Fast forward again. On March 15, 2010, I receive word of another shocking loss.
Taking the braids out of my younger daughter, Skye’s, hair should be a normal experience, right? It wasn’t this time. These braids were special. They were put in by a 16 year old Sierra Lionian girl named Mattu. “Why is this a big deal?” you might ask. Let me explain.
Several months before, I had met Mattu at a local restaurant through a mutual friend. She noticed that my girls’ hair needed braiding and kindly offered her services. We accepted. This opened the door to a friendship that grew quickly into shared meals and enjoyable times together with Mattu and her brothers and sisters.
Mattu became dear to us. We were very sad when she told us she would be moving to Florida with her family. On her last evening in our neighborhood, she came over for dinner and braided Skye’s hair one last time. We bid the family goodbye comforted with the promise of her return to Philadelphia for a visit in the summer. That was Saturday, March 13th.
Then Monday I received a phone call, “Mattu is gone! She was hit by a car and killed instantly.” I felt total disbelief. My whole body went numb. “What? Are you sure? This can’t be true!” The reply was simple and somber, “Yes, it’s true.”
Last week I attended a memorial service given by friends of Mattu’s in the Philadelphia area. I was struck deeply by the words of the many who shared their memories with the group. Mattu had touched each of them with her joyfully vibrant spirit. She is remembered as a happy young woman who loved friends and food and shared everything she had with her mother and her siblings.
Just yesterday I unraveled the braids that Mattu wove in my daughter Skye’s hair. As I did I was smiling through tears remembering Mattu, still touched by her generosity.
As I move through my days these past few months I often feel surges of grief quieted by waves of joy. I am poignantly aware of the fragility and mystery of life. A beloved father joined his wife in heaven after 86 full years; a beautiful young woman was called home by God at age 16. Both are remembered for the greatest legacy anyone can leave. That legacy boils down to L-O-V-E.
What do you want to be remembered for? Don’t rush over this question. Contemplate it. Meditate on it. Open your heart. Why not be make a conscious decision about the way you will choose to live each day?
Life does not come down to who has the biggest house or the most expensive jewelry. It has little to do with the highest title or the fattest bank account. Rather, it comes down to simple acts of love. Each loving gesture is a deposit we make in the hearts of those we meet. A smile, a kind word, a prayer said on someone’s behalf, a meal prepared with care, time spent listening, laughing and sharing in meaningful conversation—any act of compassion or understanding makes a lasting impression.
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I pray that these words have you thinking deeply about your purpose in life...Focus yourself. Enjoy each moment. Be YOUR best :)
Sending you love this week,
Patricia Omoqui, The Thought Dr.
http://www.patriciaomqoui.com/
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