"Thirty-three. This was the year they got Him."
Thanks, Mom. I was already thinking that.
All my Christian friends have taken their 33rd birthdays pretty heavily. Not midlife-crisis heavily, talking about death all of the time like a fifty year old, but hard nonetheless. It's natural, if you strive to model yourself on Jesus, to ask the difficult questions now. In particular, the really hard one.
If I died now, what will I have done? Will it be enough?
Nobody expects me to die this year, much less rise from the dead. But whenever you hear of a contemporary dying (usually a celebrity), you ask yourself these questions. It's kind of the reverse of my Thanksgiving stocktake at the end of last year.
OK, this is what I have received. What have I given back?
I don't know. I have a half-share in the birth and raising of the EasterBunny, who I hope will leave the world a better place than he finds it. That's something. I try to be a loving wife, a good friend, smart and competent at work, a responsible citizen and a compassionate stranger. I buy fairtrade and take public transport instead of owning a car. I argue for peace in times of war, and for justice in times of greed.
But is it enough?