Carl Frederick Buechner (BEEK-nər; July 11, 1926 – August 15, 2022) was an American writer, novelist, poet, autobiographer, essayist, preacher, and theologian. He was an ordained Presbyterian minister and the author of thirty-nine published books. (Wikipedia)
When I read of his death last week, I was surprised to find that not only was he a contemporary, but he lived in New England during the time I was there. Not that our paths would have ever crossed …
Because I’d never read his writings, I chose The Remarkable Ordinary: How to Stop, Look, and Listen to Life. This man has a lot to say about this life of ours.
**********
To remember the past is to see that we are here today by grace,
that we have survived as a gift.
Your life is happening. You are happening.
Think back on your journey. The music of your life …
We must be careful with our lives, for Christ’s sake,
because it would seem that they are the only lives we are going to have
in this puzzling and perilous world,
and so they are very precious
and what we do with them matters enormously.
Sometimes the things that do not quite happen in your life
count for more than the things that do.
If you were aware of how precious today is, you could hardly live through it.
Unless you are aware of how precious it is, you can hardly be said to be living at all.
