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As author Linda
Ellis (www.lindaslyrics.com)
related in a moving poem, our lives are like a
"dash." She didn't mean a 100-yard dash, as in a
race. She meant…but let her tell it in her own
words: |
"I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning to the end.
"He noted that first came her date of birth
And spoke the following date with tears,
But said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years; 1900-1970.
"For that dash represents all the time
That she spent on earth…
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little dash is worth.
"For it matters not how much we own;
The cars, the house, the cash…
What matters is how we live and love,
And how we spend our dash.
"So think about this long and hard…
Are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
That can still be rearranged.
"If we could just slow down enough
To consider what is true and real,
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.
"And be less quick to anger,
And show appreciation more,
And love the people in our lives
Like we've never loved before.
"If we treat each other with respect,
And more often wear a smile…
Remembering that this special dash
Might last only a little while…
"So, when your eulogy's being read…
When your life's deeds are then rehashed,
Will you be proud of all the things they say,
About how you spent your dash?"
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To those seventy and
above, the "dash" is indeed a short one. "Here
today and gone tomorrow" is more than a familiar
old phrase. God's word speaks of man as a
quickly passing phenomenon; like smoke wafting
in a breeze; like the flowering grasses of the
field. As David said, "As for man, his days are
as grass: as a flower of the field, so he
flourisheth. |
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