July is one of those months that we sometimes feel like skipping in our household due to a number of events and memories associated with them. However, over the years, we have learned to accept and even at times live with the memories. This did not come easy, but it did come through faith. One of my better memories in July is a day when I first started reading the Bible before going to work. I remember it distinctly because of the sunrise and a subsequent poem I wrote inspired by the events of the morning. I firmly believe that day was a turning point, one that slowly allowed me to move beyond the past and start living in the present. A similar event happened this past week that led me to contemplate faith and how it forms. We thought we’d share some things we have learned about faith in the past week and in our lives in this week’s post.
“Teaching is successful only as it causes people to think for themselves. What the teacher thinks matters little; what he makes the child thinks matters much.” –Alice Moore Hubbard
Theme of the Week: Faith’s Deeds
Our theme of the week stemmed from a running experience early Sunday morning before church. On my run that morning, I was trying to clear my head from a rather chaotic week and at one point lamented not being able to appreciate the beauty of the morning due to all the thoughts in my mind. I made the “mistake” of saying this out loud and immediately heard God’s respond, “Where is thy faith? Just be patient, My child.”
I am sure if I could have seen God, He would have had a glint in His eye and a smile on His face as wide as the heavens, because what came next was most certainly His doing in His time under His terms. It did not come right away or in some grandiose strike of lightening, but rather through a series of interactions throughout the day that in hindsight were exactly what I needed at just the right time (much to the impatient inner eight-year-old’s protest).
The first thing that happened was Father Chris’ homily. He explained how he had been on vacation with his family in New Jersey the week prior and told of some of his adventures. As a younger priest, he is still learning about his faith and how his work as a priest affects others and himself. He told about a young couple whom he met in a crowded shop. They asked him about the Steelers t-shirt he was wearing and struck up a conversation with him. At one point, they asked what he did for a living. He immediately was taken back, unsure at first how to answer, but felt the need and the call to be honest and explain he was a Catholic priest. The couple was so excited and explained they were Catholic and their daughter was named after one of the saints. Then they asked if he would bless them.
He looked around and saw how crowded the shop was and how eager the couple’s faces were and right there gave them a blessing. He explained how sometimes we are put in what feel like awkward situations not to test our faith but to strengthen our faith. We don’t always feel comfortable when it comes to faith, and that is normal and okay. What matters most is that we are honest with our faith and allow it to surface.
On another occasion while walking on the beach in a t-shirt with his rosary, Father saw two “surfer dudes” looking at him from a distance. As they came closer, Father overheard the one man say to the other, “Now that dude just don’t care.”
The congregation erupted in laughter, and after a big smile and short pause, Father continued to explain that sometimes faith and how we “profess” it is not popular, and this, too, is okay. We just need to be respectful to and of our faith and it will take care of those awkward situations for us.
Later that day, I felt a strong need to explain to a good friend how important their support has been to me. Since this friendship is a newer one, we are still learning about each other and how best to express ourselves. I sent my friend a text explaining my gratitude along with some history as to why her support has been most helpful. Her response was priceless, simply put, full of wisdom, and overflowing with faith. The line that hit me hardest was, “You can do it.”
Perhaps that is the beauty of faith. It takes very little to have a profound effect.
“Faith is about doing. You are how you act, not just how you believe.” –Mitch Albom
Lesson of the Week: Awake to the Need
Our lesson of the week came while I was running and biking Monday night. I had a number of lines in my head that would make some good verses in a poem, but they seemed all jumbled up (probably because our life has been that way and as the saying goes life imitates art and vice versa). How could I get them to make sense?
In the course of the miles, I let my senses take over, seeing the sights, listening to the sounds, and feeling the changes in the breeze. There seemed to be a cadence to all this and I recognized this cadence as the melody to a favorite hymn. Contemplating the lines in my head once more, along with all the awareness of my senses, it all came together. What a glorious moment that was! (As a somewhat creative and artistic yet anal person, such moments are like a straight shot of adrenaline to get the inner soul fully engaged in all life aspects, which is the ultimate goal of the inner adult).
Returning home, I quickly wrote down the lines and put together some pictures to help augment the effort. The end result was shared with some close friends and the response was great. While it is sometimes awkward to share such things, the fact that one tries is truly rewarded in the long run, usually with a wink and a nod from God.
“Real silence moves us from knowing things to perceiving a Presence that imbues all things.” –Richard Rohr
Song of the Week: Hymn of Glory
Our song of the week is the hymn mentioned above and one that I am fortunate to be able to play on my guitar without too much trouble. I’ve always loved the words, and after learning to play the musical notes, really appreciate the song. The notes take one’s hand all over the neck of the guitar to play, which can be challenging and rewarding.
Perhaps that is another paradox and beauty of faith—it both challenges and rewards us in all aspects of life.
Battle Hymn of the Republic
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword:
His truth is marching on.
Refrain:
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.
I have seen him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps;
They have builded him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read the righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps;
His day is marching on. [Refrain]
He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of all before his judgment seat;
O be swift, my soul, to answer him; be jubilant, my feet!
Our God is marching on. [Refrain]
In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me;
As he died to make us holy, let us die that all be free!
While God is marching on. [Refrain]
Sights of the Week: First and Faith’s Seeds
Our sights of the week are a number of firsts of the season. We saw our first buck in velvet, first bloom on the teasels, first flowers on the trumpet vine, first Queen Anne’s lace bloom, first apples forming in the area trees, first bull thistle starting to flower, and first yucca bloom. The sight of each made us wonder whether plants have faith. Surely something coaxes them out of their seeds to grow and blossom into colorful arrays.
Maybe some would argue that the chemical reactions going on in the seeds and stems are what drives the flowers to bloom. But what causes chemical reactions? Do not the molecules have moments when they really want to stay put, but are forced by a power beyond their understanding to move?
Perhaps that is one of the greatest gifts of faith—it forces us to explore and question in order to find our way in life.
“No matter who you are, what you do, or how far you think you have to go, you have been tapped by a force greater than yourself to step into your God-given calling.” –Oprah Winfrey
Words of the Week: Steps to See
Our words of the week from the Daily Word devotional include free, independence, grace, energy, inner peace, and wisdom. As we come to view life through experiences, we are set free of not knowing. This leads us to a better sense of independence, allowing us to experiences the grace of God. As we learn to acknowledge and accept God’s grace, we find the energy required to continue on the journey, leading to a sense of inner peace (although it may seem transitory or short lived at times). Going through this process takes us through the steps to gaining true wisdom. All this happens in the wings and winds of faith that surround and guide us throughout our lives.
May we learn to accept the steps of our journey. May we take the time along the way to help others, and may we come to see who we are meant to be through our faith.
Faith
Faith
All the way
In all things
Through God’s praises sing
Hallelujah, hallelujah.
Faith
Around and through our days
Interwoven and divine
Through the hands of time
Helping the seed come to be.
Faith
Along and around time’s space
Intertwined with mystery
To light the path with imagery
Holding on to the dawn.
-Lisa A. Wisniewski
A Note of Thanks
Our thanks this week goes out to all the people who have had faith in us and given their faith through prayers to us. We appreciate all the support and encouragement as we come to find our way to whom we are meant to become. We also thank our own little Lena, who celebrated her one year adoption anniversary with us. She is the ultimate faith model in our household. Love you Lena Beana!
-Lisa, Leo, and Lena
Natural Deltas 