As one year comes to an end and a new year begins, I find myself reflecting over a poem I found between the pages of one of my grandfather’s numerous bibles. It was written down by my great-grandfather, William A. Greene, on April 26, 1904. William Greene grew up in Aquadale, North Carolina and had several jobs including school teacher, merchant, justice of the peace, and columnist for the Stanly News and Press.
We all understand the importance of keeping in touch, whether it is a personal or business relationship, or a combination of both. This point cannot be made any clearer than in this poem my great-grandfather came across ninety-eight years ago.
If you have a gray haired mother in the old house far away
Sit down and write the letter you put off day by day
Don’t wait until her tired steps reach heaven’s pearly gates
But show her that you think of her before it is too late
If you’ve a tender message and a loving word to say
Don’t wait till you forget it but whisper it today
Who knows what bitter moments may haunt you while you wait
So make your loved ones happy before it is too late
We live but in the present – the future is unknown
Tomorrow is a mystery – today is all our own
The chance that fortune lends us may vanish while we wait
So spend your life’s rich treasure before it is too late
The tender words unspoken – the letter never sent
The long forgotten messages – the wealth of love unspent
For these some hearts are breaking – for these some loved ones wait
So show them that you care for them before it is too late
-Author Unknown
May the new year be one in which each of us makes a habit out of connecting – or reconnecting – with those who have made a difference in our lives.
