I am sure we didn't consider that this would be such a final record at the time the photo was taken, and I had no clue about the life struggles that awaited us. Through it all, the picture reminds me of the importance of letting your love for your family be known while it can be heard and appreciated.
My mother frequently told me with her voice that she loved me. Her voice resonates in my heart and her embrace warms me to my soul, though they have been physically silenced and removed in death. My father frequently and easily verbally told me that he loved me, hugged and kissed me in public, even in uniform and never shied from expressing his feelings towards me. That too is a tremendous comfort as dementia has stolen his ability to easily express himself, and I must strain to see glimpses of a stream where a river once mightily flowed.
Why express these sentiments this evening? Because today, you need to tell your family and friends that you love them. You must build memories because life can rob opportunities that only memories can restore. I know my father loved me because for 46 years, he told me so. Now that his mind is betraying him, I trust the heart he so readily shared when he was in command of his own faculties. My mom's voice is totally stilled. Her love beats in my heart and the hearts of the grandchildren and daughter-in-law she loved so well and so openly.
So open your mouth! Open your arms! Open your heart! Don't wait until tomorrow to say "I love you!" Say it now! You're building up a savings for the future that those who follow you will need to be able to collect!
I love you all my friends. You need not doubt it, because you've read that I said it!
Blessings on you! Now get to loving!
Your friend and Brother,
Sam Jackson
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