Do you struggle with faith? Do you struggle with the religions that dominate our world? Do you not know what to believe? The world is a big place with something for everyone. This means that it might take a person awhile to find that something that they can believe in with their whole heart. It also means they may never find that peace; although, I sincerely hope that is never the case.
I was raised in the Methodist church in a small town. When I was younger, I loved going to church and singing songs and learning new things. When I reached the age that I could say I didn't want to go to church my parents allowed it. They did this because they understood that everyone has to find their own way in life. The best thing any parent can do is show their child one path but love their child no matter what, even if they decide to form a new path.
It is never easy to watch the ones you love struggle, but no matter what experiences you have or how much you love them there is nothing you can do to help them until they allow you to. Sometimes a person has to make their own mistakes before they can let someone else help guide them.
My parents give regularly to their church. My grandparents love being involved in Bible studies at their church. I love my childhood church for the people that have watched me grow up. It is a community of people that you won't find anywhere else. No matter how well they may know you they always smile at you, give you hugs and say congratulations.
Despite my upbringing and early love of God, I am no longer the same person. No great event has happened that would cause a shift in my perspective except for maybe more education. For whatever reason, I can not tell you that I believe in God, but I also can't tell you that I don't believe there isn't a god.
Some might label my view as agnostic. Honestly, I don't think I have done enough research in the areas of religion to truly label myself as agnostic. To label my beliefs is to conform to a category, but knowledge is always changing and I don't see the point to confining myself.
What I do believe is that everyone deserves the right to what they believe. I don't need a god to be happy or be a good person. Some people do. People need different things in order to understand the chaos that often surrounds us. That is why there are so many religions and points of views out there. No one belief is right or wrong. When people use their belief to tear others down is when something is wrong, but that is because of someone's actions not their beliefs.
I believe in faith. I don't need to know whether there is a god or not. It may seem selfish, but I would rather focus on my own tangible world than worry about what else is out there. I think a person can go crazy trying to know everything.
What I will say is I would not be the person I am today without the Bible. I may not always agree with it or believe it is true, but I do see the value in what it has to teach human kind. Maybe I am picking and choosing which we all know can lead to extremist views, but I choose to see the good. I choose to be a good person - that's the only label I want.
