the letter U

hi. three months, one week, and two days later....


i like the letter U. the letter U can symbolize many things:

- it's one way we can avoid expending too much energy as we email or chat with someone, but still effectively communicate in the second person: e.g., "i luv u" & "c u latr".

- it's how we can abbreviate the word university, as in "howard u.", or "UNC", or my alma mater, "wassamatta u."

- it's the 21st letter of the alphabet, helpful in spelling words such as umbrella, undulate, vacuum, and most importantly, untumultuous**.

- it's a picture of a change in direction, as in u-turn.

i like that last symbol, especially in this time of advent, as we consider the trajectory this world was on 2000 years ago. god sent his incarnation, and we all have the opportunity to accept this gift of love and repent, which mr. webster tells us means "to turn from sin and change one's mind". now, i don't look at the actions of my life and think, "dang...i really need to stop all these horrible things I'm doing and be a better person." frankly, i'm not sure god looks at our lives and demands that of us either. but he does want our hearts to turn to and our eyes to be fixed on him.

may it be.


** - this is the only word in the english language that contains five (5) u's.