The Daffodil Principle

I received this from one of my bff's - a girl I met in Colorado about 25 yrs ago. Kathy and I became instant friends - we were inseparable and although she lives in NY now, she is one of those girls that will always be your best friend forever. Anyway, I wanted to share a bit of this email she sent me...
As the story goes, a daughter called her mother to take a day trip with her and witness God's majesty at it's finest. Mother was hesitant but went along, at her daughters pleading. They drove a small gravel road about 20 minutes out of town and as they turned a corner in the road, it looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it over the mountain peak and its surrounding slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, creamy white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, and saffron and butter yellow. Each different-colored variety was planted in large groups so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were five acres of flowers.
"Who did this?" I asked Carolyn. "Just one woman," Carolyn answered. "She lives on the property. That's her home." Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house, small and modestly sitting in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house.
On the patio, we saw a poster. "Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking", was the headline. The first answer was a simple one.... "50,000 bulbs," it read. The second answer was, "One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and one brain." The third answer was, "Begun in 1958."
For me, that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun, one bulb at a time, to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountaintop. Planting one bulb at a time, year after year, this unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. One day at a time, she had created something of extraordinary magnificence , beauty, and inspiration. The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration. "

After reading this, my mind immediately went to a very dear friend I spent some time today talking, laughing and praying together. Her name is Jessie McMindes and she is 78 years young. She was raised in an orphanage in Canada, went into the ministry as a young woman, met her future husband and spent over 50 years of her life as a missionary in Ecuador. Like the planter of the bulbs - one soul at a time, Jessie has touched others her entire life - sharing the Gospel and her life with everyone she meets. Her gentle spirit and sweet nature has been an inspiration to me since the day I met her. She is that person you walk away from, thanking God for putting her into your life and looking forward to your next afternoon visit.

Have you heard of the Daffodil Principle? It's all about NOT living in regret and goes like this:

Stop waiting....
Until your car or home is paid off
Until you get a new car or home
Until your kids leave the house
Until you go back to school
Until you finish school
Until you clean the house
Until you organize the garage
Until you clean off your desk
Until you lose 10 lbs.
Until you gain 10 lbs.
Until you get married
Until you get a divorce
Until you have kids
Until the kids go to school
Until you retire
Until summer
Until spring
Until winter
Until fall
Until you die...
There is no better time than right now to be happy.