading

Spanning the blogsphere as I/we do from time to time - this time while Ken was searching for other blogs with Bill Mallonee/VOL interests for me - he ran across a blog called Beauty Out of Ugly Things. He told me about it, and I headed over there. It's good, thoughtful, humorous, Godly - all the things we love in a blog. I've really enjoyed it. The latest post Todd has written is entitled 14 Hours. I'll hit some of the highlights.

Donald Herbert died yesterday.

Donald Herbert was a Buffalo New York Firefighter who, while fighting a house fire 10 years ago, suffered severe trauma to his brain. He was in an unresponsive coma for ten years until one day, after switching medications, he awoke and was lucid, coherent and speaking a mile a minute with his family.

This lasted for 14 hours.

Donald had ten years of life to cram into fourteen hours.
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When I heard the story of Donald Herbert, I was listening to NPR on my way home from work. I almost had to pull over. What would I say to my kids if I had missed ten years of their lives? I thought of my boys--about missing games and girls and college. I would have missed watching them grow from boys to men. And my beautiful daughters--I would have missed out on the sweet smell of fear as I did my best to intimidate any boy who came to my door. And I would have missed my princesses walking down the stairs for their first prom. I would have missed seeing them grow from little girls into young women.
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I think of all that I would have missed then I think of all the wasted words I have spilled.
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A colleague said matter-of-factly, "He was getting reaquainted with his fourteen year old son." Can you imagine leaving the house with a four year old boy and the next day waking up to find that he is fourteen years old?
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I went home that night and I hugged my kids harder than usual. I listened a little more intently and I soaked them in. God, when I waste my words, when I take today for granted, remind me of Donald and may each second I have with those I love become the air I breathe.

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Just a really insightful post that should be a reminder to all of us how important each second of every day is. Go over and check out this post and a few others over at Beauty Out of Ugly Things. I think it'll be worth your while.