A Dash of Life! – Emily's Snippets

It was a cool fall day. Mother stood at the stove in her blue kitchen stirring the contents in the kettle. Her long hair, caught up in a bun, glistened around her temples in her effort, “Mmmm,” she said, “I think I will add a dash of salt.”

I smiled as I watched her. She seldom used the measuring cups hidden in the blue cupboard beside her. She believed in pinches and dashes of spices or sugar. Her written recipes were laced with handfuls, dashes, and pinches of ingredients.

Recently I again saw the phrase that emphasizes the dash as the brief moment of lifes between our birth and our death. A dash? How long is a dash? Job 7:7a describes life – Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath. Job lived to be 140 years old, and he is described as ‘full of years’. We consider reaching the nineties as a long life now. So the ‘dash’ has been shortened.

When I consider how many minutes are in a dash…ever curious…I multiplied my years times 365 days times 24 hours in a day times 60 minutes and came to the massive figure of 43,099,200 minutes of my life a

nd counting. I am stretching my ‘dash’! How many minutes did I watch the clock moving slowly to count down an hour as I ‘practiced’ piano? How many days did I simply play as a child, or do chores like washing dishes? Ho

w many minutes did I change diapers of my four children as they came into this world and began their ‘dash’ countdown? How many minutes did I clean, cook, do laundry? How many minutes did I read books? How many minutes did I teach children? How many minutes did I practice piano because I wanted to?

What has made my ‘dash of life’ meaningful?

Having lived that many minutes, what gives me the most joy today?

Our family and the relationship we have with them. From children and their spouses to grandchildren and their spouses, and then the great-grandchildren. I always wondered what it would have been like to have great-great-great-great grandchildren. It is difficult to keep track of anniversaries/birthdays of our 3 generation family, but I wonder…. What was it like for Adam or Methuselah?

Relationships are an important part of each ‘dash of life’. The very first relationship is with parents and siblings – it isn’t just blood, but the daily give and take that builds a ‘forever’ relationship. Relationships may enhance or degrade life depending on what they are built on. Everyone wants to belong to something or someone. A relationship can be built on sharing pets, car enthusiasts, travel enthusiasts, musicians, business, even the

brand choice of computers. The dearest friendships are with those I laugh, cry and pray with. The inner parts of my heart are fed to give me strength to grow, to learn and to give through these relationships.

I love beauty – flowers, trees, clouds, the song of birds, mountains, oceans…the wonders of a wonderful God. When I see a picture or a painting or find a scene that speaks to me, I am filled with a longing to paint that beauty. When I try, I realize that God, the Creator of all we survey, is the Master Painter. His brush strokes in nature and in the hearts of people create joy in the heart of man.

The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy. Psalm 65:8

What makes my bit of ‘dash’ worth living? It is a relationship above all – my relationship with God our Father. And in knowing Jesus, I know God.

My ‘dash’ is filled with praise each day and Thanksgiving in the sunset of life.I spend all day in expectation to see the gifts God gives me. No, they are not earth-shaking, life or death gifts. They are His constant goodness, if I but see them. Our daughter wrote a blog last night, “Am I Willing to Listen?” She writes:

“I want to understand and learn to live freely and lightly. I want to rejoice in your greatness. I want to bask in your love as the plants do in the rain.”

The more we listen and recognize that God directs our lives, the more we trust God and the more meaningful our ‘dash of life’ becomes. It isn’t about us, but Him.

My ‘dash of life’ prayer is, Father in Heaven, no matter what is around me and pulls at me in this world, help me to expectantly look to You fo

r messages to make my ‘dash of life’ meaningful. Not for me, but for You, Oh, Lord! You have written my first date and given me the ‘dash of life’. When you declare it, my ‘dash’ will close as you place the last date of my life. May my ‘dash of life’ glorify you.

Psalm 19:14 – May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Comments? eacombs@att.net