Mtr Mary Trainor

Just one more candle and a trip around the sun  …*

Dear friend,

This year my birthday and my weekly Daily Bread slot arrived together. Yes, another trip around the sun, as the saying goes, and I’ve now logged a fairly sizable number of those revolutions.

If I’m honest, I cannot claim more wisdom comes with more years. Getting older is not some sort of math exercise where more years always mean more smarts. 

Nor does “more” automatically mean “more.” Nor does the reverse thinking hold true. For those who like to say “less is more”—well, that math doesn’t always work either.

***

All of this talk of “more” and “less” reminds me a bit of yesterday’s Gospel from Luke (20:41-21:4) in which we find Jesus comparing the size of various Temple offerings, those from several rich people, as well as the offering of one poor widow, who only had two small coins to give.

The rich people were giving more money—but Jesus says the poor widow’s gift was the greatest of all. “Less was more” in her case because what she gave came at great sacrifice. The rich givers would not even feel the absence of their large gifts.

The widow was all-in for God. I long to live in just that way, to be all-in for God in Christ. It’s mostly aspirational, because I certainly am not there. But may this poor widow be my role model for however many more trips around the sun that I may have.

Mtr Mary

*"Trip Around the Sun" is a song by American country music artists Jimmy Buffett and Martina McBride in August 2004. The song was written by Stephen Bruton, Al Anderson, and Sharon Vaughn.