What is Life For: My Mom's Answer

My mom (←pictured w/ me, age 2?) recently wrote a paper at my request answering the question: What is life for? Here is what she wrote:

Life is for the glorification of God. My early Christian training has that statement branded on my brain. In a much more complicated and broader sense, I still believe that.

Life is a gift from our Creator. It is impossible for me to imagine the Creator or the Universe and those regions far beyond of which we have no concept. At this time in my life I say, “So what?” By now it is very obvious that this Creator loves us/me. I am so content with that. He can look like or resemble anything He wants.

My dad (Grandfather Fred with me, Grandma Helen→) always said that God is the Alpha and the Omega, and it says that in the Bible. I never really “got” that until recent years. Now I am comforted to know that with God there is no beginning (Alpha) or end (Omega). I don’t know why this would/could be so. I just feel it.

Life is about that other “L” word, love. Life is for loving. Every time we forgive we get a little more insight into what Love is. God is Love. That is as far as I have ever been able to go with my reasoning.

When we get the knack of forgiving others we soon find out that somewhere along that line of experience, we forgave ourselves. Loving ourselves happens then, making loving others a piece of cake and oddly enough, a lot of fun.

Life, of course, is for living. We take the Creator’s gift and we do our best at the living of it. We become aware. We find now more fascinating than before and after.

When I was a youngster I thought of us people as being created for entertainment for God. “He” was lonely so he created us to fumble around down here on earth while He watched from up there in heaven. I figured that He gave us free will so we could win/lose at life and praise Him or ask Him for help. Then He could feel camaraderie with His creations. That concept seems so narrow to me now.

Nowadays I would say that, basically, life is for living to the hilt or more accurately, as far as we dare go. That’s where faith comes in, the daring to risk at living and loving. I think of it as flying through the air with my mouth open, not worrying about the bugs that might fly into my mouth.

Babies are born with that flying concept and bust through life learning to talk, walk and risk until they learn something different. Sometimes it takes years of practice to get the concept back and includes letting go of a lot of preconceived notions about what life is for. God doesn’t want us to throw our “gifts” away foolishly; at least that is what the Bible says in different ways.

What is life for? Learning and practicing are certainly part of the game plan, carried out with courage and curiosity, faith and joy, all in the name of Love. Any bugs collected while flying are just part of the journey.

Final note (from Sherry): Evangel, Uncle Pat and Aunt Dot, Aunt Daphne, ANYONE in the PARIS, WILDER or related clans who'd like to submit a statement answering the question: WHAT IS LIFE FOR? please send to my e-mail at swilder@ccccd.edu. I'll publish them, if they're not obscene (just joking.) Send old pictures, too, if possible with your statement.