Recently, I had the privilege of celebrating a faith filled student and giving him an award from our department. As the adults sat around the table we discussed this student's qualities and were so proud of the man he had become. The collective group asked who would present the award and I wanted to do it. Many in the room were willing to do the introduction, but I was pleased that it would be my duty.
As I thought about what to say, I was told I only had 30 seconds to make an introduction. If you know me, you know that is impossible! But as a rule follower, I tried my best to fit into this short time frame a worthy introduction to a great young man. I wrote many drafts - some funny, some heartfelt, some a few minutes long. Who am I kidding, they were all a few minutes long.
As I looked back on my drafts a familiar theme rose up. I will share this short insight with you now. It is not a new idea, but rather something I have been thinking about a lot lately.
None of us come to faith on our own. We are the products of our context, our environment, and our relationships. We come to faith because someone before us had faith and witnessed it to us in subtle and authentic ways. Maybe they reached out and told us something that stopped us in our tracks. Maybe they were a constant loving presence. Maybe they forced us with a strong hand and demanded the discipline from us. But not a one of us came to this place on our own.
For me, my earliest memory of faithful love came from my grandmother. In my living memory, she is the holiest person I had ever met. She loved me without condition and I loved her too. She taught me to make rosaries and play Rummikub and she always let me win. And she is only one of many who have planted a seed of faith and helped shaped my faith.
All of us have those people, who have shown us what living faith looks like. Teachers, coaches, parents, and friends. Take a moment and think back to those people who have formed you. Say a prayer of thanksgiving, that wherever they are, they are blessed.
