7.27.2014

42: Life, the universe, and everything

Today I turn 42 years of age. As some of you know, in Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, 42 was the answer calculated by Deep Thought, the supercomputer, to the question of the meaning of life, the universe, and everything.

I certainly do not have life figured out, let alone the meaning of everything! Instead I am feeling a bit more like in this Sunday's first reading. "But I am a mere youth, not knowing at all how to act. I serve you in the midst of your people whom you have chosen ... Give your servant, therefore, an understanding heart ..." (1st Kings 3)

This morning I managed to wake up before the sunrise.  Isn't it amazing that everyday,  no matter what happened the day before there the sun is again, making the day new? Reminding us of our creator. Inviting us into the messy and marvelous aspects of what it means to be a child of God.
My prayer this morning of my 42nd birthday is one of gratitude for God's faithful love and deep awe and wonder at both the gifts I experience and the nudges to use my gifts in turn for the good of the whole. 

It is raining now as I write these words, but just 40 minutes ago I was outside and watching the sunrise. Such beauty. Both. Sun and rain. Amen.

2 comments:

Garpu said...

Happy birthday! (Heh, I'll turn 40 this christmas eve.)

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday and continued blessings. The sunrise and little birds greet me most mornings here in the Northern part of Oregon. Your journey with God is an inspiration to this 82 year old who met you in Seattle many years ago. Margaret