COMMON COURTESY.....

Today I ran into a stranger as he passed by.

"Oh, excuse me please, sir...." was my reply.

He said, "Why 'Mam, please excuse me too....I was so caught up, I wasn't even watching for you."

We were very polite, this stranger and I.

We went on our ways as we said "Good-bye."

But at home a different story is told, how we treat our loved ones, our young and our old.

Later that day, while cooking the evening meal, my daughter stood beside me and she stood very still.

As I turned to the oven, I nearly knocked her down.

"Move out of the way..." I said with a frown.

She walked away, with her little heart broken.

I didn't even realize how harshly I'd spoken.

While I lay awake in bed, I heard God's small grand voice as He came to me and said,

"While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use, but the children you love more than anything in this world are the one's you seem to abuse.

Look on the kitchen floor, you'll find some flowers there by the door.

Those are the flowers she'd brought for you.

She picked them herself, pink, yellow and blue.

She stood quietly as not to spoil the surprise, and you didn't even notice the tears that welled in her eyes."

By this time, I felt so very small as the tears in my eyes began to fall.

I quietly went into her room and I knelt by her bed;

"Wake up, Isabella, please wake up," I said.

"Are these the flowers you picked especially for me?"

She smiled and said.... "Yes 'mam....I found 'em, out by the tree. I picked 'em because they're pretty like you. I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue."

I said to her with a knot in my throat, "Oh Bella, I'm sorry for the way I acted today; I shouldn't have yelled at you that way.

She said, "Oh, Mom, that's okay. I know you were busy and I love you anyway."

I said as my heart skipped a couple of beats....

"My sweet Isabella, I love you too, and I do love the flowers, especially the blue."

Are you aware that:

If we were to die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family we left behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than to our family - an unwise investment indeed.