ENOUGH:
Recently,
I overheard a mother
and daughter in their
last moments together at the airport. They had announced the departure. Standing
near the security gate, they hugged, and the mother said, 'I love you, and I
pray you
enough.'
The
daughter replied, 'Mom, our life together has been more than enough. Your love
is all I ever needed. I pray you enough, too,
Mom.'
They
kissed, and the daughter left. The mother walked over to the window where I was
seated. Standing there, I could see she wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to
intrude on her privacy, but she welcomed me in by asking, 'Did you ever say
good-bye to someone knowing it would be
forever?'
Yes, I
have,' I replied. 'Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever
good-bye?'
'Well...I'm not as young as I once was,
she lives so far away & has her own busy life. I have some challenges
ahead, and the reality is - her next trip back will be for my funeral,' she
said.
'When you were saying good-bye, I heard you
say, 'I pray you enough.' May I ask what that
means?'
She began
to smile. 'That's a prayer that has been handed down from other generations. My
parents used to say it to everyone.' She paused a moment and looked up as if
trying to remember it in detail, and she smiled even more. 'When we said, 'I
pray you enough,' we wanted the other person to have a life filled with just
enough good things to sustain them.'
Then,
turning toward me, she shared the following as if she were20reciting it from
memory.
I pray you
enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may
appear.
I pray you
enough rain to appreciate the sun even
more.
I pray you
enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.
I pray you
enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear
bigger.
I pray you
enough gain to satisfy your
wanting.
I pray you
enough loss to appreciate all that you
possess.
I pray you
enough hellos to get you through the final
good-bye.
Then, she
began to cry, and walked
away.
They say,
it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to
love them, but an entire life to forget them.
* Only if you pray, send this to
the people you will never forget, and remember to send it back to the person who
sent it to you. If you don't send it to anyone, it may mean that you are in
such a hurry that you have forgotten your friends.
TAKE TIME
TO LIVE.....
To all my
friends and loved ones,
I PRAY
YOU
ENOUGH.......