Who are you?

Our pastor posed some interesting questions at church yesterday. They seem relatively easy to answer at the outset, but I think they provide an interesting platform from which to explore yourself, or others.

1. Who are you?

2. Who (or what) do you serve? (who or what is your god?)

3. What is your yearning?

4. What is your prayer?

A year or two ago I probably would have scoffed at these questions, assumed them to be part of some religious agenda (I shuddered at the word prayer, or god). It's hard not to feel that way when we hear a lot about "family values" (and they don't mean my family values). But going to the Universalist Church has definitely changed something in me. I finally feel able to explore religion and god and not feel like I might get the answer wrong somehow. It makes it easier to find god in places other than church: my garden, the magnolia tree that is blooming, patients with dementia, a newborn niece, or even my pink blanket.

I'm not sure any of us can answer the above questions with any certainty, nor do I think the answers are static. Nonetheless, I'd still like to try to know the answers.