The Sin of Omission

Within the past Sunday's Sermon, I used a poem by Margaret Sangster that many asked about. Here is that poem. It is also found within William Bennett's masterful collection titled "The Book of Virtues"

The Sin of Omission
Margaret Sangster

It isn’t the thing you do, dear,
It’s the thing you leave undone
That gives you a bit of heartache
At the setting of the sun.
The tender word forgotten,
The letter you did not write,
The flowers you did not send, dear,
And your haunting ghosts at night.
The stone you might have lifted
Out of a brother’s way;
The bit of heartsome counsel
You were hurried too much to say;
The loving touch of the hand, dear,
The gentle, winning tone
Which you had no time nor thought for
With troubles enough of your own.”

Okay Dave, Just for You!!

So I've been reminded that it has been a while, January 28th to be exact, since I posted a blog. SORRY!!! So I'll make an attempt to share some words of wisdom!

How about these words ... Never, never, never give up! Those are easy words ... those are profound words ... those are perfect words ... IF ... we actually abide by them. Last night was a good example of those words. There were 7.1 seconds on the clock. My beloved Lady Volunteers were down 46-45. Candace Parker - the perenial All American was not on the top of her game following a twice seperated shoulder in a previous outing. Alexis Hornbuckle hadn't even scored 1 point all night. Only 45 points for a team that is used to dominating the game seemed quite shallow. And, with only 7.1 seconds left and the Lady's on the lower standard of the score, it seemed as though LSU was finally going to a National Championship game.

The inbound pass went to Candace. With her long frame she easily took the ball down the floor in just 4 or 5 steps. She dished off to Nicki Anosike, who herself was having a rough night. The "easy" lay-up was not even close. But, Alexis grabbed the rebound and dropped in a bucket ... literally within the last second. As the ball went through the net and the clock stopped at .7 seconds, the Lady Vols were up 47-46 and all LSU could do was hope for a miracle ... one which never came.

7.1 seconds for most people is nothing. The first paragraph took me longer than 7.1 seconds to write. 7.1 seconds ... easy to give up that much time ... however, time is our most precious commodity. It is the one thing that doesn't change with inflation ... it is the same every day ... 24-hours ... 1,440 minutes ...86,400 seconds every day. In the grand scheme of things ... 7.1 seconds just doesn't seem to amount to much.

Just remember though ... it just could be the difference between going home and playing one more championship game. Don't ever underestimate the value of a few seconds. It could be the most important seconds of the game!