“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”

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For most of us, when it's all said and done, we will be laid to rest in the heart of the earth. Committed with the words, “dust to dust, ashes to ashes,” we’ll find a bed in six feet of soil. Above us will be a sign, marking out the spot where our body lies. The tombstone will have very basic information about us — our name, our date of birth, our date of death. There may also be an inspirational quote, a favorite Bible verse or a meaningful symbol of our hope. What is most important on that tombstone, though, is what is most easily overlooked — the dash. In between the day of our birth and the day of our death there is a simple hyphen.

The dash is small, measuring little more than an inch in granite. It’s length is a fitting emblem for the duration of our lives. Life is vaporous, a thin, wisp of breath on a chilly December morning (James 4:14). Life is like a shadow that momentarily covers the backyard and disappears with the passing clouds (Psalm 102:11). Life is like a flower that droops its head under the weight of the summer sun and the frost of the winter cool (Psalm 103:15). Such is the stretch of our time on earth.

Given this inescapable human condition, what do we do? We do what Moses did. We ask for help with our homework. We pray for a mind to do the math so that we might gain the mind of God: “Teach me to number my days so I may present to you a heart of wisdom.” The real measure of that small dash on the tombstone is all that measures the character of our lives: the decisions we face, the sacrifices we make, the relationships we pursue, the sins we confess, the joys we share, the gifts we give, the kindnesses we extend, the troubles we suffer, the talents we employ, the legacy we leave behind. Life is much more than simply a line chiseled in stone. How are you filling up the dash between the two points?