Today I want to talk about LIFE and how fleeting it is here on Earth. We really have no guarantee of how long we will be here or what unknown circumstances might occur in our lives, or what unexpected challenges we might face. For example, at 2 AM on Thursday morning the residents of the 12-Story Champlain Towers in Miami were certainly not expecting their building to collapse, leaving horrible death and destruction in its wake.

But even when events like this occur, we can marvel at the instances of courage on the part of those effected and on the determination of rescue workers to come forward in heroic fashion, and to witness first-hand how loved ones really care for each other. One of the most vivid scenes to me was the firefighter emerging from the rubble with a young boy on his shoulders.

It was obvious that this young boy had been burned and was hurting, but his first plea to the firefighter as they emerged from the rubble was, "Sir, please find my Mommie and Daddy. They are still in there." It's times like this that should remind us of how important it is to let those we love know it, and to turn criticism into praise. In one of my Dale Carnegie Classes in Elizabeth City a few years ago, a father cried as he recalled an incident in which he had humiliated his 7-year-old son.

He said he came home from work one day to find his son's bicycle lying in the driveway. He said this infuriated him, and he got out of his car and screamed at his son, who was playing with some of his little friends in the backyard, "Boy, are you crazy? You know better than to leave your bike out here in the driveway. Get over here right now, put that bike in the garage, and get into the house immediately." He said that in one minute he had humiliated and embarrassed his son in a hurtful way in front of his friends.

He then said, "So many times over the years I have relived that occasion, and wished that I had handled it differently. I could have just gotten out of my car, rolled the bicycle into the garage, said hello to my son and his friends, and gone into the house. Later, when my son and I were alone in our home, I could have quietly explained to him that he should be more careful where he leaves his bicycle, since someone might accidentally run over it in the driveway." Then, with great emotion, he said, "With that one outburst I greatly hurt my relationship with my son, and all over a BICYCLE!" It's All about LIFE, folks, and how we live it one day at a time. Words spoken with little thought or concern for the one to whom they are spoken, can indeed hurt. Those hurtful words can cause lives to be saddened, hopes to be dashed, and dreams to be shattered. So let's say a kind word to someone today. They will benefit greatly from it, and SO WILL WE!

Now to close with humor: A businessman was in a lot of trouble. His business was failing, and he owed everybody. He was even contemplating suicide. He went to a Priest and poured out his story of tears and grief. The priest said, "Here's what I want you to do. Put a beach chair and a Bible in your car and drive down to the beach. Take the beach chair and the Bible to the water's edge, sit down on the beach chair, and put the Bible in your lap. Open the Bible.

The wind will rifle the pages, but finally the open Bible will come to rest on a page. Look down at that page and read the first thing you see. That will be your answer. That will tell you what to do."

A year later the businessman went back to the priest and brought his wife and children with him. He was in a new custom-tailored suit, his wife in a mink coat, and the children were smiling. He pulled an envelop stuffed with money out of his pocket and gave it to the priest as a donation of thanks for his advice.

The priest recognized the benefactor, and was curious. "You did as I suggested?" he asked. "Absolutely," replied the businessman. "You went the beach?" "Absolutely." "You sat in a beach chair with the Bible in your lap?" "Absolutely." "You let the pages rifle until they stopped?" ""Absolutely." "And what were the first words you saw?"

"Chapter 11"

Have a WONDROUS day!