Searching for Meaning

Welcome to this Lent’s posts, focused on Searching for Meaning. We will explore the subject each Friday during Lent.

Perhaps it is human nature to search for the meaning of our lives. Perhaps it is a God-given trait that encourages us to grow or reach out. While some may ask, “Is this all there is?” others ask, “How can I do or be more?” Many conclude that we add meaning to our lives when we make something beautiful, or help others, or accomplish a goal.

There are seasons in our lives when the questions resurface, and we repeatedly search for ways to enhance meaning in our lives. As teens we wonder what our direction in life should be. We start discovering what we excel at, or what gives us inner joy. Will I go to college, trade school, or take a year to “find myself?”

A few years later we might be weighing which job will give us more satisfaction, or which person will be our life partner. As young parents, we hope there will eventually be more to life than diapers and tight budgets. We also may wonder how to direct our children toward a life of values. The question of meaning or direction may rise again as we become empty nesters, especially if we have found most of our value through parenting.

Perhaps by middle age we have become established, or even financially successful. Maybe what we thought would bring us happiness still feels like something is missing. The thought might again haunt us, “Is this all there is?” Many people at this stage become philanthropists or volunteers, using the blessings they’ve received to help others. Others may meet with mid-life crises and they derive meaning in their suffering by being an example of endurance and acceptance. Then, if we are blessed with retirement and old age, we ask again, “How do I bring meaning to my life now that I’m not working or not as capable?”

Great minds have studied these questions. Humanists encourage us to find our passion or calling or vocation and then use it to help others. Theologians direct us to bring God into the discussion. “Lord, what would You have me do?” Some have made their advice more individual. If God created me to be unique among His creations, perhaps there is a unique way He wants me to serve Him and others. We seek our vocation. I have long been taken with a quote from Frederick Buechner describing vocation as “the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” I suspect we are serving best when we follow Pablo Picasso’s advice, “The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.”

So, I believe searching for meaning involves searching our hearts and God’s will for a calling that brings us great joy and then using that gift to help others. At different stages in our lives, we may focus on different passions or values, but let’s keep striving to be and do the best we can. Then, in our final days, we can look back without regret. We hope to say with St. Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7 NIV

In the weeks ahead, we will look to a variety of writers to see how they recommend we add meaning to our lives. In the meantime, let’s spend a little extra time in prayer, asking God to lead us to know His will.