Don't Leave for Tomorrow What You Can Do Today

I am feeling sad. I just found out yesterday that a dear friend, who has already endured a year of Job like trials recently lost her husband. He was killed in a car accident.

As I've been pondering this tragedy I was reminded of Elder Claudio R.M. Costa's talk in October 2007 General Conference entitled : Don't Leave for Tomorrow What You Can Do Today

Elder Costa quotes a text posted on an airline communication board by the husband of a flight attendant who was killed in a devastating aircraft accident in July 2007 in Brazil.

The text epresses the urgency of not leaving for tomorrow what we can do today. It is based upon a poem by Norma Cornett Marek.

"Tomorrow Never Comes"

If I knew this would be the last time I would watch you sleep,I would hug you tighter.
I would plead with the Lord to protect you.
If I knew this would be the last time I saw you walk out the door,I would hug and kiss you and call you back to hug and kiss you one more time.
If I knew this would be the last time I would hear your voice in prayer,I would record every gesture, every look, every smile, every one of your words,So that I could listen to it later, day after day.
If I knew this would be the last time, I would spend an extra minute or two to tell you, "I love you," instead of assuming you already knew it.
If I knew this would be our last time, our last moment, I would be by your side, spending the day with you instead of thinking,
"Well, I'm sure other opportunities will come, so I can let this day go by."
Of course there will be a day to revise things,
And we would have a second chance to do things right.
Oh, of course there will be another day for us to say, "I love you."
And certainly there will be another chance to tell each other, "Can I help with anything?"
But in my case, there isn't one!
I don't have you here with me, and today is the last day we have—our farewell.
Therefore I would like to say how much I love you,
And I hope you never forget it.
Tomorrow is not promised to anyone, young or old.
Today might be your last chance to hold tight to the hand of the one you love and show all you feel.
If you are waiting for tomorrow, why not do it today?
Because if tomorrow never comes, you certainly will regret for the rest of your life
Not having spent some extra time for a smile, a conversation, a hug, a kiss,
Because you were too busy to give that person what ended up being their last wish.
Then hug tight today the one you love, your friends, your family, and whisper in their ears how much you love them and want them close to you.
Use your time to say,
"I'm sorry,"
"Please,"
"Forgive me,"
"Thank you,
"Or even,
"That was nothing,"
"It's all right,"
Because if tomorrow never comes, you will not have to regret today.
The past doesn't come back, and the future might not come!

My friend's experience has reminded me how precious and uncertain our time together in this life is. We need to make sure we use the time we have to show our love for each other and to do God's work. We should live so as not to have regrets.