That Incredible - Dash

Sometime back a good friend sent one of those emails that gets passed around. The theme of the email was "The Dash". I read it, thought about it, enjoyed it, then filed it away.

This past weekend when we attended the memorial service for Debbie's Uncle WJ and saw the little pamplet that the funeral home prepares, I thought about it again in a more personal way. There it was right on the front page of that little pamplet. There was a picture of WJ, his name, WJ Bates (I asked Debbie -- she doesn't know what the WJ stands for. She thinks his name was just the initials!) and then the years of his life: 1927 - 2008. It's interesting that we put the focus on the year of birth and the year of death, with just a simple little "-" in the middle.

That little "-" represents everything about that person's life on earth. It tells about the childhood, the preparation for adult life, the education, the military service, the work, the good days, the tough days, the results of all those days, and so much more. All wrapped up in a little "-". I wonder if that might be why my Mother are always talked about "dashing around" someplace. You know, someone's "gotta make a dash for the store"!

We don't usually like the rough days, the bad experiences, the poor choices, the things that disappoint so much. But the fact is, those days are a part of life -- all a part of your "dash".

Speaking personally, I've had the opportunity to "go through the fire" of God's cleansing and healing and deliverance. I wouldn't trade the outcome for anything, but I sure don't ever want to go through it again, and also don't want to go through the things that led up to it. But the outcome has been wonderful, which means that those days were all a valued part of my "dash".

On the first day that I met Debbie in person in 1989 she commented to me that she thanked God for all she had been through, because if it hadn't been for that, she wouldn't be where she was at that time. I was sort of thankful for that myself.

Enjoy your "Dash". And if you have some hurts or disappointment, forgive (including forgiving yourself), grow, let God work His grace, and move on to the next part of the "dash".

Gotta go. Gabriel wants me to "dash" around the block with him for a little while.