"Have you loved? Have you cared?"

Immaculée Ilibagiza. Her Life was transformed dramatically during the 1994 Rwandan genocide where she and seven other women spent 91 days huddled silently together in the cramped bathroom of a local pastor's house. She entered the bathroom a vibrant, 115-pound university student with a loving family - she emerged weighing just 65 pounds to find most of her family had been brutally murdered.

Immaculee credits her salvage mostly to prayer and to a set of rosary beads given to her by her devout Catholic father prior to going into hiding. Anger and resentment about her situation were literally eating her alive and destroying her faith, but rather than succumbing to the rage that she felt, Immaculee instead turned to prayer.

She has written several books, but I would like to read "Left to Tell; Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust".

This is a quote I read from her this morning that I thought was a good way to start the day:

Remember…it doesn’t matter how healthy we are today, or this second, how many plans we have for tomorrow; all we are have for sure is, “the present moment…now!” 

It is up to us to choose to use this moment for good or for evil; to be happy or to be worried; to love or to hate; to forgive or to hold a grudge; to be grateful or to complain; to give a hand or to be indifferent etc… 

Sometimes in life, we have an idea about what the best version of us is.  We think about things we would like to fix, if we knew our lives would come to an end soon. We try to correct bad habits we want to let go of, and embrace good ones.  We think about a friend that we should forgive or apologize to; a debt to pay, or love and gratitude to express to the one who have done good to you. 

Don’t wait for tomorrow, decide to make it better today!  Decide to smile more, to be kinder, to be more loving and compassionate in our actions, words, and thoughts, there lies the secret to peace!  Be happy and know that God loves you.  One thing I know for sure; we will be asked at the end of this journey of life "Have you loved? Have you cared?" Think of what you would answer and make a decision right now to do it!

Blessings,

Immaculee