My Spiritually Transformative Experience
Part 1
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| Image Courtesy of Pixabay.com by Bayern_Reporter_com |
At my great-grandfather's funeral, I asked my great-grandma if there were sidewalks in Heaven? I knew Pop-pop — that's what we called my great-grandfather — liked to go for walks and thought he should be able to continue doing so there. Can't say my timing was very good, however.
As I grew into a teenager, my confirmation into the Episcopal church was upon me. My parents drove me over half an hour to confirmation classes so I could learn about the church, God, and Jesus. But I have always been someone who questions and wonders about God, the afterlife, Jesus, and the Bible. I've vacillated between agnostic and theist over the years. Suffice it to say, that confirmation in my family was a fairly big deal. Not as much of a deal as catechism in the Catholic church, but close.
My mother had bought me a beautiful confirmation dress and my relatives were expected to attend the ceremony or come to our house afterwards. It was a rite of passage and one that my parents put time and effort into. So, the fact that I decided, on the week before my actual confirmation day, to question my faith, didn't bode well. I asked the Bishop (who was in our church to meet us and explain how the confirmation ritual would proceed) what I should do if I wasn't sure if I believed everything about Jesus? He answered me, "Then, perhaps you shouldn't be confirmed." Oh Lordy! Yes, I'll just tell my family to call off the event and return my dress. Yes, that would've gone over well.
Nonetheless, I considered what he'd said. I decided that even though taking the oath would be lying to God because I wasn't sure if I believed in the entire Bible, He and Jesus would of course know I was lying, but They would be more forgiving than my parents would be if I was kicked out of confirmation classes.
And so began my relationship with God and the Church. 😉
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