Lost Child

It's amazing how time flies.  I looked back at the things I wrote and realized that this little monkey has been with me for two years already.

That's two years too long.  I'd much rather he be adopted by his real owner and live with his siblings.

When can he go home?

Birthday Prayer

How have you been recently, my dear friend?  [...........]

Perhaps I've lost the privilege of celebrating your special day with you, but I'll never forget your day.  We met partly because of the word "pray", and that I can still do for you.

I may not know where you are or what you're doing, but you'll always be in my heart and in my prayers.  On your special day, remember that there is someone out there thinking of you, sending you warm wishes and saying prayers for you.

Happy birthday, my dear friend.

God bless.

[............]....as always.

7

Time flies.

I'm getting old.

3/21

A week.
A month.

Such "perfect" timing.

Why did it have to be this way?

Faith and Religion

Despite being so-called Catholic, I've never been a religious person.  Faithful, at most.  But for whatever reason, faith and religion have always somehow found their way into my life in some shape or form.

As a kid, I once had a friend whose family was quite religious.  Her mom was skeptical of her having friends outside of their church.  I was, for whatever reason, sort of an exception.  Perhaps in the mom's view, I was an acceptable friend because I was (supposedly) Catholic.

This girl was one of my best friends growing up.  We did extracurricular activities together.  Our families went on camping trips together.  We almost ended up going to the same high school.  I even had the privilege of being invited to her baptism.

Except.  I didn't go.

Our friendship did not last much longer than that.  Perhaps the baptism wasn't the only factor, because there were definitely other things that were beyond our control, but a part of me believes that it was an important factor.

There are a lot of people in my life that are quite religious.  Many of them go to church (or something equivalent) every week and are very active members in their respective organizations.  God and religion are a central part of their lives.

I have nothing against that and I have full respect for their faith.  But that's their choice.  So don't push it on to me.

I respect their faith, but I am skeptical of whether or not they are the "religious" people that they claim to be or portray themselves to be.  Their words and actions just don't align with (what I believe to be) God's intentions.

Don't ask me if I believe all the things in the bible.  I don't know and, to some extent, I don't care.

I believe that there's a God.  I believe that His intentions always revolve around love and unity, and that is the way He wants us to live.

These things have come to mind because of things that have come up recently.

The first was rather annoying.  A friend has been somewhat active in promoting her religious beliefs.  Thank you for the invites and what not, but no thanks.  I respect your beliefs, but I'd rather you keep it to yourself.  Faith is something you have to find for yourself.  The more you push it on me, the more it becomes a turn-off.  It's a little annoying.

The second was rather surprising.  Through various sources, I've discovered that a friend of mine has gone to pursue some sort of theology studies.  Years ago, I met this person partly because of faith and religion.  She was never religious.  On those special days, she would go to various places or worship, trying to find one that felt right.  But she was always very faithful.  In fact, faith is something she taught me.  Despite all that, I never really expected that she would actually go to school for theology.  Perhaps, the more important question (for me) is, where is she headed?

Religion, or organized religion, is something invented by people.  It is people's interpretation (or imaging) of how God wants us to "follow" him.  There are too many things in this world that make me question whether religion is what it's supposed to be.  I choose (for the most part) not to be a part of it.

Faith - believing in things you can't see.

I have faith in God.  I believe the one thing behind all His teachings is love.  Don't tell me who I can or can't love, because God would never say that love is wrong.  Don't tell me you're better than me because you're religious and I'm not, because God loves everyone equally.  Don't tell me how to live my life, because many of you are just closed-minded hypocrites.

In search of...?

Another random search on a night when I'm, once again, mentally and emotionally overloaded.  I'm not sure whether or not finding something is good or bad, because regardless of whether or not I find something, it wreaks havoc on me.  But I still continue doing it.  In the end, I want to know, because I still care.

#1 - a name in a pamphlet or program
#2 - some writing, with a name and brief description

The two are linked.  Both relate to the same thing.  Both send me the same message.

This explains some things I saw before.

This is the reason for the books.  Perhaps it's some relief for me, as it may be an indication that there wasn't some bad news.

This is the reason for the commitment.  I'm not so sure what a commitment like this means for me, or whether it's good or bad, but at least I know.

The poet has become a preacher.

If this was anyone else, I'd be in shock.  But not in this case, because I know this was always part of the quest.

After all, this was the reason for the connection.

What is it that you see that I don't?
Teach me.