"Give
to others, and it will be given to you"
Lovely Rose at
87
The first day of school our professor introduced himself
and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood
up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around
to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that
lit up her entire being. She said, "Hi handsome. My name is Rose.
I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?" laughed and enthusiastically
responded, "Of course you may!" and she gave me a giant squeeze.
"Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?" I asked.
She jokingly replied,
"I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple
of kids..." "No seriously," I asked. I was curious what
may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age. "I
always dreamed of having a college education and now I'mgetting one!"
she told me.
After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate
milkshake.
We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months we would
leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening
to this "time machine" as she shared her wisdom and experience
with me.
Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily
made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she reveled
in
the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living
it up.
At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet.
I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up
to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped
her three by five cards on the floor.
Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and
simply said, "I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and
this whiskey is killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so
let me just tell you what I know."
As we laughed she
cleared her throat and began, "We do not stop playing because we
are old; we grow old because we stop playing.
There are only four
secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success.
You have to laugh
and find humor every day.
You've got to have
a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die. We have so many people walking
around who are dead and don't even know it!
There is a huge difference
between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and
lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will
turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed
for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight.
Anybody can grow older.
That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always
finding opportunity in change. Have no regrets. The elderly usually don't
have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The
only people who fear death are those with regrets."
She concluded her speech by courageously singing "The Rose."
She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our
daily lives.
At the year's end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those
years ago.
One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two
thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful
woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can
possibly be.
These words have been passed along in loving memory of ROSE.
REMEMBER, GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL.
We make a Living by what we get, We make a Life by what we give.
God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.
If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.
Pass this message to 7 people except you and me. You will
receive a miracle tomorrow.
If you choose not, then you refuse to bless someone else. Good friends
are like stars.........You don't always see them, but you know they are
always there."
The following are
some inspiring stories. I collect them to share the love:
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