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I’ve been overcome with emotion over the passing of my very dear friend Kristen Fersovitch. I found out on Friday afternoon at 12:36pm, and have been trance-like ever since. What was the last thing I said to her? Did I kiss her? Did I tell her how much I loved her? Did I tell her how much she inspired me?

I can sleep easy because I did. I said all of those things. I made a point of doing that ever since she told me her “1-2 years left to live” diagnosis way back in 2011.

As I was walking out of her bedroom last week I stopped in the doorway, turned around, looked at her beautiful face and said, “You know I love you, right? Do you realize how much you inspire me?” She winked and said, “Do you know how much I love YOU?” I walked back to her, kissed her on the head and said, “See you next Thursday.”

Today is Monday. Her funeral is Thursday. In a way I really am going to see her, it just isn’t in the way I thought.

Isn’t that just like life? It comes and goes faster than we have time to process, and before you know it, we’re looking back in hindsight thinking: Did I? Should I have? If only. I wonder. What if I could have?

Facebook has been a beautiful thing these past few days. My newsfeed has been flooded with poetic status’ about her. Profile pictures have been changed, old video’s of her singing have reappeared and I have soaked it all in. I read, listen and look at everything with a smile on my face knowing that I told her I loved her.

But it’s got me thinking… there are a lot of people in my life that I love, that inspire me, and who make me a better person. I mistakenly think I have a lifetime to tell them. How foolish of a thing for me to believe.

Does Ruth know how beautiful of a life story I think she has?
Does Shelby know how strong of a fighter I think she is?
Does Genelle know I admire her parental wisdom immensely?
Does Chris know how much I need him?
Does Amber know how courageous of a woman I think she is?
Does Pastor Bob know how much I respect him?
Does Chey know I consider her a miracle in my life?
Does Connie know how much I want to be like her?

And good heaven’s, do my parents know that I recognize how hard I must have been to raise? Lol…

I’ve come to realize that I spend way too much time thinking about what I don’t have, what area’s of my life I’m failing in, and what ugliness there is in the world, that I forget to acknowledge the good that IS around me; the beauty in the people that God has blessed my life with. And because it’s far more easy to update a status, send an email or tweet, I mistakenly think it’s the same as word of mouth, face-to-face, talking on the phone, or hugging.

But what if we looked at every person in our lives as having “1-2 years left to live?” How differently might we approach these relationships?

So what’s the take away you may ask? Well… how do I say this gently?… I’d like for you to stop reading this post and find three people in your life (or ten, or 15,000) that mean a lot to you, and who have made a difference in your life, and GO TELL THEM… like, NOW!

Who cares what I have to say. What do YOU have to say? Now go spread some love.

Kristen Fersovitch

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Making Space

Carving Out Time For God In The Midst Of Your Busy Life

With a million things to do and not enough hours in the day to get it done, it's easy to zone out and slip into autopilot in order to survive. But perhaps life is not about adding more things to your already lengthy list, but rather, about pausing in the midst of it all to consider if what you're doing is really important.