What are you doing with your hyphen?

What are you doing with your hyphen?

Joyce and I attended a Memorial Service for the brother of one of her friends who had died suddenly at the age of 58. The American Legion did a service, since the man was a veteran and in the service was a poem about the hyphen. It was a very vivid illustration about our beginning or our birth, and our ending on earth, our death. Two very important numbers! But even more important was the hyphen between the numbers. How we spent the days between our birth and our death, that is what is very meaningful to us and to God. How we loved and were loved. How we enjoyed others and gave enjoyment to others. Every waking moment during the hyphen did we live…….? I know we were alive, but did we use wisely the life God granted us?

Every new day, no matter how old we become we get a new chance to decide what we will do with the days until we go to meet our Lord and Savior. None of us know how many days that will be, I for one would not want to know, but each new morning as I open my eyes I rejoice that I have been given another day to make a difference in my own life and make a difference in everyone I run into that day. Just think a new day to say I am sorry to someone I have hurt. A new day to start over, with the forgiveness of our Lord and Savior. A new day to become the person I was meant to be.

Start today, when you are finished reading story, write your birth date and birth year on a piece of paper. An example is mine: March 15, 1949 (now put a hyphen after it) March15, 1949- if you are as lucky as I am and there is no ending date after the hyphen then it reaffirms that I am still alive. There is still a chance to LIVE. Be joyful, live, laugh, and love like there is no tomorrow!

WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH YOUR HYPHEN?

To the glory of God,

Rev. Walter Coy