ventage tuesday : you gotta have faith.

Apologies to anyone who is now singing George Michael.

Today's Ventage Tuesday post was suggested by Angie, in honor of Holy Week. To be perfectly honest, when I read that, I thought "what??" – and then remembered that Easter was coming up. I took a few moments to reflect on the Passion Play that my church in Oklahoma used to put on – a VERY impressive production. And then I decided that I was certainly NOT going to write about religion. Well, not really… 

1. At the end of the day, faith is a funny thing. It turns up when you don't really expect it. – Meredith Grey, Grey's Anatomy. (yes, I am fully aware that this is a character on a TV show) I have spent the past several (10) years moving away from religion, or so I thought. I'm learning that what I really wanted to move away from are the rigid beliefs that come with religion. As I've left behind the black & white, I've found more faith in the grey. Funny how that works.

2. Faith includes noticing the mess, the emptiness, and the discomfort, and letting it be there until some light returnes. – Anne Lamott I think that some people might refer to this as "let go & let God." Some say "be here now." My grandmother would say "this too shall pass." I have faith that despite the hard times, despite the dark & twisty…there will be light again.

3. Faith is belief in what you cannot see or prove or touch. Faith is walking face-first and full-speed into the dark. – Elizabeth Gilbert Oh, THIS. This is the part about faith that is so tricky for me. I research. I analyze. I learn. I want evidence. Faith, for me, is learning to trust the Universe…and also learning to trust myself.

4. Faith is a place of mystery, where we find the courage to believe in what we cannot see and the strength to let go of our fear of uncertainty. – Brene Brown Again with the not seeing. What I love about this quote is the mention of courage. It's HARD to have faith, especially when your faith doesn't match your family's or your friend's faith. It takes courage to keep believing.

5. Let faith be the bridge that you build to overcome evil and welcome good. – Maya Angelou One of the mantras that I often try to work with is "there is only love." It's not really about finding the love in a person/situation – it's merely having faith that it's there. And when that bridge is built? Love wins.