"As Jesus was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus... was sitting by the road."
—Mark 10:46 (NASB)
Greetings prayer partner!
Most of us measure our lives by the milestones.
We celebrate birthdays, graduations, engagements, weddings, promotions, anniversaries, and retirements.
We remember where we were born and, someday, others will remember the date we left this earth. Someone once wisely observed that what matters most is not the dates engraved on our headstones—but the “dash” between them.
I've always loved that thought.
But while driving home from our recent trip to visit family in Canada, another image came to mind.
Every mile marker along the highway is separated by hundreds of painted dashes. The mile markers identify our location, but the dashes are where the journey actually happens. They are the ordinary spaces between one destination and the next. And isn't that where life is truly lived?
The mile markers are easy to remember:
- A wedding day.
- The birth of a child.
- Moving into a new home.
- A diagnosis.
- The death of someone we love.
Those are the markers.
But no one actually lives at the mile marker. Life is lived in the miles between one marker and the next. Those miles are filled with thousands of painted dashes—ordinary moments that often seem insignificant and even unnoticed while we're living them.
Morning coffee with your spouse. A conversation with a grandchild. An unexpected phone call. A difficult decision. A quiet prayer. A shared laugh. A long drive. A sunset. A kindness shown to a stranger. These moments rarely make history, yet together they become the story of our lives.
Perhaps that's why Jesus spent so much of His earthly ministry on the road. He certainly taught in synagogues. He preached on mountainsides. He visited people in their homes.
But so much of His ministry happened while He was simply walking from one place to another.
It was between the destinations that Zacchaeus climbed a tree. It was along the road that Bartimaeus cried out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" It was between villages that ten lepers were healed. It was while walking that disciples asked questions, crowds gathered, lives were transformed, and eternal truths were spoken.
Jesus never viewed the journey as an interruption to His ministry. The journey was the ministry. Every road was an opportunity. Every delay had purpose. Every encounter mattered.
How often do I think the opposite?
I hurry toward the next milestone, believing life will finally begin once I arrive. I tell myself, "When this project is finished..." or "When that vacation comes..." or "When life settles down..."
Yet God continually reminds me that He is just as present in an ordinary Tuesday as He is in the mountaintop and milestone moments.
The mile markers tell us where we've been. The dashes reveal who we became along the way.
Maybe that's why Scripture repeatedly calls us to faithfulness rather than fame. Faithfulness isn't usually demonstrated in the milestones. It's demonstrated in the ordinary steps between them.
As followers of Christ, we don't simply travel the road. We become part of someone else's journey. Someone may be waiting beside our road today, just as Bartimaeus waited beside his.
A word of encouragement. A listening ear. A prayer. A smile. An act of kindness or generosity.
What feels like an ordinary dash in my day may become a life-changing mile marker in someone else's. So today, don't rush past the dashes. Walk slowly enough to notice who God places along your path.
After all, every mile matters—not because of the marker at the end of it, but because of what God does in the ordinary moments between.
Please pray with me:
Father, thank You for reminding us that life is not lived only in the milestones but in the ordinary moments between them. Forgive us for rushing toward the next destination while overlooking the people and opportunities You have placed along our paths. Help us to walk as Jesus walked—with eyes that notice, ears that hear, and a heart that is willing to be interrupted. Make us faithful in the small moments, knowing that You often do Your greatest work in the ordinary dashes of life.
May every conversation, every act of kindness, every quiet prayer, and every mile we travel become an opportunity to reflect Your love. Teach us to remember that the mile markers may record where I've been, but the dashes reveal how I've lived. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Rejoicing in Hope,
Dion Elmore
Vice President
