www.theDash.com

It's not until the second date is added, that most people think of "the dash." That dash hasn't been so much on my mind as the 2nd date. (if you don't know what I'm talking about read the poem at the bottom of this post)

I'm a bit angry right now and I think I'm angry because there is a difference between dieing and being killed. I get the phrase "dieing for your country" but these people are "being killed for another country."

It's just hard to understand.

Why can't we just sit down and explain to these countries leaders, that the way that they're running their countries is stupid. Why do we have to get in there and fight and kill innocent people. All the people who are dying don't seem to be the people who are able to cause the needed change. They're just causing change in other peoples lives, my friends lives. I just don't get it?

No offence to people who have loved ones fighting in these wars, but I feel like there has to be better things you can do with your dash. My brother says, if there is 1 person over there, they need someone to be there to help them. But I still don't think that the first person needs to be over there. There must be a better way.

I've never understood how the 1000s of people who got out of boats, onto a beach in France who never went any further than that beach, did anything with their lives? What does that accomplish? Why do we have to fight? Why can't we just play paper/rock/scissors? Why do we have to use guns and bombs and other random crap? The bible says that the world is full of sinful people, and sometimes the only way to keep sinful people from doing great harm to the innocent is by going to war. But war just seems to harm more people who aren't directly related to the problem. If there is a reason for a war, let God fight it, He has used floods, hurricanes and other natural phenomenons to wipe out sin.

I live in a world with 2 boys who like history, my brother of course, loves to learn about war and knows so much more than most people about all the wars. It's all he talks about, it's all he watches on TV, and yet I still don't get it! I don't get why the world keeps repeating these tragic wars.... haven't they learned yet?

Below is a quote from a book I had to read in college (My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok), that I think is the only thing helping my heart right now.

" "Why must things die?" That's the way God made the world. So life would be precious. Something that is yours forever is never precious."

All this to say, "Lord, help Jennie and her family, understand life and how precious it is. Give them peace for the rest of their lives, not only in the next couple weeks as they endure this incredibly hard time for their family. Please Lord, end this war soon, smarten up the leaders, save as many people from possible from giving up their lives. Give little Hailey the peace that passes understanding as she processes the death of her sister and her uncle within the last year. Allow Jennie and Nich to be amazing whitnesses of God's amazing grace and love in their workplaces because they have gone through so much as a family, that it is amazing that they can continue to get up each day and keep going, and not only keep going but continue to live their lives to help others. Lord, they are such an amazing family, who have touched soo many more peoples lives than they can even imagine. They amaze me, daily. Thank You for them, thank You for their lives. Thank You for the influence they are on my life, on my friends and family's life. Amen."

And now as I can't see the screen through my tears anymore, I'll leave you with:

The Dash Poem
By Linda Ellis

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 the first came her date of birth
And spoke the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line 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's true and real
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger,
And show apppreciation 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 only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy is being read
With your life's actions to rehash
would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?