On the Blink

Melissa, age 56, is a retired network engineer, educator, and computer programmer from Central Florida. Her passions include photography, dogs, and reading. Today she shares her reverence for the God’s Word and for our words.

Do you believe in a God, gods, or other spiritual forces? If so, what name(s) does your spiritual force have? Where does the name come from?

I believe in the one God as described in the Bible. I am currently reading the Amplified Bible but enjoy reading different versions.

How do you practice your faith? What kinds of prayer, texts, service, or other rituals do you use?

I believe daily bible reading is important. In just the same way we must feed our bodies we must also feed our souls. Spending time each day with Jesus (who is described in John 1:1 as The Word) is central in maintaining (soul) peace and happiness.

I strongly believe that the words we speak are important. God created the world with his words: “And God said,  “Let there be light,” and there was light.” (Genesis 1:3, English Standard Version). And since we are all created in God’s image it follows that the words we speak are also powerful, not only in our own realm but in the spiritual realm. It breaks my heart to hear someone say how stupid they feel they are or how they never have any luck.

I feel I am best described as non-denominational but really I embrace all denominations as avenues to aid different types of people in embracing God. When I was very young my family attended a Presbyterian church but after my parents divorced we stopped attending church. I have always been an avid reader and at the age of fourteen I was given a copy of The Living Bible.  I read it cover to cover. To this day I mispronounce many of the place/people names because I was self taught.

Describe a moment when you knew that this faith was right for you.

I married a man who is a cradle Catholic. He was in the service when we were married, we had a civil ceremony so any faith questions/problems were delayed until we had our first child seven years later. At first we tried attending both the Catholic and Presbyterian churches. Interestingly enough the thing I remember most about that time is that the Presbyterian church was vigorously fundraising to restore their pipe organ at a cost of $100,000 while the Catholic church wanted $1200 for tables for their preschool. At the time the Catholic church was led by an Irish priest whose ideas and values seemed to most closely match my own. I have a story about how we finally chose a faith home for our two sons. (Cue those who know me to roll their eyes and sigh in a long suffering fashion.)

When our oldest son was old enough for kindergarten I began to tour the local private schools in an effort to be fully informed about all options. One day my son and I were recycling newspaper at one of those drop off dumpsters with sliding doors on each side located in the parking lot of the Catholic school. My son looked over at the building and asked if we were going to visit that school. I remember dubiously looking at the building myself while recalling my husband’s stories of ruler wielding, wrist slapping nuns. A woman who had been removing newspapers from the other side of the dumpster while we were putting them in (something I found slightly odd) quickly offered to take us on a tour. The look I gave her must have been even more dubious than the one I gave the building because she laughed and introduced herself as the kindergarten teacher. We did take her up on her offer and were thoroughly impressed with the school and it’s loving Christian staff and atmosphere. Turns out the Irish priest I mentioned earlier was very accepting of non-catholic students and teachers at his school. The only problem (there’s always a problem) was that there was a long wait list for the school. Something inside me made me insist on adding our son’s name to the list even though we were told our son’s chances of actually attending were very small. I went home that night and prayed, I promised that if God would let my son attend that school then I would raise my boys in the Catholic Church. The next day we got a call from the school telling us they had decided to start a second kindergarten section and there was a spot for our son if we wanted it. My sons were raised in the Catholic church and attended a wonderful school. They had a thorough faith and bible education and are good men. What more could a mother want?

In review I don’t believe I have really answered the original question but as my faith is ever evolving then that might not be possible anyway.

Describe a moment when you felt that your God was real, that your faith was making a difference in your life.

I was about seven years old when my parents divorced (it was the 60’s and divorce took a lot longer back then). I remember lying in my bed one late afternoon, a sunbeam streamed through the window dancing with dust flecks, the light was that soft gold of late summer. I was crying, desperately afraid of living without a father and felt so alone. This next part is hard to adequately describe but I heard someone call my name. Not “Melissa” but my real name, the name only our own heart knows. I knew, I knew right away that I was not alone, that God had called my name and he would be my Father. Volumes had been spoken in the breath of a second. I immediately stopped crying and rose from the bed no longer afraid. I am always grateful that God chose me, not because of anything I did or who I was but because He loves me.

Have you had any spiritual mentors or teachers? If so, describe their role in your life. How did they help you find your faith?

There have been many people in my life whom I have admired, who have some quality that I find inspiring. Almost everyone has something special about them if we take the time to look closely enough. Strangely enough I find that dogs are fantastic examples of faith. They love unconditionally. They forgive completely. We can push away their nose in our preoccupation with things “more important”  but they keep no record of our wrongs. Dogs offer affirmation in their exuberant greetings. Dogs have a purpose, my setter is driven to hunt, the guide dog puppy I raised was born to guide. We people often behave as if we were placed on this earth for our own entertainment but we also have a purpose in this life. Dogs live in the present, they don’t regret the past or fear the future, they never feel sorry for themselves but carry on in whatever circumstances are present.  I would love to be the person my dog thinks I am. I would love to be as good a person as my dog is.

Where and when do you feel most in tune with your faith or spirituality?

Out in nature. God created it all! The vast expanse of the universe was created by the same God who loves you, who knows the number of hairs on your head.

Assign some “spiritual homework” for our readers. What is one practice, prayer, or lesson you’d like to share?

Be kind. Our words have power, more power than we know. We can build someone up or tear them down with just a few words. All of us have a memory of someone who devastated us with just a few words, how crushing to think we may have been that person to someone else.