You never know the value, until you lose it.

Recently, I gave out my red pair of flat shoes to my kid sister. It was a lovely shoe but I didn't really like it that much and hadn't worn it for once even though i've had it for a while. I fell in love with that shoe the momment I set my eyes on it in a boutique. It just sat there on one of the shoe racks, looking so glossy and attractive. I couldn't resist purchasing it with the money that was meant for something else. Shortly after I came home with it, I realised that I no longer liked it that much. I later concluded
that the shoe looked horrible on me so I finally put it away in a hidden corner of my wardrobe.

My kid sis came visiting one day, saw the shoe and liked it, I gladly gave it to her and she later travelled back with it. Shortly after then, I started dreaming of my red pair of shoes and desperately longing for it. Each time  I put on anything red, may be a red dress or red earings, I would begin to imagine how lovely it would have looked with the matching pair of red shoes. It got so bad that I had to call my sister on the phone to inquire if she was really making use of the shoes. She just laughed and said '' Is someone missing her shoes?''

We never know the value of what we have until we lose it. Why do we sometimes learn to appreciate the people or things in our lives only after we have lost them?. There are somethings in life that we've always had with us, we are so used to them that we don't see anything special about having them. For instance, we might not appreciate the air we breathe or the fact that we can stand, walk around and talk naturally until something happens to us.
How about those special people or that special someone in our lives?

One common mistake people make is to place their jobs, careers and other businesses far above family and loved ones. Sure one needs lots of time and commitment to making money because we need it to survive and carter for our loved ones. But we also need to create time for family and loved ones because some gifts are very vital, better appreciated and cherished. These include love, companionship, phisical and emotional support.

A friend of mine used to say ''I'll do anything for my daddy, I love him so much and he's my role model''. It used to astonish me because he never received much from dad financially or in terms of education. But the man gave the little he had, he was a pillar of love and strenght and support to this boy while growing up.
There have been cases of women who left their wealthy husbands, because the men never had time for them, and rarely came home.
I also heared about a woman of God who was so commited to her ministry that she went around doing Gods work, negleting her husband and family that God gave her to nurture. Her marriage became tumultous.

One reason why people don't cherish what they have is because they might not have imagined what it would be like without them those things

Some people are also oblivious of the fact that some other people have to really struggle hard to get some of the things they take for granted 

We must understand that its not everything or every opportunity we lose that can be regained.

A prominent lady aborted a pregnancy in her teenages against doctors advice. It's almost 30 years into her marriage now and she had never conceived again. The gift of fertility that young girls take for granted!
There's a very thin line between life and death, tears and laughter, joy and pain. Those same lips that smiled in the night could be weeping in the morning, when you wake up to the realisation that that special thing or special someone is gone.
Let's learn to appreciate what God gives us, the people he brings into our lives, family, friends, etc Some oppurtunities may never present itself twice.

by Chioma