1990-____
I just finished reading the amazing story of Katie Davis, Kisses from Katie. You should check it out! But, it got me thinking about what I am doing with my life. And I was reminded of this speaker I heard one time.
He spoke about the dash. The dash is the symbol on a tombstone between the year of birth and the year of death. It doesn’t so much matter when you were born or when you passed away. But, what matters is the dash. I want my dash to represent a life well lived. A life missed. A life that impacted the world. A life that left this place a little better than it was before. I want my dash to mean something.
I want to do what the Lord calls me to do. I don’t think my Lord is calling me to a mediocre life. I can’t imagine the God of the universe looking at me and saying “Hey, I have carved out this average, normal, just-passing-through, mundane, only okay life for you. You just have to survive this earth. That’s your purpose in life.” Ha! There is no way that the Almighty Father wants that for our lives! He wants us to be bold! He calls us to be strong! All throughout the bible you read about people who take risks! I read about ordinary people who don’t let their circumstances stop them from achieving greatness!
So, you did just okay in high school, were raised in a middle class family, and are afraid of heights… Don’t let that stop you! David was the runt of the litter and defeated a GIANT. God uses the ordinary for HIS extraordinary purposes!
I am a 23 year old girl from a low class southern as all get out family… But, my dash will speak volumes about the life that I lived! My dash will inspire people to not just live day to day, but to take advantage of every opportunity, to do more!
I have so many dreams! I want to start an orphanage in east Africa. I want to write children stories. I want to be a teacher in another country. I want to paint. I want to start a ministry that provides bibles for those deprived of the Word of God. I want to hold a feast for the homeless in my community just for the heck of it. I want to travel the world. I want to raise someone from the dead for the glory of God. I want to jump out of an airplane. I want to adopt children. I want to be married. I want to play the piano. I want to disciple inner-city kids. I dream of doing all of these things. And I may not fulfill them all but it will not be because I didn’t try.
And the best part of all of this is that our dreams look different! For you, mentoring one child is HUGE! You will have changed the world just by changing his/hers. Your dash will mean something. For someone else, breaking their family cycle of addiction is all they have dreamed of and their dash will be so impactful. Your dash doesn’t have to say you gave up everything to move to Asia and rescue women, it could and that would be awesome, but serving the homeless in your community is just as inspiring. But, don’t settle for mediocre. Your Father in heaven calls you to be bold. Live a bold life. Whatever that looks like for you.
