A couple weeks ago I was deep in thought about how any Presidential candidate would really fix the problems happening in the world right now.  I was thinking about how much money has way too much control over our lives, even people like me who really, genuinely, don’t like it.  I was thinking about the people who find it necessary to steal, kill, cheat, and lie.  Politics aside, in my eyes, the world is becoming more and more of a disgusting place every day.  So as I was sitting there thinking about how these things can be fixed, I came to the conclusion that it won’t happen.  It got me thinking that what we need is a clean slate.  We need to start over.  The only one who can pull something like this off is God.

As you know by now, after avoiding religion and just being confused about it, I have started to grow a bit.  I’ve had time away from the ideas and fear that I believe was put into me by going to Sunday School when I was little.  I was done with the idea that I had a belief in God only because my Sunday School teacher told me that if I didn’t, I would go to Hell.  I was now old enough to find my own place for faith in my life.  With the help of some music as well as the help of some friends, I was finding my own way.

So here I was, deep in thought, and beginning to feel ready to start reading the Bible.  I wanted to know where these feelings were coming from.  Now, and although I may change my mind in a year or two, I don’t believe you should read the Bible as a text book on leading a good life.  But I think, at least for me, it is important that I had recognized some of my strongest values to be in line with much of what is found in the bible.  So I wanted to start to read it.

It was then that I decided to call my dad and ask him what he thinks about all this from a religious point of view.  “This” being my thoughts on the state of the world.  We ended up talking about how I was ready to read the bible and, as he always does, told me a story that happened to him, one of the many stories he has that just proves his faith.

My dad was bike riding that very morning, early, right around the time when my mom was getting ready for work.  He noticed as he was getting further out that he was getting more tired than usual so he decided to shorten his trip.  I’m not sure how far he was when he decided to turn around but I want to guess it was anywhere between 8 and 12 miles.  When he turned around he realized the time and that one of the crossroads on the trail is also one of the roads that my mom takes on her way to work.  He figured he’d be getting back right about the time when she was on the road and thought “wouldn’t it be nice if I got to that road at the same time she is there, maybe I’d see her.”

So he was on his way back and again was noticing that, on top of the fact that the way back is mostly uphill, he was still more tired than usual.  Because of this, the thought of seeing my mom kinda got lost in his mind.  But when he got to this crossroad, he reached the other side of the road, and just as he was across, he suddenly remembered that he had hoped to see her, so he just happened to turn his head quickly to look down the road.  About 200 feet away, he saw my moms car stopped at a stop sign, at the intersection right before where the trail crosses.  My mom eventually passed but did not notice my dad.

My dad was excited and new that God had a part in this.  He knew that there are no coincidences in life and especially none like this.  The probability that he would feel tired in order to shorten his trip, then be tired on the way back enough to time his ride just right to get to the crossroad exactly when he had hoped, when my mom was on the road, was just too low.  Had he not been tired, he probably would have went further, and even if he turned around when he did, he would have been going faster, resulting in missing my mom.  So out of excitement he immediately emailed my mom when he got home to tell her the story.

What makes this story just a little more special is this…

What my dad didn’t know, was that same road was exactly where my mom says her prayers in the morning on the way to work.   She usually says the Lord’s prayer and then some individual prayers for her family.  But on this morning, knowing my dad was out earlier than usual, she chose her first prayer to be about my dad and his safety while riding that morning.  While my dad was passing by on his bike, with my mom on his mind, on the same road as each other, she was saying a prayer for him.

Now, my parents know that I’ve been struggling with the position of God in my life. And because of this, it’s on their mind everyday and they are constantly trying to find ways to help me out.  So after my dad told that story and we talked a little more about how I was feeling ready to start reading some books in the Bible, my mom got on the phone.  She said, “you know Brian, that morning I also said another prayer.  I asked Grandma Nedda and Poppy Dick (my dad’s parents) to help you.  As you know they were very religious.  So I asked them to help you find your faith.  And what do you know, you called today with an interest in taking a new step in your life.”

I hung up from my parents that night and immediately my eyes filled up with tears.  It’s amazing how things work out sometimes.  It’s the things like that that make me know I’m not alone.  It makes me know I have God, as well as my grandparents with me at all times.

I think putting a kid through Sunday School is a bad thing for parents to do.  It seems like the right thing to do at the time because you want your kids to grow up with a knowledge of God and Religion.  But as I felt years later, and how I’m sure many people feel as well, it puts faith in the wrong perspective.  Kids grow up believing based on fear alone.  This is not to say that there are not kids who enjoy Sunday School and learn to love God and not be fearful.  I was asked by my parents to attend Sunday School, but as I got older I resisted it, and my parents were definitely not too strict and were nice enough not to force me to go.   So I was taught to lead a good life through example of my parents, not through example of religion.

There are other kids though, who, like I said, enjoyed Sunday School and had a self-interest in religion and stay that way through life.  Others don’t have any kind of religion on their life and find it later.  Then there are those who have very strict parents.  All of my friends who were forced to go to Church and weren’t able to choose the role God played in their life, ended up rebelling later in their teens.  Specifically around the time they were going away to college.  When you get forced to do something for years, as soon as you are no longer forced, your instinct is to do the opposite, to do all those things you wanted to do but never could.  Sometimes this could be some really bad stuff.

Because of this, I find it important that the concept of God and Religion is told to children by their parents at a young age.  If the child wants to embrace it, then fine.  But if not, they should be free to make their own choices.  When they are old enough to understand these things much better, the right choice will be made.  Of course, I would imagine there would be less Religious people this way.  But those that are, like my brother is, and like where I am headed, will be fueled by love and not fear.  The choice to be good and not to rebel.  Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a proposal or an idea on how I think the world would be a better place.  This is just my opinion on how parents should introduce Religion into their child’s life.

I am grateful for my parents and the lessons they have taught me.  I am grateful that I can talk to them about any problem I’m having.  Look, I understand some people aren’t fortunate enough to have family like this.  That’s ok.  The important thing is to find someone you can talk to, and start talking.  This whole blog was written, and my faith reached another level, all because I knew I could pick up the phone and tell someone how I felt that day.

Thanks,

Brian