Respect for Life

I often have considered the phrase, “respect for life”. I know we usually think of it in regards to abortion and assisted suicide. However, I wonder if we really ponder the phrase “respect for life”, if we wouldn’t find more. How many people do you pass on the street without even noticing or in your car that you’re yelling at because they forgot to use their turn signal or didn’t see you (and of course we never make mistakes). We so often use it in terms of death…do you have a right to an abortion or assisted suicide, etc. When in reality, respect for life begins with the living; each and everyday that you live.

We teach respect for life by demonstrating value and consideration to others. Respect for life is stopping to think how I have so much and what I give back. It is remembering that your kids and spouses are people and that they deserve to be treated as such (even the times they act like monsters). It is treating those we don’t know with kindness and as if they matter because they do. You may even make someone’s day a little brighter just by saying hello or providing a smile or small complement. When looking at another human being, remember they are just that, human. We all have a cross to bear and even if the person in front of you is applying her makeup and not seeing the red light turn green, they are life. We have all made errors and none are perfect. We are life; we are God’s life.

Sometimes, the hardest is how we treat those we love. I mentioned our families. What about our friends. Do we take time to remember their birthday, job interview, or just a call to see how they are? I am completely guilty of getting carried away with my own life that I forget about the details of my closest friends. I have a close friend who remembers the anniversary of my mother’s death every year; it is the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me. It is a day I dread and suffer through and this person takes time to remember and tell me she knows and that she loves me. Our friends deserve us to give them the best we have as we would want their best in return. Do we take our friends for granted? If they died tomorrow, what would their last thought of us be?