Imagining Eternity: A Journey Toward Meaning

We’re all on a journey.  We’re all on a journey to find hope, purpose, and meaning in our lives.  We all desire more than what we have and experience at the present moment.  We wouldn’t be human if we did not.

The book in your hands is a story of my journey towards meaning.  When I say meaning, however, I do not refer to the meaning that, for example, accompanies the satisfaction of accomplishing a difficult task, participating in an intimate relationship, or doing something purposeful for others.  Most of us have these aplenty.  Imagining Eternity is about looking for a meaning that lasts beyond the next moment, a meaning that is more than a temporary blip of oneness with work, humanity, or the universe.  A permanency of meaning.

I do not share my journey with you because it is more special or profound than yours, nor do I share it because it has led me to a meaning that no one else can find or understand.  Just the opposite.  I share my journey with you precisely because I believe that although the characters and adventures in my journey are unique to me (just as those of your journey are unique to you), what I found is not.  What I have found—and continue to find—anyone can find, really, provided he or she earnestly desires to find it.  There are no hidden secrets to finding lasting meaning.

On the one hand, Imagining Eternity is no more, and no less, than an honest and forthright journey of a fellow human being looking for lasting value and purpose in his life.  It’s one person’s account of his adventures (and misadventures) with life and the God who makes it.  On the other hand, Imagining Eternity is everyone’s story, a thoroughly human sojourn into the dreams, pain, hopes, and longings which all of us explore and encounter.  It’s a mirror, not so much of content, but of form, of the universal realities we all face in our quest to find value in our existence.

I trust that in reading about my experience you will find new ways of looking at your own spiritual aspirations, that you will see richer ways of moving yourself toward greater wholeness and beauty in your life.  Moreover, I hope that you arrive at a deeper perception of God and who He has made Himself to be for us.

Just as one does not search for meaning in isolation, so does one not write apart from the human communities in which he participates.  Many people have helped me in my trek toward completion of this book, and I would be remiss if I did not mention at least some of them.  To Ben and Sarah Sanders, I am grateful for initial assistance and encouragement.  To Julie Crutchfield, Markie Clements, Steve Zelt, Helen Beatty, Elizabeth Marsh, and Anna Dewere I give thanks for reading the manuscript and offering much good advice as it went through its many permutations.  Finally, I offer my deepest gratitude to my dear wife, Carol, who has consistently supported and loved me throughout this lengthy endeavor.  It is to her and the wonder of who she is that I dedicate this book.