What does it mean to be a person of faith? Does it mean belonging to a particular
church? Adhering to rules set up by that
church? Is it reciting the prayers and
rituals that go along with attending a mass or service (even when they change
the wording of the prayers we’ve said for many years)? Is faith sitting in the front pew in your
Sunday best holding hands with your family during the Lord’s Prayer? Does it mean giving something up during Lent and
eating fish on Fridays? Is it using religious
jargon freely … being able to recite scripture … automatically chanting prayers
from memory while holding on to a string of beads? These things have their roles in religion …
giving comfort to some … a familiar way of knowing God. They can also be used as an outlet when
otherwise at a loss for words.
But I can’t help but wonder … if faith should be more about having
a private relationship with God … spending time alone together … perhaps in
nature or on the front porch or alone in a quiet church … communicating …
listening … being together like a parent and child or a couple of lifelong
friends. Maybe it is simply being
thankful for our many blessings … sending up quiet prayers of gratitude and appreciation
for one’s family and the beauty of nature … or just having a genuine concern
for others and the rightness of life.
It may have a lot to do with trying to trust God to know
what is right for our lives … being patient and accepting even when we can’t
understand why He doesn’t hold up His end of the bargains that we
designed ourselves ... and simply accepting grace and peace and strength as a gift from God ... allowing us to follow
the paths He leads us on even if it isn’t what we had once envisioned…listening
for His guidance ... and believing deep in our hearts that there is more to life
than what we can see.
I don’t know … perhaps you’ll see my family and I in the
front pew in church on Easter Sunday … or you may see us sneaking into a seat
in the back row or balcony … or I may just choose to stay home and drink coffee
on the porch and go for a long, quiet walk … with a private stop in the church
once the crowds have dispersed …
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