THE JOURNEY
- Terry Shishmanian
- Mar 10, 2018
- 4 min read
The other day I went to lunch with my 84-year old father. As we talked, I addressed a few issues that were starting to confront us, as he was getting older. His eyesight was getting worse, and his hearing aids were not quite up to snuff. There were decisions that needed to be made for the future. I wanted to talk about them now, so we could be better prepared for what was coming. It’s pretty much an uncomfortable conversation that no one ever wants to have with a parent. We suggested he move closer to us (my sister and I), so we could help him if he needed it.
“Lean on us a bit more, Dad. That’s what we’re here for.”
The next day my sister came over to my house with her two grandkids, one of whom is an adorable, into everything, 2-year old girl. She threw her little ball into my big bush and we went to search for it. We combed through my rhododendron, found the ball and then walked up the cement stairs that led back to the porch.
“Hold my hand, Audry. I don’t want you to fall.”
Later, I thought about the two events and came to a realization. The distance between the 2-year old that needs a hand and the 84-year old that needs a hand, wasn’t really all that far. And the years go by very quickly.
There was a poem written about 10 years ago about the little line between the date of your birth and the date of your death that they stick on your tombstone, entitled The Dash. The line represents the life you’ve led here on earth between the day you began and the day you end.
So…what does that line mean to you?
Did you make a Bucket List? Have you searched for meaning and significance from one end of the globe to the other? Did you have a child or two and think that no one, especially your own parents, ever loved a child more, and you, for sure, would put to right all the wrongs that their childrearing had heaped upon you?
Did you just give up? Go the easy route—like water, always going the path of least resistance. Did you give in to drugs, alcohol and cheap relationships and just not care anymore?
Did you fight everyone tooth and nail for everything you got? Or, did you throw your hands up and crawl into the TV and binge on rocky road ice cream.
Did you succeed at everything you do? Can your family appear on the cover of Parenting Magazine? If your church decided to hand out a Saint of the Year award—would it go to you?
Well, there’s good news and bad news about that dash. Despite all the applause for a life well spent, or, the mewing and sobbing over one that is not…the endless list of all the things you did or did not do, are not as important as you think.
At the end of your life, you WILL stand before the God who made you and He will not ask you to name your triumphs or your sins. He WILL NOT ask you how you spent your ‘dash.’ He already knows.
What will He ask? Well, of course I don’t know the exact words, but it will be something like this:
Have you accepted Christ as your Savior?
Is your name is the Lamb’s Book of Life?
Christ paid for your sins—did you accept His gift of salvation?
Are your sins covered by the Blood that Jesus shed on the cross?
Answer ‘yes’ to these questions and you will hear the Lord say: Enter into the joy of the Lord (Matthew 25:21).
Answer ‘no’ to these questions and you will hear the Lord say: I never knew you: depart from me…(Matthew 7:23).
The significance of our lives is not found in what we do, or don’t do. It’s ALL about WHO we know. The time God gives us on the earth is so we can get to know Him, have a relationship with Him by faith, and in so doing bring glory to His name.
The things we do are important to us and the quality of our lives. They are important to our families, the community and maybe even to history. We worry about our legacy and the mark we will make in this world. A pithy poem might inspire us to do better, and there is nothing wrong with that. We impress each other with our accomplishments and are always striving for bigger and better things. It’s part of the shared, human experience.
But oh--what tragedy! What heartache! To have lived only for the few moments we existed on the planet—and not to have thought about the eternity that is to come!
The journey is not that long. It goes by very quickly. If you really want that dash to have meaning—get to know the Lord as your personal Savior.
Prayer of salvation: Jesus, I know I am a sinner. Please come into my heart and save me. Thank you for dying on the cross and shedding your blood. Thank you for forgiving me for my sins. Thank you for taking me to heaven when I die. Take my hand, Lord, and lead me. Amen.
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