Last day of school

Last day of school

“Don’t wish away your todays” my mother always used to say; and what sage advice that was.

Since Spring break I’ve heard so many people counting the days to reach THIS day, praying for fast days, yearning for their todays to become tomorrows that it made me stop and think of a …

Dash

Is this why it’s called a DASH?

How did it happen? When did it all start?

The idea of the race, haste, the dart?

On a day like today

A few decades ago

A test pilot built

A new stroller to go.

It was around 1965 that test pilot and aeronautical engineer, Owen Maclaren, poured all his expertise in speed and weightlessness into inventing the now-so-popular forward-facing stroller.  For his daughter he built and patented the umbrella-style folding buggy.

How did it happen?  Was it there it began?

No longer a stroll with their fashionable pram.

Baby & mommy

Both facing the world

No coo-coo or chitchat

Collapse it & go!

The theory was sound and all about making it easy to fold and carry; this lightweight contraption became an instant sensation.  No one thought about the possible consequences, disconnection, and fear imposed on the child.

How did it happen? Was this when it changed?

Disengagement while walking the name of the game?

Wait! Stop, now think!

At the same time as this

Came the in-house caregiver

Of color TV

Babies were rushed in their strollers, faster and faster they went, younger to school, and by 5 were seen graduating with caps and gowns.  At 5?  What happened to childhood?  What happened to play?

Stranger is danger

You must stay inside

Don’t play on the streets

And from this and that: hide.

We’re in a hurry to finish Elementary so we can rush into Middle School.  Can’t wait to get done, to race into High School.  Graduate quick, then straight into College.  Be done, get your papers, and get right into a job.

Seriously?  What happened to “stop and smell the roses?”

Rose are red, violets are blue

Bouquet in hand it’s soon “yes I do!”

Off to the honeymoon

Quick as you can

Then make some kids

And the cycle begins

Again…

But…

Faster…

Till we’re sitting in a chair, crippled perhaps by pain, age, or illness … or maybe – like me – reaching the grand old age of 55 !  … and wondering … where did those days go?  So busy, so often wishing away the hard moments, difficult days, so the DASH that was our lives was a blur.  A blur of things; a cacophony of sound; a disjointed travesty of unfinished, unenjoyed moments.

Could one man’s infatuation with speed have caused this extraordinary knock-on effect?

“Be still and know that I am God,” Psalm 46:10 – Be quiet and hear His still, small voice.  Be still and love this precious moment He’s given us with love.

In relation to eternity, our life is a dash, but perhaps we should try not to rush quite so much, after all, He made us HUMAN BEINGS not HUMAN DOINGS.

I’m sure you’ve hear this about living in the moment: The past is history - The future a mystery; Today is a gift - That’s why it’s The PRESENT.  So be still, won’t you please?  Try not to wish away your todays.

Relish the present,

Unwrap it with love

Don’t wish it away

It’s your gift from above