Friday, December 01, 2006
FAITH
A new month, and I know you have all been eagerly awaiting a new topic... so here we go... FAITH...
To believe in the Divine Mystery, in the God of our understanding, and to trust this force with all that we are; this is the essence of faith. When our hearts threaten to break wide open with the pressure of our own deep pain or joy, sadness, longing, our faith is the force that will see us through. And who or what is this God that people discuss and refer to in a myriad of manners? What is all the arguing about? The word God is just a word, so why all the rules? Is it not the faith and the feeling behind the word, whichever word we choose, that is important?
Perhaps what we are really discussing here is love. We can talk and talk and never define this force that must be felt and expressed to be truly understood. Call it The Universe, The Divine, Source, Spirit, God, whatever! If the world cannot agree on the word, we can at least agree on the feeling of love.
Without faith we may spend time fighting to run life's show on our own. The battles can seem ruthless, cunning, neverending. And then, maybe, if we are fortunate, a crisis happens. An event that pushes us to stretch in every direction, turn ourselves inside out, and threatens to annihilate all that we know ourselves to be. Finally, when there is nothing left to do but give up and ask for help, we get on our knees, and surrender. And, if it is true that part of our journey here is about finding faith and living from it, then why fight?
And so, the invitation for the coming month is to become willing, if we are not already, to be open to this Great Mystery. Can we let go of the need to know this force with our heads, and instead feel the essence of it, the love within our hearts? I invite you to let go of the meanings attached to words. I will be referring to the force of faith as God, because it is a word I am comfortable with, and the word I chose the day I reluctantly got on my knees. I invite each of you to use your own, and to come with open hearts and willing minds...
Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light. - Helen Keller
I AM OPEN TO THE GREAT MYSTERY
Indeed, the universe is a mystery; we are born, we live then appear to die, all the while held and encouraged by a miraculous, unseen force. Who or what is this force, this mystery that pumps our hearts, sprouts a seed, lights the stars? If we can simply hold a belief in something larger than us and come to feel its presence, a letting go happens, an inner peace, a knowing that the hand of this Force is always there, reaching out through all of existence, waiting patiently for us to clasp it in our own.
Take some time to consider what faith is for you. When have you felt faith most strongly in your life?
// posted by Sacred Truth @ 8:19 AM 
