Calling Ourselves Beloved

Memorial Day weekend is an appropriate time to consider the following epitaph of the writer Raymond Carver, from his poem Late Fragment:

And did you get what

you wanted from this life, even so?

I did.

And what did you want?

To call myself beloved, to feel myself

beloved on the earth.

In spite of God’s extravagant love for us, it often seems to take a lifetime to be able to call ourselves beloved and feel that we are beloved during our time on earth. That’s too bad, because people who understand how much they are loved don’t waste time worrying about being judged and whether they merit forgiveness. Instead, they—like Jesus—become remarkably courageous, loving, and compassionate. 

This Memorial Day, may we continue to extend love and forgiveness to our deceased family and friends and remember that we are all held in the loving embrace of our infinite God.