Faith And Affirmation

Yesterday someone asked me what I thought about the recent news stories about the alleged finding of the bones of Jesus. Well, basically I think it's one more attempt for television ratings and I give it little credence. However, I am always amused by how easily some people's faith is challenged by things like the Da Vinci Code or this new thing about finding Jesus's bones. My friend, Fr Dennis, and I decided one day that even if we found out there's no such thing as God, we have no regrets about the lives we have tried to live based on faith. I would want to be a good person, full of compassion and love, even if Jesus was a hoax. Goodness is its own reward. Admittedly, the older I get the less sure I am about many things I was taught in my youth. I do question a lot of things but I believe doubt is an important part of belief. Would I be less contemplative if there was no God? I think not. I would still get lost in the moment and I would still love beauty. As I said yesterday, most, if not all I believe, cannot be proven intellectually. I don't have to understand something to believe in it. Even if the experiences I have had in my life that I attribute to God revealing Himself are in my imagination, who's to say that God doesn't use the imagination as a way to give us a sense of who He is? I know with little doubt that God does reveal Himself to me in the smiles and hugs of a little child named Chloe.

Speaking of Chloe..... All of us need affirmation in our lives. We like to believe that we make a difference in the lives of others. I was thinking on the way to work this morning that there are two things that really affirm me in my life. One of them is Chloe. I have never felt so loved. When I walk into her daycare center, she runs to me with her arms outstretched saying, "My Pa Paw's here"! How could I not feel good with a greeting like that? No one else gets that excited when I walk into a room. The other experience where I receive a lot of affirmation is writing these daily thoughts. People I don't even know speak to me on the elevator or other places in the building while others I don't know or have never met write to me. It amazes me but I am happy that somehow, through my words, I am able to touch people's lives in a positive way. So, thank all of you again for your kind words. You affirm me greatly.