Never Take Loved Ones Or Hugs For Granted

A news story talked of individuals found to be sick with Coronavirus and how they have to be immediately quarantined away from their families. When they have to be hospitalized they do so without their families by their side. And those die do so without having gotten a chance to hug their loved ones goodbye. By the time someone is diagnosed it is too late to give hugs…  thinking about that really hit me hard…

I laid bags of groceries on my parents doorstep Saturday as my Mother stood watching from behind her glass front door.  We blew each other an air kiss and I got back into my car and watched as she came out the door and picked the bags of food up and carried them inside her home.  She turned and waved to me as I pulled out of her driveway and I immediately broke down and began to sob…I wanted so badly to be able to give her a hug…I wanted so badly to give my father a hug too…but I couldn’t…because both of my parents are high-risk if they contract the virus…my heart truly ached…

As I drove home I thought about my own children and how I would feel if I were to contract the virus and be unable to hug my children or grandchildren or my husband goodbye. Just the thought of it felt too painful to bear. And yet that is the reality we are all living in right now – a reality that should scream why we should should never take for granted again the ability to give our loved ones a hug; how we should never part from them without hugging and expressing our love for them in such a way that if it were to become the last time we’d ever get to hug them we would have no regrets for the way we parted.

Today my family participated in a worldwide day of fasting and prayer where we united with people of many faiths all around the world to plea for God’s help for everyone during this pandemic we face.  I believe in the power of personal prayer and I have a testimony of its impact on our lives. But I have to tell you, there is something incredibly special that happens when people everywhere set aside their differences and unite together in prayer for a common purpose as so many around the world did today. As Gordon B. Hinckley once said:

“There is no power upon the earth like the power of prayer.” 

Keep praying everyone…express your love to those you aren’t able to hug…and hug the ones you are able to every chance you get!

My Mother waving to me as I drove away Saturday

~Amy Rees Anderson (author of the book “What Awesome Looks Like: How To Excel in Business & Life” )

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