I recently attended a memorial service for the father of a friend. We met outside, with winds cooler than normal for this time of year, and I wished I had known this man who family member after family member described as loving, hard-working, devoted and a man who loved God. I saw echoes of my family in their faces and their story – a family of immigrants, overcoming hardships and struggles to establish themselves in the United States. They were from a different part of the world, with a language different from mine at birth, but familiar to my ears and heart, nonetheless. We listened, laughed and cried through translations in the commonality of being human and of knowing loss. Images of family and life scrolled by on the screen, giving testimony to the beautiful gift of family. Beautiful does not have to mean perfect, but the pictures – through generations – reminded me of God’s faithfulness from age to age. While the setting of the glorious glow of the sun that surrounded us reminded me of his faithfulness in the present. No one spoke of bank portfolios or promotions as they shared that day. Instead, they valued the moments of relationship that they shared with this beloved man.

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with one your wild and precious life?” -Mary Oliver, The Summer Day

That evening, I sat on a zoom call with my parents and many from around the Caribbean who have been impacted by their ministry going back to when I was a child. They returned to live and work in ministry in our homeland of Jamaica for the past five years. It was bittersweet to listen in as young and old shared stories and reflected on things my parents did for them, things that I knew were sacrifices even while they were blessings.

One of the family members at the memorial shared a poem she received from a friend. I had heard it before, but her recounting was powerful as she reflected on her loved one. We each have two dates of importance in our lives: our date of birth and the date we leave this earth. The “—” in between each of those dates is what changes other people’s lives. The dash is where we learn, grow, act of things that matter, influence and pass on truths and values. The dash is the gift of life that each of us have been given. How are you using it?

There are worries and anxieties in this life, but there is a God who wants to be with us in these struggles – to sustain us, encourages us and to provide daily for us, so that we can rest in Him. I cried in solidarity hearing this family express their memories and grief. Even in their tears, they expressed their confidence in knowing that God was with them. We are not alone in the middle of the dash, because he cares for us.

“Because of the LORD’s great love, we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” -Lamentations 3:22-23