Brendan & Lori O'Gara

Life is good if you have love.

An older man was standing on a corner of the street holding a sign that read “Life is good” A rich man pulled up in a fancy sports car and tossed the older man a dollar. The older man said, “I don’t want your money. I just want you to read my sign.” The other man said, “What is so good about your life? I have a fine house, several cars and take vacations twice a year.” The older man smiled, “Ah and I am richer than you.”

The rich man scoffed, “Right, prove it. You look homeless to me.”

The older man pointed to the modest very small house behind him. The front yard was clean and the grass was cut. There was a pretty woman singing as she swept the porch.

The older man said to the rich man, “See that home and the woman there singing? She is my wife and that is my house. I was once had a mansion on the hill right down the street from where you live. One night I was working late as was my normal thing to do, when the phone rang. It was the hospital. See, my wife had been in an accident. She almost died. On that day, I did not care about my job, my cars, my big home or my money. All I wanted was my wife not to die. I decided right then to sell my home and cars. I quit my job and took care of my wife. She made a full recovery. None of the things I had mattered more to me than my life with her. I promised God if he saved her I would share the message that life is good if you have love, so I stand here every day for an hour or two in hopes that someone will ask me the very question you did. What is good about life? Love is the one good thing of life. That house is nothing if you are the only one in it. That car is nothing if you have no one to ride with you or no one to go see. Build a life that is full with love and you won’t need a vacation.”

Love is always the answer.