Oh, My God!

According to Anu Garg at A.Word.A.Day, the abbreviation “OMG” for “Oh, My God!” is not an invention of modern-day texters and Twitterers but has been around since 1917, when it was first recorded in a letter to Winston Churchill.

Although the abbreviation OMG might only have been around since 1917, the impulse to exclaim “Oh, my God!” surely has existed since humans developed the ability to see sunrises and hear birdsong and use language to give voice to their awe. Awe and gratitude in the face of the varied and multitudinous splendors of earth are woven into our DNA; if you doubt that, watch the face of a child who tastes ice cream for the first time.

In the busy worlds we have created for ourselves, we have truncated awe, packing it into a three-letter abbreviation and then moving on quickly to keep up with the demands we place on ourselves. Perhaps a healthy Lenten disciple would be to fast from abbreviated awe and feast on the occasions that lead us to say “Oh, my God!” After all, as the poet W.H. Davies observed in his poem Leisure, “A poor life this if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare.”