Standing Room Only

If you listen to country music or perhaps, you’re a fan of Tim McGraw, you've likely heard his newly released song. Nobody asked but herein lies what I am sure will be an unpopular opinion… I love what the song ultimately means but I HATE the tagline “ Live a life, so when I die, there’s standing room only”.

The thing is, when my time comes, I could care less about how many people are standing shoulder to shoulder at my service. What matters emphatically more is the quality of the relationships that I forged in my lifetime so even if the title changes to "Most Chairs Empty", I’m good. I personally want to be a great friend to a few instead an ok friend to many. Yes, of course I want to be someone worth remembering but I want the genuine, stuck by my side in all the garbage type of people celebrating my life. (This should also be true of weddings so save yourself the money 😬). Forget about the number of Facebook friends and serve me up some real, authentic relationship action. The thing is, death always does this. It makes us pause to reflect and grieve but most pivot back to their daily grind while the closest of the departed get swallowed by a time capsule of memories and what could have beens. When life gets rough or uncomfortable, what matters is who actively shows up, especially in the darkest of moments.

I stand in judgement of no one so please hear me out. Don’t get so busy or distracted with stuff that the friendships you’ve built and people you love become an afterthought. Be intentional. Like anything else, relationships of every kind take constant effort. Sure, friendships can and do change but we’re human and we need each other. Our Creator built us out of love, for love. I beg of you, check in on someone you haven’t spoken to in a while but keep thinking about. File away the I was just thinking about yous and act. I try really hard to implement that in the relationships of my own life and often fall short but it’s always something we should be striving for. Stay connected. Check in. Go live a life worth remembering, just don’t let it be at the expense of the ones we love.

In loving memory of my rockstar friends taken way too soon ~

Ericka Mahler Carmelita Carder

1976-2021 1979-2023