What's your dash say?

When you look on a gravestone, what do you see? You normally see a name, a birth date, a dash, and a death date. Well, consider this, I've heard this many times and it rings true each  time: What matters is not the birth date nor the death date but the dash in between. You see, the dash represents your life. What do you want your life to say about you? What will your "dash" say about you?

Recently, I've been trying to think about building my legacy. We all know that we won't be on this earth forever. It's what you do while you're here that counts-that's your legacy. When I look at others who have departed from this world, I am reflecting on their legacy. I'm very happy to say that I've know some great people with profound legacies, but how did they build those legacies? I believe that great legacies can be summarized in three words: making a difference. So, the question arises how do we make a difference?

Whether you know it or not, the chance for you to make a difference is presented before you each day. I think no song demonstrates this point better than Randy Travis' "Three Wooden Crosses"

"Three Wooden Crosses"


A farmer and a teacher, a hooker and a preacher,
Ridin' on a midnight bus bound for Mexico.
One's headed for vacation, one for higher education,
An' two of them were searchin' for lost souls.
That driver never ever saw the stop sign.
An' eighteen wheelers can't stop on a dime.

There are three wooden crosses on the right side of the highway,
Why there's not four of them, Heaven only knows.
I guess it's not what you take when you leave this world behind you,
It's what you leave behind you when you're gone.

That farmer left a harvest, a home and eighty acres,
The faith an' love for growin' things in his young son's heart.
An' that teacher left her wisdom in the minds of lots of children:
Did her best to give 'em all a better start.
An' that preacher whispered: "Can't you see the Promised Land?"
As he laid his blood-stained bible in that hooker's hand.

There are three wooden crosses on the right side of the highway,
Why there's not four of them, Heaven only knows.
I guess it's not what you take when you leave this world behind you,
It's what you leave behind you when you're gone.

That's the story that our preacher told last Sunday.
As he held that blood-stained bible up,
For all of us to see.
He said: "Bless the farmer, and the teacher, an' the preacher;
"Who gave this Bible to my mamma,
"Who read it to me."

There are three wooden crosses on the right side of the highway,
Why there's not four of them, now I guess we know.
It's not what you take when you leave this world behind you,


It's what you leave behind you when you're gone.

Who made a difference in this story? The answer is: they all did-even the hooker. 

How did they make a difference? The answer is: by choosing to make a difference through their contact with others

So, everyday we come into contact with other people. Therefore we all have a chance to make a difference. Perhaps you're a farmer and can leave a faith and love for growing things in a young heart. Perhaps you are a teacher and can leave your wisdom in the minds of lots of children in order to do your best to give them all a better start. Perhaps you are a preacher and can help people to the Promised Land. Perhaps you're just you. Well, YOU can make a difference. You just have to start where you are with who you know. I honestly believe it's as simple as that!

Tonight, the measure of a man can sometimes be found in his ability to make a difference and through making that difference, leave a lasting legacy of someone who chose to be a difference maker in the lives of others.

That, my friends, is just a few thoughts from a small town southern man!