Before the Friday morning men’s Bible sharing meeting, I asked my friend, Tim Gustafson, who was to be the moderator, how his wife, Debbie, and his daughters, Sarah and Meg, were doing? Tim and Debbie are close friends of me and Jeanne. I’ve seen their daughters grow up. I remember them sitting on Tim and Debbie’s laps in church and admired the loving care they always received.
Sarah is married to Chase Matthews and lives in Ascension Parish. She is a registered nurse at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital in Baton Rouge, and Chase works at Marathon.  
Meg is in her third year at Mississippi State and is a pre-med student with a 3.9 GPA. She wants to be a pediatrician and with the drive she’s always had, will accomplish her goal.
At the meeting, Tim shared that Meg celebrated her 21st birthday Wednesday, March 6. “Harold,” he said, “Meg sent her mom a bouquet of 21 tulips (her mom’s favorite flower) with a note which read: Thank you for the gift of life. These 21 years have been a blessing.”  
I thought that was such a heartwarming gesture. I shared this with as many people as I could over the weekend. I was as excited telling people about it as Tim was sharing it with me.
On Monday, I called Debbie at work to ask permission to mention it in my article. She then told me that when the secretary at her workplace saw the flowers and heard the story behind it, she asked if she could use the same words Meg used to send her mother flowers on her birthday. “What a great thought!” she said.
Debbie then told me how the idea started. She said that Meg is active in the Catholic Student Association at the college. Her sponsor is a lady named Fran, who Debbie said is like a mother away from home to Meg. Fran’s mother entertains the student group weekly and shared with Meg that, over the years, Fran has sent her flowers like Meg did.
As Debbie and I ended our conversation, she said, “Harold, isn’t that a beautiful tradition to pass on!” Fran’s mother passed to on to Meg, Debbie passed it on to the secretary, and God only knows who will pick it up next.
If you have any questions or comments, please write to Get High on Life, P.O. Drawer U, Reserve, LA 70084, call 985-652-8477, or email hkeller@comcast.net.