"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)

The following true story tells about how one woman, committed to Christ and service to Him, made decisions which kept away barriers that would obscure the light of Christ in her life.

"In the cemetery of an English town there is a tombstone which attracts the attention of many visitors. It marks the grave where the celebrated Swedish singer, Jenny Lind, known as the Swedish Nightingale, was buried, and upon the stone is the text, "I know that my Redeemer liveth." Jenny Lind was born in 1820. When only seventeen she came from her native land, and her lovely voice took the concert-loving people by storm. Queen Victoria often was found in her audience and signally honored "the slim girl with a marvelous voice," as she was called, by throwing to her a bouquet of flowers. From the crowned heads of Europe Jenny Lind received honor, and gifts were showered upon her from all sides. Wealth poured in, but all her success did not make her proud or exacting, as is so often the case, and she humbly wrote to a friend in later years, "My unceasing prayer is that...the Giver of the gift and not the creature to whom He lent it may be acknowledged." A certain writer has remarked, 'Nothing is more astonishing about the career of Jenny Lind than its comparative shortness. She sang in the English opera for only two years and retired practically in five years after her first performance in London, though she appeared occasionally during the next few years, but chiefly for charities.'

"To many it would seem strange circumstances which led a young girl to abandon such a promising career and retire to the quietness of an English country home. On one occasion she sat on the seashore, reading a Bible, when one who greatly admired her beautiful voice saw her and asked, "How is it, madam, that you abandoned the stage at the very height of your success?" Jenny Lind gave the folllowing reason: "When every day it made me think less of this"--laying her hand upon the open Bible, "what else could I do?" What a beautiful answer and how convincing! It was the knowledge that the precious Book had brought her--the knowledge of a Saviour's love--which led her to abandon what the world counts of much value - riches, honor, and popularity. One of her great successes was in the oratorios in which she sang with deepest feeling "The Messiah," and doubtless the words of it meant more to her than human voice could express. She knew the Lord Jesus as her Redeemer, the One who loved her and gave Himself for her, and that love constrained her to withdraw from the stage and henceforth live "unto Him who died and rose again." (From the book, "Mountain Trailways"--a compilation by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman; I believe this book is now our of print).

Although few people will ever be in circumstances such as Jenny Lind where our "light" will be seen by so many, the light of our love for Christ *will* be seen by those in our sphere of influence where we have been placed. God will accept our offerings of sacrifice and thanksgiving and transform them into something that will be to His glory and for our good. And the final results of our earthly lives may be something much more akin to what the novelist George Elliot wrote of the character of Dorothea in the book _Middlemarch_:

"But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive; for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs."

The following poem, "Life's Dash" by Linda Ellis, speaks of the time of our earthly lives which is represented by the dash that we put between the dates of birth and death of those who are finished with their earthly journey.

I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates of the span of her life --
The beginning, and then the end.

He noted that first came the date of her birth,
Then he spoke of the next date with tears.
But he said what really mattered the most
Was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents the time that she spent
Alive here on planet Earth;
And now only those who knew her and loved her
Know what that dash is worth.

For it matters not how much we own--
The cars, the house, the cash;
What matters is how we live and love,
And how we spend our dash.

May our lifetime of choices during our "dash" reflect our devotion to and love for our Saviour, and redound to His glory. May His light shine in us as we bow before Him in praise and thanksgiving in all the circumstances of our lives. May we ever seek to live a life of consecration and faithful discipleship following Him Who has prepared for us and will lead us to our eternal Home.

In Him,
Elaine