Calvary Episcopal Church
Memphis, Tennessee
THE CHRONICLE
January 12, 2003
Volume 48, No. 3

Today and Always
When I was 19, I told my Uncle that I intended to be a writer. He, in his usual
provocative and challenging way, asked, "what have you written?" Well, I hadn't written anything, I just liked the idea, the concept, of being a writer.

In much the same way I think about our actions, interactions, words, and attitudes towards those we love. We may say "I will always love you," and that is a sentiment that can come from the best there is in being human. But it can also be just a concept, something we say and intend to do. The real task of love is to be loving this day; if we are able and willing to do that, our "this days" will add up to "always."

What counts is, "will you love me NOW?" We make wedding vows, partnership
vows, friendship vows -- to always love and be true to one another. We say, "I will always love you." But "today" is the day of reckoning. Our actions and attitudes today are the data by which our love is measured. Today is the fullness of opportunity to love and be loved, to reach out, to forgive, to declare our love.

I look back at my years with Sunny, my wife who passed away this past year. I have learned that there is little chance, after losing a loved one, of escaping the "if only's" and the "what if's." But I am told that those fade with time.

It is also true that every day we have with a loved one is THE DAY in which we have the chance to make them feel more deeply valued and loved, and the chance to know ourselves as more of a loving spirit than we were the day before. And this is God's will for us, that we may love others and ourselves.

I will tell you that love goes beyond the grave. Thank God it does not stop. But I will also tell you that you have an opportunity today to love and let yourself be loved.

Go for it!
Bill Kolb+

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