Faith

I believe faith is more than attending a church. It is more than blindly believing something told to you, or written in a book.

Faith, to me, is a personal interaction with God. You talk to God, God talks to you. It is as simple as that.

I believe this belief came from my Christian upbringing. In my bible, it said Abba was what little Hebrew children called their fathers, much like the English DaDa. I started calling God by this when I was a pre-teen. God has always answered me.

I also believe it is the Christians who say that God sent his son to die on the cross so that we could have interaction with Him. Without Jesus's sacrifice we would not be able to talk directly to God. I believe that is true, for some. But more importantly, I believe talking to God is the most important aspect of Faith.

To me, Faith is simply knowing that I am talking to someone. I am heard, and loved, and they respond. Faith is what the Agnostic and Atheists do not understand. It is not something you can be taught. You must experience and define it for yourself. Much like all of religion, it is personal.

Being Open

I have tried to tell my mother that in order to talk to her dead lover she must be open. When she asked how I could not tell her.

Being open is simply a state of being. You must recognize signs from God for what they are. You must be willing to see them. You can, of course, put bounderies on this. For example, I do not want to see the dead. I never have. I do hear them, and see shadows in my mind's eye. They also only come during the day.

Meditation and relaxation are good ways to practice being open. However, the best way is to simply state that you will and to keep an open mind. This has led me, and many I know, to being open a good portion of the time.

I strive for a peace in my soul. Being open is one way to acheive that peace. It is something I hope for my mother. I know she needs that peace within her life. But it is not something I can give her. She must find it on her own as each of us do. Our Paths are our own.

Handfasting

Handfasting is dually, wedding for a year and a day or a legal "lifetime" commitment. It can be the same type of marriage as a Christian one, or it can encompass many more variations.

My handfasting to David is much like a Christian wedding. However, it incorporates many elemental aspects and a large amount of symbolism. Also, we are marring 'for as long as love shall last' instead of 'forever'.

Neither of us feel that a lifetime commitment is expected. We are both hoping that the love between us will last forever, but we know people grow, and change, and could need to part. This I learned from my divorce. Therefore, when taking such a serious commitment in mind, I do not want to bind myself to someone forever, eternally or any other form of extended unspecified enduring commitment.

We will be signing legal documents, making our handfasting a legal wedding in both Bermuda and the United States.

For more information about how the wedding will be I will post a Wedding post at a later date.