When your birthday rolls around, what do you think about? Every year as my birthday rolls around, I contemplate more and more what I want my dash to represent. I think it lands more with me after having sat through my dad’s funeral, hearing nothing talked about except work and cars.
And in that moment, I said to God, “I want my life and my dash to have an eternal impact.”
What do I mean by dash? The – in between your date of birth and your date of death.
Granted, there are definitely years I have not been making an eternal impact. I can’t go back and change that; I can change what’s happening now and moving forward. Everything on this earth will one day be gone. You will be gone. Everyone else will be gone. Nothing will be left. The only things we are told that will last forever are the souls of men and the Word of God.
So I have to ask myself often: What am I doing each day that is affecting the souls of men, and am I in the Word of God?
As I get ready to hit the last year of my 40s this coming Friday, I am once again faced with the limited time we have on earth and how quickly it goes. We really are but a vapor. We came from dust, and we return to dust. Only our soul will live on, (and we will have a new body—praise Jesus!)
I know this can be confusing as Christians, to think about what eternal significance looks like, because we all have to live our lives and do our jobs. And while teaching reading to dyslexic students may not seem like it’s having an eternal impact, I do feel it can lead them to be able to read the Word of God, whether they are believers at this point or not. I can pray for each of my clients too.
Maybe you work at McDonald’s—so what does your day-to-day look like for eternal impact while serving food? What does it look like if you’re retired?
We tend to make this more complicated than it is. We have one of the greatest weapons, and that’s Jesus. If we know Jesus as our Savior, we have His power. And we can call on that power with prayer. So one of the greatest tools we have to make an eternal impact is to pray for others—for others to know God, to make Him known, and to know Him better.
Earlier this summer, I was challenged by God that I needed to find a mentor. Someone who could pour into me so that I can then pour into others, disciple other young women, be held accountable, and hold others accountable. To grow in my relationship with Jesus by finding someone who can model what it looks like to walk their life with Jesus.
I finally accepted that challenge about three weeks ago. But just because I followed that one nudge from God doesn’t mean that’s all I’m doing right now. Every day, each of us has the opportunity to make an eternal impact. And we cannot do that if we are not filling ourselves with the Word of God. We cannot do that if we are not talking to God daily. Taking up our cross daily.
I’m going challenge you today with the challenge that God has placed on my heart.
- First, will you commit to making your relationship with God a priority? Ask, “Am I serving God above all or am I seeking the approval of men? “
- Second, will you hide God’s Word in your heart?
- And finally, commit to keeping an eternal perspective in every situation and every decision, through constant prayer and communication with God every day.
Just because you sit down to have a quiet time with God in the morning, or in the evening, or in the middle of the day, doesn’t mean the rest of the day is a free-for-all. It’s a constant daily, minute-by-minute, second-by-second ongoing conversation and prayer with God as you’re walking through the day.
That also involves a lot of repentance and asking for forgiveness because we are going to mess up every day. You’re going to say that word you didn’t want to say when you stubbed your toe. You’re going to yell at that person who cut you off in traffic. God’s not asking us to be perfect, but He calls us to make Him known and to know Him more.
I want my dash to represent that. I want my dash and I want my life to have an eternal impact. I don’t care if I’m remembered, but I do care if my life is affecting others for God’s Kingdom.
What do you feel God challenging you with today?
What do you want your dash to look like? It’s never too late, because if you’re still on this earth, your dash has not ended.
As we wrap up yet another year, what better time than now to evaluate how you’re making an eternal impact?
Copyright 2025 All Rights Reserved . Susan M. Clabaugh with Encouragement in Daily Living LLC.
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Susan is an author and speaker who loves to share her journey of God’s redemption and encourage others as they look to God. As a former elementary teacher with a passion for teaching, Susan also owns her own tutoring and consulting business where she empowers students and parents in reading. She lives in Missouri with her adorable and grumpy Persian cat.
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