"Noah was a brave man to sail in a wooden boat with two termites." - Anonymous

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Faith

This weekend my brother-in-law and his wife asked me to be Godmother to their third son.

Hubs is Godfather to their second son. Hubs brothers are our sons Godfathers. His sisters-in-law are their Godmothers.

We like to keep things in the family.

I'm really excited. And honoured. Apparently I am the "Godliest of the sisters-in-law", according to them. Which makes me wonder about the other two...

I think it's safe to say I'm a semi-practicing, questioning Anglican. I was raised Anglican, and when I married a Ukrainian-Catholic, there was never a question of me 'switching sides'. He knew.

When you're young, you don't generally question the faith you're raised in, if any. You follow your parents to church, attend Sunday School, get involved. Though, it may not be a big part of your world - it never was for me, my extra-curricular activities often fell on Sundays as I got older.

As I went out in the world, I met new, different people, was exposed to new experiences, and as my experience grew, my ability to question, defend, see multiple sides did too. Things that I was never exposed to growing up now made sense and were attractive to me. I was able to bring them closer and unite them with my own core belief, often enhancing it. I have been able to reconcile that I may not be a textbook Anglican (or Christian, even), but my faith is a reflection of what I hold dear.

My support for my Godson will be in the same way. He will be raised with a strong faith base. But I will encourage him to find his way on his own, to bring closer that which he draws strength from, and to recognize that each person's faith should be unique.

3 comments:

Kristi said...

Beautiful post. I couldn't agree more.

Kamis Khlopchyk said...

Beautifully said, I totally agree. I grew up Catholic but can't say that's what I am now...more of a be my own Christian hybrid.

Kami said...

Thanks for visiting my blog!

I agree with your thoughts here 100% I am Godmother to one of my nieces and one of my nephews. I would like to teach them to think and wonder for themselves, and search out their truth, not just what someone, anyone, tells them to believe. This is definitely what I will be teaching my own daughter.