Where is the Meaning?

Somehow, I suspect I am not the only one who has ever wondered about a purpose in life. The refrain from a song of the past came to me as I was thinking about this article:  “Is that all there is?”

Sadly, too many of us wander through life undirected, accomplishing so much less than would be possible had we figured it out sooner.

A recent sermon at church nudged my thinking on this topic. The sermon revolved around finding meaning in life through devotion to God. Now, I struggle with feelings that my faith is not deep enough, and I often feel as though I’ve done little to feel worthy of His love and care. That being said, my life has been blessed with much good. I still don’t know why.

As I reflected, I decided that I think there is a difference between “eventful” moments in life and “meaningful” ones. I can count many more events that have taken place over the years – graduations, weddings, trips, achievements – than I can meaningful moments. Meaningful moments, for me, are times when I was overwhelmed by some emotional or spiritual experience. As I pondered this longer, I realized that each of those meaningful moments involved some aspect of being touched.  They may have occurred when physical comfort was either given or received, or happened at moments where a profound emotional experience had taken place or was shared. I have also reflected in awe upon certain sequences of events that would seem extraordinarily unlikely to have occurred together.

Moments where I have been touched by touching another, or by having someone else reach out to me are incredibly precious. I think herein lies meaning for me. It is vital to reach out to others, and we need to receive those who reach out to us…for in doing so, I believe we – quite literally – reach out and touch the hand of God.

Where is the meaning in your life?