Faith Thoughts

"The spiritual journey is one of continually falling on your face, getting up, brushing yourself off, looking sheepishly at God, and taking another step."
--Aurobindo

"Why indeed must "God" be a noun?  Why not a verb - the most active and dynamic of all?"
--Mary Daly

"Faith is the centerpiece of a connected life.  It allows us to live by the grace of invisible strands.  It is a belief in a wisdom superior to our own.  Faith becomes a teacher in the absence of fact."
--Terry Tempest Williams

So many ways to look at faith... and in so many ways they are all accurate!  The first time I read that first quote, I didn't like it...  The 'looking sheepishly at God' part seemed a little too shame-filled.  But come on, let's get real - we all have times in our lives when we probably should be looking a little sheepish!  When we gossiped, when we lied, when we could have helped and didn't...  It's just a dose of reality - we mess up, we look to God for forgiveness, and then we move on.

I love the second quote - God as a verb!  Dynamic, powerful, always moving in the world...  Moving through me, guiding me, nudging me, and strengthening me along the way...  Some say "love is a verb" - maybe they go hand-in-hand?

And the third quote - so true!  "Faith is the centerpiece of a connected life."  Faith in God connects us to all things - to each other, to tragedies in the world, to blessings and celebrations, to the needs of ourselves and others, to the earth - all connections in my life, begin and end with my faith in God.  "It allows us to live by the grace of invisible strands.  It is a belief in a wisdom superior to our own..."  Those invisible strands of grace are what gets me through when the going gets tough...  The idea that there is a God of love carrying me through with loving grace - whose wisdom surpasses anything I might claim as wisdom...  That I can trust to help me move on - with hope for what's to come.

So many sides of God and so many ways to look at our faith...  These readings all came from Sarah Ban Breathnach's book "Something More."  Just a part of my morning reading - but they connected so well with some of the other things I've been reading this week, I just had to share!

Have a wonderful day!
Megs

Things I am thankful for today:

1.  This blog. 
2.  Working out with a new inhaler!  Woo-hoo!
3.  A fun staff meeting outside of the church.  Nice.
4.  Being able to work from home most of today.  Double nice.
5.  A beautiful day - perfect!
6.  My pharmicist - always kind and funny.
7.  The Olive Grove Store - so fun!
8.  Chicken tacos - yum!
9.  Baking.
10.  A hubby who helps around the house.  Lucky me!