The Three Dots

As we near Christmas…

...it’s time to start thinking about the season and what it represents. We each have our thoughts about the meaning of the season, but the Christmas season is ultimately centered around the birth of Jesus.

Thinking ahead to Easter…

...we see another important season in the Christian calendar. The death of Jesus. As with Christmas, we all have thoughts and beliefs about the meaning of this time of year, but the Easter season is centered around the end of Jesus’s life as a man on this earth.

We spend a lot of time…

...looking at these bookends of Jesus’s life. Today I wanted to think about the dots in between.

Birth...Death

The simplest way to sum up a life is to bookend it with dates. Born here. Died here. Born...Died. Today, let’s pause and take a moment to look at those dots. Those dots that separate the birth and death.

The Ellipses…

...of a life are the real story. Yes, life begins and yes, life ends. But that’s not the story of a person's life. In an ideal, oversimplified story there is the first dot of growing physically, the second dot of growing in experience, and the third dot of growing in wisdom. We can also look at these as generational dots. But to me, the ellipses represent the seasons of life.

Jesus’s dots…

...are a bit short, but still tell a compelling story. We know little about the first dot of his youth other than his escape and return to Egypt and his growing wisdom at an early age. The second dot represents him as a young man, working as a carpenter and growing spiritually. Then we come to the third dot.

The third dot…

...is my favorite. Yes, the bookmarks of his life are fascinating and important, but the third dot is where we learn lessons we get to actually apply to our daily lives. It is here that we learn how to act and how to treat others. We learn from his teaching, but more importantly, we learn from his actions. His life was full of love, compassion, and empathy. His days were filled with acts of kindness, gentleness, and forgiveness. He was passionate, but also patient and fully present. He taught with words, but the lessons were how he lived that third dot.

I see myself…

...as somewhere between that second and third dot. Still learning and growing and trying to figure things out. I love this transition, and I love watching and participating in the transition of the lives of others. I’m blessed to be connected to a lot of people. I love seeing their stories playing out. How cool that, like Jesus, we have the opportunity to make a positive impact in those lives around us on a daily basis. Not by our words, but by our actions.

So as we move into this Christmas season…

...don’t forget about the dots. The bookends are nice covers for the book, but don’t forget the story. Don’t forget the life. Live it and love it today.

Enjoy the dot.

Enjoy the day!