WILD AND PRECIOUS

Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? --Mary Oliver

This quote by Mary Oliver fascinates me. First of all the poet seems to assume we have a choice. If that’s true, what would your wild and precious life look like? What would mine look like? Aren’t we living it now? If not, why not?

You may be saying, “There’s too much grief, sorrow, and violence going on in the world to live the kind of life I want.” Doesn't that make life all the more precious? Isn’t your life precious?  “Oh, but you don’t know what I’ve been through.” That’s true, I don’t…but God does and you are still precious to Him.

Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you, I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life (Isaiah 43:4). 

You are precious to me, too!

The wild and precious life begins in our thoughts; thoughts about ourselves, other people, and what’s happening around us. Every day, every moment of the day, God gives us a choice. Young or old, we can choose thoughts that bring life or death. Choose life! (See Deut. 30:19, ERV.)

Quote thanks to Goodreads.com: Happy 79th birthday, Mary Oliver! The Pulitzer Prize-winning poet's daily walks in the woods and wetlands of Provincetown are a central inspiration for her work.