My sweet little sister would have been 56 years old today. She wrote the words to the song “For Good” to me and gave me the CD before I ever heard it. It’s actually the song I would sing to her:
It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime
So let me say before we part
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you
You’ll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have re-written mine
The things I learned from my little sister will be with me always until I see her again. Here are a few of them so you can know her too:
- Love Extravagantly. Love always, regardless, over-the-top, accompanied with as many actions as possible. Love until you run out of resources loving. Give your time, your money, and as many of your talents to others as you can. Go out of your way intentionally to show others how much you love them. Be inconvenienced and don’t act like it.
- Leave nothing good unsaid. Because my sister lived this out, I have SO MANY words, texts, emails, letters, and notes about how much she loved me and what she felt about me. If it was good she said it out loud; if it wasn’t I never heard it.
- See the best in others. Because my sister only saw the good in me, it made me want to live even bigger than I was. She looked up to me so much I wanted to live up to how she saw me. It has inspired me to do the same with my friends and family. Being close isn’t an invitation to see the worst in others or make suggestions for how they can improve themselves.
- Push through. When you make a mistake, when things go south, when you don’t understand, just keep going. Even through hardships, my sister could laugh and try to see the brighter side of any situation. My sister never gave up.
- Pour into others. Because my sister poured so much of her heart and soul into others, she has left a legacy. A legacy in those that loved her and knew her and learned from her best attributes. A legacy in her three girls that keep her heart and soul alive on the earth and in our family. A legacy in those that her life touched while she poured into others everywhere she went: at work, at parades, and even just in passing.
Diane’s handprint will always be on my heart.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CImGTTuEMEI)
I’m limited
Just look at me – I’m limited
And just look at you
You can do all I couldn’t do, Glinda
So now it’s up to you
For both of us – now it’s up to you…
I’ve heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return
Well, I don’t know if I believe that’s true
But I know I’m who I am today
Because I knew you…
Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood
Who can say if I’ve been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
I have been changed for good
It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime
So let me say before we part
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you
You’ll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have re-written mine
By being my friend…
Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea
Like a seed dropped by a skybird
In a distant wood
Who can say if I’ve been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
Because I knew you
I have been changed for good
And just to clear the air
I ask forgiveness
For the things I’ve done you blame me for
But then, I guess we know
There’s blame to share
And none of it seems to matter anymore
Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood
Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea
Like a seed dropped by a bird in the wood
Who can say if I’ve been
Changed for the better?
I do believe I have been
Changed for the better
And because I knew you…
Because I knew you…
Because I knew you…
I have been changed for good…
(Songwriters: Stephen Schwartz
For Good lyrics © Greydog Music, Grey Dog Music, GREY DOG MUSIC (WICKED ONLY) HEELSTONE PARC PRODUCTIONS)
