Before Tammy Faye Bakker starred on The Surreal Life, she was the famous mascara-wearing wife of televangelist James Bakker. The Eyes of Tammy Faye tells her story, and I watched it last night. It was pretty interesting to see a little of in-working within the fundamentalist media community, with the likes of Pat Robertson and the late Jerry Farwell, and it was also a funny tale of a woman always loved everyone and who continues to seek to get her message of love out to others (even if the film was made in 1999). I recommend you check it out from your local library (like I did) or see if you can rent it somewhere.
As the movie concluded, Tammy gave a great quote for all of us to hear: “… I wanna go back to… my kids and my grandkids because, when you get down to it, that’s really all there is. That’s what counts in life, and I’ve learned that. It’s not what you have in stuff. It’s people that count.”
And she’s so totally right. If we all lived by that mantra, how different would this world be? I think we all want to be sure we have food on our table and a roof over our heads, but after that, it’s really the relationships that make life worth living. I think that’s why I try to stay connected to those truly important to me even when we’re far apart. And even when you’re geographically close to people, it can be difficult to stay connected unless you make people a priority over all the other distractions life throws @ you.
Who do you love? Tell them you love them. If not today, then as soon as you can. In the words of one of my new favorite songs, “Snails,” by The Format:
“life is not a play
It’s what we make of the people we love”
And as Tammy said, “It’s people that count.”
Posted by eric bjorlin 