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Most people early in life figure out that life can be hard at times.

It doesn’t matter what family you come from or what ethnic background you have some times bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people it is simply called life. The Bible say’s “it rains on the just and the unjust”.

What matters more than what we have to go through in life whether it is fair or not is how we respond to the situation at hand.

I have met a lot of people including myself that have allowed their pasts to dictate their futures. It is human nature to feel sorry for ourselves during the rough times in life and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that unless you never let it go.

In other words there is nothing we can do about yesterday but we can change today to make a better tomorrow. Your best is not behind you it is before you and you will never reach your best unless you leave what’s behind you behind you.

I read a certain poem at almost every funeral I do because it speaks to us about what’s important in life:

The Dash

I read of a man who stood to speak

At the funeral of a friend.

He referred to the dates on her tombstone

From the beginning…to the end.

He noted that first came the date of her birth

And spoke of 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 she spent alive on earth

And now only those who love her

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 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 read

With your life’s actions to rehash

Would you be proud of the things they say

About how you spent your dash?

There is no way I can be proud of my dash if I let yesterdays problems control my present.

There are only a few things in life that matter. One of them is family and most of the time when you live in yesterday’s problems your family ultimately suffers.

Please hear me today. I am not saying the hurt you felt wasn’t real, I am simply saying your future is brighter than you think.

I cant change yesterday but I can be proud of today. The role we play in our career, ministry or church is replaceable. The role we play in our family is irreplaceable.

I am confident that if you give yesterday’s problems to God he will show you that they were there to make you stronger for your future. He will never put anything on you that you wont be able to handle.

The struggles we go through are not there to kill us but it is a vote of confidence from God on your behalf.