Live Where Your Feet are Planted

The Dash by Linda Ellis

I read of a man who stood to speak

at the funeral of a friend.

He referred to the dates on the tombstone

from the beginning…to the end.

He noted that first came the date of birth

and spoke the following date with tears,

but he said what mattered most of all

was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time

that they spent alive on earth.

And now only those who loved them

know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own,

the cars…the house…the cash.

What matters is how we live and love

and how we spend our dash.

So, think about this long and hard.

Are there things you’d like to change?

For you never know how much time is left

that can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough

to consider what’s true and real

and always try to understand

​the way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger

and show appreciation more

and love the people in our lives

like we’ve never loved before. 

If we treat each other with respect

and more often wear a smile,

remembering that this special dash

might only last a little while.

​So, when your eulogy is being read,

with your life’s actions to rehash…

would you be proud of the things they say

about how you spent YOUR dash?

*************************************************************************

 After a wise friend of mine read this poem at my huddle earlier this week, I realized that I quite often live in the future. I can’t wait for this day to be over so I can sleep. I can’t wait for the weekend. I can’t wait till Christmas Break. I can’t wait till I’m a second semester senior. I can’t wait till I start college. And it’s no wonder why I’ve always worn a watch too. How many minutes left in this class? How many hours until school is over?  

“The dash” doesn’t have to be from birth to death; rather it can be the beginning and end of anything. A class. A day. A year.  I thought about "my dash" from freshman year up to this point of senior year and the only thing that came to mind at first was a whole lot of regret. I spent way too much time living in the future. And then it hit me. How on earth am I supposed to love on people and truly love Jesus if all I’m thinking about, is when the “next thing” will begin? How am I supposed to reach out and be Jesus to broken people if I’m constantly checking the time and counting it down? The harsh truth is it's nearly impossible to do so.

Since that Tuesday, I’ve been asking Jesus to help me live in the moment. I’ve taken off my watch.  Whenever I find my mind thinking about things to come, I remind myself to “live where my feet are planted” at that moment. I’m not saying I’ve mastered this (infact, many hours in each day have been unintentionally devoted to that old futuristic thinking), but even in the few hours I have remembered to “live where my feet are planted,” I’ve found that my perspective has changed. In those moments when I live in the present, classes go by faster because I’m not anxiously awaiting their end. Conversations have been deep and intentional...jokes have been a whole lot funnier, because I am fully present. And perhaps best of all, I’m more aware of ways to love on people, because I’m not “just trying to make it through the day.”

My prayer and hope for you all and for me, especially in this crazy busy season, is that we remember live where our feet are planted. Change your perspective and live in the present. It’s the only way to leave a legacy of love and Jesus for the world around us.  

The Nocuous Effects of Comparison

Something I’ve struggled with all my life (and something I still struggle with), is comparison. My body vs her body. My clothing style vs her clothing style. The food I’m eating vs the food he’s eating. The quality of my history presentation vs the quality of his. How artsy my Instagram feed is vs how artsy hers is. My walk with Christ vs her walk with Christ. You get the picture. Comparison finds a way to seep into every aspect of my life. 

When we compare however, someone always loses. It’s been said that “comparison is the thief of joy,” and whether you win or lose the comparison game, that phrase still rings true. If you lose (by deciding that he/she is better than you), you’re putting yourself down and opening up a door for lies to come. Whether it’s “I’m not smart enough” or “I’m not pretty enough”; Whatever “not ____ enough" it is, you’re giving into the voice of shame. But even if you win the battle however, you’re getting your worth from tearing someone else down, ultimately from pride. To keep getting that worth, you’re going to have to keep being better than that person. And that so quickly makes one exhausted. 

Comparison keeps us from being our raw selves. We miss out on being who God created us to be, we miss out on following the path God has for us, because we’re so busy looking to our left and our right. We pull a little bit of identity from this person and that person...and we miss out on the truth. God made YOU uniquely. You play a role in the Body of Christ that no one else can fill. And if you don’t show up to play that role, the body can’t function at it’s ultimate capacity. You will be missed. If we spend time looking, comparing, and “shopping” for our identity from others, we’ll miss what God has for us. 

This truth became tangible and real to me at my church huddle earlier this week. We all went around and described how we viewed God. What struck me hard, was how different and unique every person’s response was. The answer each person gave, couldn’t have been more perfect when it came to their personality. As soon as each person gave their answer, I immediately realized how beautifully it fit them. At that moment, it clicked for me. I didn’t want to see God the way she sees God, although it’s beautiful. I want to view God the way I view God, because that’s how He made me. And it’s equally beautiful. 

So let’s stop making everything into a competition for worth. If we keep moving forward in hope and trust, we’ll find that we won’t miss it. God will lead us down paths we never knew existed, and we’ll think it more glorious than anything we could have ever dreamed up by ourselves. 

Leaving Lives of Comfort

After four years at my high school, it’s beginning to feel like a prison. My fellow seniors are getting in trouble and earning Saturday detentions for the stupidest things, because the faculty couldn't be more  anxious to get rid of us. The one thing people talk about is college. Everyone’s catching senioritis and the teachers are raging mad about it. But perhaps the worst thing, is the recent constant feeling of alienation I’m feeling. As I walk down the halls, I’m surrounded by messages and statements I don’t believe in nor want to believe in. I feel like messages that Jesus would not agree with are being shoved down my throat. As a perhaps outspoken and overly opinionated person, this year has brought me a fresh understanding of what following Jesus sometimes looks like. It means isolation. It means feeling like you’re alone sometimes. It means feeling like you’re the only one standing. That’s happened this week. Multiple times. I wouldn’t be lying if I told you that this week, I walked out of a class in tears and spent some time crying on the bathroom floor, after the results of a classroom survey were posted in front of the class. The glares and dirty looks I got. The “jerk” whispered into my ears by the people behind me. The spiritual warfare I felt going on in that room. The heartbreak I felt as people publicly confessed things that tore me apart inside: it all wore down my soul too much and I couldn’t contain it. 

Living the life Jesus calls us to live is not easy. There’s no comfortable way to put it. The life Jesus calls us to live is the opposite way of the world. Our lives should be radically different. We should feel alienated sometimes. Isolated at times. Feeling like we’re the only ones. Because the way Jesus lived was radically contra-the-way-the-world-lived. If God didn't put us in uncomfortable situations from time to time, why would He promise to be our Comforter? How could we even feel the Comforter if we never needed Him?

Fortunately, we are not alone. He has also blessed me richly in this season with soul sisters to fight this fight and walk this walk with. I pray my friends, that He has blessed you with these kind of sisters and brothers too. <3 And not only do we have these sweet people, but we have Jesus. Although we may feel like we are the only ones, Jesus is always there. The God of Angel Armies is always by our side. In Him we have everything we need. 

Isaiah 41:13

“For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you”