It’s the dash that counts

Here lies James Edward Smith

1932 – 1998

It’s hardly noticeable when you walk by the grave.  It just separates the year of his birth from the year of his death.  But that dash is important to James Smith and his family.  It represents the time that he spent living his life; What he did between the day of his birth and the year of his death.  It may seem small, but what does it really represent?  It tells us what we have done with the time allotted to us by God.  We were born, and then we died.  And what did we do in the dash?  What will that little mark mean for each of us?  The years of our lifetime will also be as small as the dash is on James Smith’s headstone; just a puff of smoke on the distant horizon as life’s train passes swiftly by.

Every person makes a choice about how important their “dash” is.  How does it all start?  With just a simple and honest prayer asking God to use us for His honor and glory.  Then we walk through open doors when God’s time is right.

None of us can influence when we will be born, and we cannot predict with certainty when we will die.  But, we sure have a lot to say about how we are going to live.  Make that dash count for something important in your life!

(Copied)