This little light of mine...

I'm gonna let it shine...this was a line from the popular children's song that we sang at church this morning. I work part time as an assistant to the Children's Minister for a local progressive church group. I've always adored the song and its message, but today it stuck with me for some reason. I've been reading this series off and on over the last year by Beverly Lewis called The Shunning, The Confession, and The Reckoning. It follows a young woman who grew up in a Plain family in rural Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. She discovers she was adopted and through a tumultuous series of events, goes in search of her birth mother. Along her journey of self-discovery, she finds true love not only with the man she is meant to be with, but with her the Lord. She was brought up in the Amish way of fearing the Lord and earning His love. She goes onto learn that there are other ways of serving the Him and finds the true peace she had been searching her whole life for. It is a truly inspiring and hit home.

Working for the church over the past few over the past few months has really stirred something inside me. I grew up in a family that wasn't particularly religious and allowed me total freedom to discover my own faith when I was ready. Sometimes I embraced that liberal approach, but other times I longed to attend church like other kids I knew. At times, I did just that...I would come as the guest of a friend. I've attended Mormon and Christian services, accompanied my host family on their trips to their Buddha temples and Shinto shrines in Japan, and have taken a number of religious studies classes in college. In my senior year of high school, I even was a part of a youth group at a local church (in part to spend more time with my boyfriend at the time). I have toyed with many different faiths and read up on some of their doctrines. While I connected with a lot of what some of them had to say, there always seemed to be something that also rubbed me wrong. Maybe I am wrong, but I just don't know that it is up to the "saved" to pass judgement on others who walk path different from their own. Though I don't think there is anything wrong with keeping an open dialogue going about what people believe in.

While I still don't consider myself a devout follower of any one faith and will likely never be a full-fledged churchgoer, I am partial to many of the basic Christian values. I feel as though I am finally getting that feeling I've been longing for my whole life. The appeal of the church I work at is that they welcome EVERYONE with open arms. They preach that the true message of the Christian faith as they see it...is to practice LOVE in every aspect of your life. Some religions teach you to fear the Lord and to always be humble in his presence. While the humility part is vital, I feel that I relate best to faith by knowing that I will treat thy neighbor with love and compassion. Even in the most trying of times, I feel like God has been watching over us in His own way. I don't want to sound preachy and I am not advocating to be "reborn." The message of the place I work at is that there are many paths to God and they embrace them all...as long as the destination leads you to Him...whatever He might be called in your faith. I think that all faiths have something wonderful to offer, but I find it hard to wrap my mind around the ones that preach hate or intolerance of any kind. You don't have to agree with someone else's lifestyle or beliefs, but it is our saving grace to try to live in harmony with one another.

Okay, that sounded preachy, but I think you get my drift. My personal journey through the labrynth of spirituality has brought me to a very centered place. While I doubt my hubby will ever share my beliefs, I respect that he has his own cherished ideas that give him solace. As long as we give each other the space to be who we are and find the positives in that, we will be just fine. That is what I hope to pass onto our kids. I want them to believe in God and that He loves them for who they are. As we taught the children today at service...believing that everyone is special in their own way and its important to let their little light shine brightly.