8 Nov 2023 8:00 am
Hi everyone! I hope you’re all well. Today is Wednesday, and it’s time for another post in the Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge hosted by Long and Short Reviews. If you’d like to participate in the challenge, you can find the list of topics for 2023 here. If you’re interested in reading other people’s responses to this week’s topic, you can do so here.
I grew up with a very catholic nanna. In fact, from as far back as I can remember, she would make us all go to church every Sunday, dressed in our smartest clothes.
At age eight, I went to Sunday school to study for my first holy communion and, eventually, took part in the ceremony.
We even used to go to midnight mass on Christmas Eve.
As I grew older, however, I realised I had been just going to church because my nanna wanted me to, which was fine. I continued to do so, but when I became a teenager, I started to feel like a bit of a fraud. I just didn’t believe there was an all-powerful being that created the universe and then Earth and everything on it.
I’ve always had a mind more geared towards science than faith, and the more I learned about nature and how planets are formed, the more I began to know in my heart that we are all here by chance.
Now that’s not to say that I don’t still question existence. I think it’s very human to do that. I merely come at it from a view of wonderment and awe that so many things have had to happen so that humanity could exist.
As I grew older, I often worried about my nanna finding out I didn’t believe in a higher power. She had always been so devout. But, one day, we were chatting about god and how my nanna wished he would come and take her so she could be with my grandad and my parents (she was very frail and tired at this point), and she asked me if I believed everyone I’d ever known was waiting for us when we died. I fibbed a little and said, ‘Of course, nanna, they’re keeping a space for you.’
But she could see right through me – as she always could – and said, ‘You don’t need to pretend with me, love. I know you don’t believe in god or anything like that.’
I apologised. ‘Sorry, nanna, I just don’t. It’s not for me.’
She just laughed and said, ‘If we all believed in exactly the same thing, what kind of world would we be living in?’
I agreed.
Then she said, ‘I wish more people could speak like this. Look at us; we have completely opposing views on religion, yet we love each other just the same.’
She told me later that she would never try to ‘make’ someone believe in god. She said that god is something you either come to discover by yourself – or you don’t- and that whether you are religious or not is neither here nor there. She believed, as I do – that kindness and compassion are the most important human qualities – not a person’s ideas about who may or may not have created the universe and everything in it.
After that, we spoke at length often about all kinds of religions and how many of them are so similar that they must have some common roots. She was interested in learning about how I believe the universe came into existence and whether or not I thought there were other forms of life out there (I do).
I love and miss that lady more and more each day.
Anyhoo…
This was post 45! I’m very interested to see what you all have written for this week’s post, and I’m looking forward to reading them.
As always, thank you for stopping by to read my words.
Until next time,
George
© 2023 GLT
Posted by georgelthomas
Categories: life, Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge
Tags: belief, blog, blogger, challenge, religion, Truth, Wednesday, Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge
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My brain is wired the same way yours is.
What a gracious response from your Nanna. She sounds like she was a lovely person.
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By lydiaschoch on 8 Nov 2023 at 12:04 pm
She was the best, Lydia, but then I am biased.
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By georgelthomas on 8 Nov 2023 at 12:21 pm
Your nana sounds like a wonderful person.. I know you miss her terribly.
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By Judy Hutt Thomas on 8 Nov 2023 at 12:57 pm
Totally, Judy. I’m still trying to adjust to the ‘new normal’ of her being gone. Getting there, though.
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By georgelthomas on 8 Nov 2023 at 1:01 pm
She sounds like a very wise woman, and she’s absolutely right. No two people believe all the same things in the same way… we should be able to be civil to each other regardless…
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By Marianne on 8 Nov 2023 at 2:06 pm
Yes, Marianne! Exactly. She was very wise, I learnt all the most important lessons about life from her.
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By georgelthomas on 8 Nov 2023 at 2:15 pm
You’re Nanna was a very wise woman.
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By Patrick Prescott on 8 Nov 2023 at 11:22 pm
I agree, Patrick, thank you. 🙂
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By georgelthomas on 8 Nov 2023 at 11:24 pm
Well, as everyone else has said, what a splendid example of grandmotherhood (and Christianity) you had.
I’ve never had the believing skills to believe in chance, but I’ve questioned just about all the other things people believe *about* God…I don’t have a problem with people who don’t know and/or don’t believe, either.
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By Priscilla King on 13 Nov 2023 at 9:46 pm