mrstotten | Oct. 19th, 2011

When you pray, move your feet.

I talk to God as much as I talk to Satan 'cause I want to hear both sides
Does that make me cynical?
There are no miracles
And this is no miraculous life

We walk into the tide

I am a religous person, well I am in so much that I believe in God (I think the bible is a load of old tosh but that is a discussion for another day). What I don't believe though is that God is the answer to all our prayers, or the source of all our problems.

I have had many events in my life that would have me questioning whether God exists. I suffered several miscarriages and many years of childlessness before being blessed with my son. I have watched people I love suffer with cancer, I've also lost people I love to it. I live in a world where children are hurt, natural disasters claim the lives of thousands, millions and at times like these it is easy to ask - "If there is a God why would he let this happen"

But by the turn of the other hand I have also bore witness to miracles. I watched my mother recover from cancer when we were told to expect the worst. I watched my son survive being born at 24 weeks with less than a 5% chance of survival and seen him defy every prediction to become the bright bubbly boy I love. I have seen the kindness of strangers in times of need - when you open a christmas gift box lovingly prepared and gift wrapped by the local church in a sterile hospital for a child you are told would never see that day it is easy to believe in miracles and the presence of a divine power.

But as comforting as it is to blame or thank a divine power for these things, the hard truth is human beings are at the heart of everything. People who do evil deeds, do so of their own violition and their own free choice. We pollute our planet on a daily basis and then we wonder why it roars back. My miracle son is as much a miracle of modern science and brilliant doctors than an unseen deity. It was a flesh and blood person who handwrapped that Christmas gift for my baby all those years ago, someone with a good heart and a kind soul giving up his or her time to put a smile on someone elses face and allowing them to believe in miracles and although there were times I may have prayed for a miracle when my son was in hospital, it was the love and support of my friends and family that got me through each day with my heart unbroken and sanity intact.

It took me a long time to learn that although God and faith can be strong companions, it is my own drive, my will, my strength, my love for my family and friends and their love for me that drives me forward.

To me religon is no longer about sermons, and brick walls or about good and evil, heaven and hell. I believe in God when I see the sun breaking through a cloud on a bright day, when I feel the crisp crunch of autumn leaves underneath my feet, when I see my child smile a smile full of mischief and enjoyment, full of a joy of life that only children truly appreciate.

But although all of these things help me believe in him, I no longer put my faith solely in him, I trust my own heart, rely on my family and depend on my friends. It is me that keeps my world turning day by day

My faith may keep me going, but it is my own two feet, moving one step after the other that pushes me forward.

This has been my entry for week one of