The Dash

Last night after returning from the incredible workshop at Shaker Village, Sherelene and I had dinner with our children and grandchildren, our Easter dinner, since everyone will be on the run Easter weekend. After dinner we stopped by the funeral home for the visitation for the mother of
one our dear friends. The crowd at the funeral home was one of the largest I’ve ever seen, and as Sherelene and I stood in line for a half hour to make our way up to the family I heard a lot of wonderful things about the lady who had just gone on to the Lord. I knew her only as one of the elderly members of our church, I knew she was a sweet lady, always with a smile and kind word, I also knew she seldom ever missed the chance to help prepare a meal at the church, and her dishes were always worth seeking out, she was a wonderful cook. As I listened to people talk about her I learned a great deal more. She was a very deeply loved, mother, grandmother, and friend. She has lived to 92 and was healthy almost her entire life until the very end. She had obviously made a real impact on many peoples lives. They stood in line to show it.

It reminded me of the poem called the dash, http://www.thedashmovie.com/
This poem, which has become very popular, drives home a very good lesson about the value of our lives. Jesus said to love one another, and treat everyone as you would like to be treated.

The photo above is not of the lady that has gone on, this is a person I met on Sunday at Shaker Village as the workshop was drawing to a close. Vivian Yeast is 82 years young. She was kind enough to open up a building for us to have our morning devotion and then walked a long way to open another building so Carl Turner and I could photograph some yarn she spins as part of her reenactment at the village. I only spent a few moments with Vivian but I know a few things about her. She is still active and wants to contribute even at 82. Her husband has passed on and she is anxious to join him again in heaven. For now she has family that has moved back to be close to her and she loves people, her work and being of service. I suspect, that some day, there will be a long line of people that want to pay their respect to her.

What will the response be when you leave this earth? Will people come to the funeral home to tell your family how much you will be missed, and how much you were loved? What use have you made of the dash between the beginning and ending dates of your physical life? In a song I love of Ricky Skaggs’ their is aline that says;

As long as you have air to breath
Then you have all the time you need
To give your love for all its worth
And make amends to those you’ve hurt
This is your life for Heaven’s sake
Redeem yourself and thank God for grace

Thank God today that you still have time to define your dash……..

the pilgrim

Photo Notes: All images shot with D7000 and 24-120 AFS VR and 12-24 AFS lenses. Vivian’s portrait and the last two images filtered with Nik Color Efex 3.0 Glamour Glow filter. Very last image, Capture NX2, bottle color intensity, Glamour Glow, and then Topaz Adjust Spicey added as well.