Faith hiding in the leaves

My nestmate corresponds from time to time with a good friend from long ago, from a time when they were fledgelings and life was young and full of promise. With the passage of time their lives moved in different directions and for many years their communication was lost. During this period they both underwent many joyful, positive experiences, as well as many sad changes and trials in their lives, so today they share these events with each other. Now, one of the beautiful things about my nestmate that drew me to him in the first place is his solid faith in God. This is a precious characteristic to have, without which one's life is empty indeed. No matter how bad things have gone or may go, with faith to support a person anything is possible. With this faith goes the belief that God forgives us all sins provided we truely are repentant for them. How bleak life would be if there was no glimmer of light at the end of that long dark tunnel.

So his friend asked the question, "how do you keep your faith?" in the face of all the worst things that are thrown against you: divorce, death of loved ones, substance abuse, ill-health, loss of one's job, children who grow away from you. The list can seem endless and overwhelming if there is no platform of faith to support one and despair is the end result.

These obstacles are not unique to my nestmate or his friend - they are strewn along everyone's path like rocks and boulders for one to dodge or trip over. Everyone has a different means of keeping the faith while treading carefully through the narrow paths. So I asked myself - how do I support my faith and keep it strong as I trip over my rocks and boulders? I had never really thought about it before; I just took this faith for granted, but I realize now that to keep one's faith strong one has to be willing to work to strengthen it. Of course there are many different ways for everyone who looks, but I find that I have come to surround myself with friends who also have a deep abiding faith in God. I have mentioned before that these friends wear different religious labels but share the same conviction that through faith we will all reach that promised light. These friends console me and lift my spirit up when I trip over my rocks; they pray for me and with me, even when I do not reach out and ask them to do so. Though I do not read the bible as I should I am comforted and exhorted by the words of those friends who do read and who share what they learn with me and cause me to think about the teachings that truely matter. Some of these friends do not share their private beliefs with me through conversations but instead they blend their voices with mine to bring life to the beautiful songs that rise up to the heavens; we create a powerful tapestry of faith through song to support and sustain our fellow parishoners as well as ourselves.

Faith is God's gift to us all to sustain us and should not be taken for granted. Just as the most solid of structures will eventually be eroded away by rain and fire and wind so will our faith be eroded away by life's trials and misfortunes unless one continuously works to reinforce this gift. If you look around you and open yourself to those who are filled with faith you will surround yourself with the reinforcement needed to protect your fortress.

Reflections of God's Glory

It seems to me that much of our daily life is spent in the struggle just to get from point A to point B. I get up, let the dogs out, get my first cup of coffee, dress, apply makeup and fix hair, kiss my hubby good-bye and zoom out the door in a little over one hour. Upon arriving at work I boot up the computer, grab the second of many daily cups of coffee, start filtering e-mails and basically complete the workday routines (I call myself the Human Router). Life narrows down to a very narrow tunnel. Now I know, as I am gently but effectively reminded by my friend “T B” that the bible teaches us that in order to attain everlasting life in heaven we must live our earthly lives solely to glorify our Lord. Not by bringing glory to ourselves, our employers, or even to our loved ones, but by glorifying our Lord. The many ways we have been given to accomplish this are set out in the Bible if we but take the time to follow them. But for me at least the everyday routines of my life completely obscure this one simple but critical directive. So it was a beautiful surprise recently to realize yet again that He gives us the tools we need to bring our focus back to His real purpose - to recognize and know God in our very hearts; our inner core.
My nest-mate and I had the fortuitous opportunity to have lunch with a new friend. This man has been instrumental in the accomplishment of a major project for our new home in Vancouver WA. We already knew from conversations with him over the telephone that he was a man of integrity who took pride in seeing a job well-done and honoring his committments. What we learned of him over lunch was a glimpse of a man who has truly seen the Lord and lives his daily life together with his wife in a manner designed to give glory to God and thanks for the blessings he has been given. This man and his wife, from a sense of responsibility and rightness, took in to their home a child who came from a terrible home situation, came to love this little boy, and now are in the process of adopting him. His comment was so simple and so profound "we prayed over this and the decision was obvious". The quiet steadfast faith that the Lord would guide this man to live his life to glorify Him moved me. There was no question of bringing glory to himself by these actions.It is easy to look around at all the beauty that surrounds us in the seasons and say Ah, here is proof of the glory of the Lord. It is much harder to look in to the soul and find equal beauty. I do not think my soul would stand up to such a scrutiny as did the soul of this friend and his wife.