I recently mentioned to a friend how quickly time passes. We are about the same age; he is a little older than I am but we are of the same generation. He served in the last years of WW II and had a distinguished career in the Air Force. We are both enjoying the physical infirmities that seem to come with aging. He said to me that time dragged in his life, not flashing by like I had expressed.

A funeral message that has become one of my favorite themes is called "the dash." Our tombstone will one day be marked with the date of our birth, a dash, and the date of our death. The message talks about the dash, that time given us by God to live and to be fruitful on earth. For some the dash will be long; others may be short and painful. All will be filled with the good and the bad, successes and failures, victories and defeats. Many folks will give up and sit, waiting for God. For these people minutes will seem as hours and hours as days. Time will stand still.

God did not intend for us to quit. I grant you it may seem easier to sit day after day and watch as the world goes by. To watch the flickering screen of a television set and to remember how things used to be. I believe God intended for us to be productive until He calls us home. "But," you say, "you don't know my infirmities. I can't walk, I hurt all the time, my sight, hearing, and voice are gone. What can I do?" Things did not go well for the Apostle Paul. He wrote to the Corinthians: "Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea." (2 Corinthians 11:25 NIV) But he kept going.

For two years now I have been associated with a group of women who epitomize the point I want to make. They are called the Steel Magnolias and they sing and dance with a verve and vigor that belies their age. The youngest is 49. The oldest, well, two are over 90. Their average age is about 70 and their purpose is to glorify God every way they can. Their secret weapons are hard work, a smile, and caring for each other. For them time does not stand still.

What can you do? Write a book, call someone on the phone, put a poem on paper, pray, be a prayer warrior or sing a song. Find someone who is lonelier than you and make them feel needed. Use your talents and strengths that God has given you. Make the most of your dash ---. Do it all with a bright, sunny smile.