16 to 16

Four months ago my next door neighbor asked me what had attracted and endeared me to Edith. I jotted down a few thoughts about summarizing a person's life and then I sent my friend a copy of Tribute to Edith, found on this blog site.

Here is what I wrote as part of my answer to my friend Steve:

Hay, Pilgrim.

You asked what endeared me most to Edith. It reminded me of how folks TRY to write some highlights about a lost loved one in an obituary/eulogy. The loved one has worn many hats, touched numerous lives, & they have more hidden characteristics that most people have no clue about. And when they die, we are expected to summarize their life in a paragraph or 2. Quite a challenge, huh? Even more difficult than the obituary is the epitaph that some put on grave stones. The brevity of an epitaph is a challenge, indeed. Epitaphs are sorta disappearing because of costs & because people do not know what to say about their loved one.

Poignant point to ponder: It is what is in your "dash" that really counts. We have a date of birth & a date of death. In between those numbers is our dash. What you do with your dash is what is significant. What have you done, how have you lived in your dash? Hopefully, your dash includes believing on Jesus as your Savior. And, it should include some giving & doing for others. The only stuff you can keep is what you give away. Kinda ironic. Jim Elliot, a young missionary killed by the Auca Indians in Ecuador in 1956 said, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."

God gave us Edith for a time. She gave so much of herself. A generous and cheerful giver, indeed. The kind that God Himself gets excited about.

Edith made her dash count. Why not make your dash count, too?

The peculiar title of this article? Edith was born June 16 and died at mile marker 16.

We all meet our marker and our Maker.

reginald daniel 1944-