What does the dash represent on a tombstone?

What Does the Dash Represent?

When we go back to visit family in Oklahoma, I like to go to the cemetery to visit the gravesites of my parents and grandparents. As I was looking at my grandmother’s tombstone, I read:

MARIA WARKENTIN WIEBE

March 7, 1880 – June 14, 1959

 Have you ever thought about what the “dash” between the date of birth and the date of death represents? It represents the lifetime of a person. As I was looking at her tombstone a memory of my grandmother that quickly came to my mind was that she was a godly woman who loved the Lord and her family. I often found her reading her Bible, serving the Lord by teaching Sunday school, and participating in the women’s group at church where they were quilting, sewing for relief organizations and helping missionaries.

My grandmother followed the commandments Moses gave the Israelites in the desert, by teaching me about God and His Word. She lived with my family the last 15 years of her life. As a small child, one of my favorite times was sitting on the porch swing in rural Oklahoma in the summertime listening to my grandmother tell me Bible stories and singing my Sunday School songs with me in the evenings.

 Life had been hard for my grandmother as she faced many disappointments and challenging times. Her steadfast faith in Jesus Christ carried her through those difficult years because she loved the Lord with all her heart. When I think of the “dash” on my grandmother’s tombstone, I am reminded of the spiritual impact she had on my life.

Questions to ask yourself:

• When my life has passed what will the “dash” on my tombstone represent to my children and grandchildren?
• Will they remember my love for Jesus?
• Will they remember that I was their prayer warrior?
• Will they remember that I walked with God through the valleys and over the mountains on my journey of life?

Or

• Will they remember the expensive gifts I gave them or the trips I took them on?
• Will they remember that I did not have time for them?
• Will they say, “I don’t remember my grandparents ever telling me they were praying for me?”

Prayer

Dear heavenly Father, I thank you for my grandchildren.

Help them to remember my love for You and that I have been their faithful prayer warrior.

I pray they will recognize that You have walked with me through the valleys and over the mountaintops in my journey of life.

Show me how You want me to impress on them Your great love for them. In Jesus’ name. Amen

God’s Commands from His Word

Deuteronomy 7:9

Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands. 

Psalm 25:4-6

One generation will commend your works to another; They will tell of your mighty acts.

They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty . . .

They will tell of the power of your awesome works, 

And I will proclaim your great deeds.

Additional prayer helps:  I have developed “Thirty-one Scriptures to Pray for Grandchildren” that many grandparents are using to pray for their grandchildren. Just by joining the mailing list on the right side of this page for grandparenting blogs and prayer suggestions I will send you a free downloadable copy of “Thirty-one Scriptures to Pray for your Grandchildren”.   

By Lillian Penner, Co-Prayer director for Christian Grandparenting Network,  lpenner@christiangrandparentingnetwork.net