The Dash In Between

     I'm reading a book called "Reflections of a Grieving Spouse" by Norman Wright.  It's been very helpful, although, I've already heard a lot of what he has to say.  But today he said something that I know I've heard before, but it just hit me different.

    He was saying that on a grave stone, there's often the person's birth date and then the date of their death. He said really neither of them are important, what's important is the dash in between.  For the little insignificant dash is how they lived their life, and what had true meaning, it's what their life was all about.  

    His question for journaling at the end of that chapter was "How did your spouse impact others lives? and also "What scripture did your spouse reflect in his life?"

   I'd have to say that the answer to both of them is tied together.  Todd did influence a lot of people, mostly by just loving them.  "The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost." Rom. 5:5.  He never was a great orator, but taught the Word of God well, but he lived it even more.  Todd was always a little bit uncomfortable in front of people, but he loved being one on one with people though, and that's where he shined!  Especially if it was someone he had never met before, he'd zero in on them, and start finding out all about them, and would start to share about Jesus to them. That was Todd.

    He always had a scripture card in his pocket, and was memorizing and meditating on the Word of God.  I have a whole box of them, each one worn, so I know it was used well.  The last 6 years or so, he reverted to using the back of cereal boxes instead of index cards, cause he felt they were a little more sturdy.  

   This past weekend Philip was home, and he pulled out of his pocket, a piece of a cereal box, with a scripture written on the back.  He said he wanted to carry on Todd's torch of hiding God's Word in his heart.  Made me smile ever so much.  

     What does your dash look like? What does my dash look like?  You and I don't have that end date yet, but we're working on the dash in between part.  Let's make that dash have great value and eternal purpose.

     I remember years ago, a man came to visit us while we lived in Steele.  The man had done many things in his life, and was pretty much a work-a-holic.  But when we visited with him, he had just suffered a major heart attack, and it was a miracle that he was alive.  I remember him telling Todd, pay attention to the things that are really important in life.  Your wife, your kids when you have them (this was several years before we had kids), for those things are what really matter.  The job will be gone someday, but they'll still be here, make sure you don't neglect the important things for the urgent.  He then went on to tell us how he had wasted so many years, and how he wished he could have them back.    

     You don't get those days back unfortunately, and we only get to live this life once, so live it well. Make your dash in between be a good one.