Life Giving Part 1
April 8, 2025
Welcome to this week’s series of Daily Reflections on “Life-giving.”
A baby’s birth is naturally life-giving because it expands our circle of love and, therefore, expands our life. Anything that brings more life and love into our sphere is life-giving. For example, family and friends are life-giving. Many of us have hobbies and organizations we consider life-giving. And there are other life-giving things we may not recognize so readily. These things may be taken for granted or simply overlooked, yet they are vital to living the spiritual life.
I just heard from an old friend. To hear from him was life-giving because his email was an acknowledgment of the gift of his friendship. As the decades go by, old friendships from the past tend to fade away from our immediate thoughts. Nevertheless, the friendship and its memories remain. When I got the email, I immediately thought about the things that brought us together way back when, how he widened my views, and how we shared our struggles. I recounted how we celebrated good times and supported each other in bad times. Just one email was life-giving because it put me in touch with how he gave to my life. And what he gave continues to provide me with life every day.
The email reminds me of the network of people who made us who we are today, and how important they are to our daily lives, even if they are no longer in our lives. In a sense, they are always in our lives because of what they gave to us and possibly for what we gave to them. Remembering and touching base with that dear friend may give us new life beyond our imagination.
Self-inquiry: Why might contacting a dear friend from the past be life-giving for you and your old friend?
Dear God,
For my friend, I give you thanks; he gave me more life than I ever had before we met. Amen
