Grandpa's Faith

My grandpa is the most wonderful man in the world. He is in his early 90's, and has begun truly contemplating what legacy he wants to leave behind when he dies. I am in favor of this contemplation, and I think that everyone should force themselves to consider such things. You never know when your time is due, or which day will be your last in this life.

He sent me an email (yes, I have a very tech-savvy grandpa!) today with the intention of bearing the testimony of his heart, and pleading with me (and the rest of his grandchildren/children) to consider the truth that he has discovered in the faith to which he subscribes.

My first knee jerk reaction was a bit overzealous, and felt somewhat off kilter, and cocky. I grew up in the faith which my grandfather speaks of, and have a slight tendency to discount anything that anyone says about it - because I chose to step out of that setting years and years ago. Upon feeling that repulsion to what my grandpa had written, it made me stop and ask myself what I was doing, how I was feeling, and what my problem was.

Here is a man who loves me very much. A man who has never been anything but beautiful, helpful, loving, and kind to me and my family, even when making choices in my life which he would highly disagree with. He has never preached at me, or made me feel anything but unconditional love and acceptance from him. I decided to open my heart and my mind just a little bit further, and hear out what he was saying - perhaps really even reading between the lines.

Ultimately, he wants what is best for me and my family. Isn't that all any of us want for our loved ones? Perhaps we go about trying to provide what we feel is best for others, in the one and only way that we know how. Perhaps that is part of the misunderstandings that so many family members and friends go through together. When we really stop and consider, not the words that people speak, but the feeling they are portraying BEHIND those words - that is where the real communication comes in. The trick is finding ourselves sensitive enough to those feelings to be able to identify them.

My religious beliefs and experiences are one of the largest parts of my life. I ultimately would like for it to be the entirety of my life. Because of these experiences at Summum, and my involvement there, I think I was able to respond to my grandfather in a way that unified us, rather than divided us. Instead of disagreeing with what he was saying, or even respectfully declining his invitation - I was able to honestly tell him how much he means to me, and how graciously I could accept his testimony and the message in his heart.

Regardless of the label we decide to slap on Creation, or God, or Universal Essence - the feeling, the substantial essence BEHIND that label is always the same. It is that which unites each of us to one another. It is that Substantial Essence through which we experience love, and all things beautiful and awe-inspiring. It is that substantial essence that binds us all to Itself - cradling each spirit like a babe to the mother's breast.

It is this Spirit, this Love, this Creation that my grandfather will return to when he has drawn his last breath here. And there, I pray, he finds me.