This I Believe

This I Believe

Last fall on her Instagram page, podcaster and author Laura Tremaine asked people to share 10 things they believe. I was so surprised how powerful it was to both try and articulate what I believe as well as searching that hashtag and read what other’s had to say. I found myself moved to tears more than once as I read the words of total strangers, putting out into the world the things they hold to be dear and true statements in their lives—sometimes about things a little silly and sometimes some deep theological or ideological statements. I’ve thought about this exercise many times over the last 8 months, wondering if what I shared is something I’d change, wondering what else I might add to my list. I think in a world that bombards us with thoughts, headlines, people’s opinions and beliefs non-stop it can be such a powerful exercise to sit down and articulate, “what are the things I believe about myself, our world, my faith and others?” In seminary, one of my final projects for a class I took on creeds and confessions was to write my own statement of faith. Once i found out we couldn’t just copy the Nicene Creed and call it good I got to work and realized it is so incredibly difficult sometimes to put into words the things we believe. I worked really hard on that assignment and absolutely loved my statement of faith. It might be one of my favorite things I’ve written, and it really does articulate what I believe about God, people, the church and my faith. But writing for this random instagram prompt showed me that I also believe so many other things that don’t necessarily have anything to do with my faith, and I bet all of you do as well. So for this particular list, I’m not sharing what I believe about, say, the nature of original sin, as exciting as that topic is! But I am sharing below a few things I believe strongly, things that I’ve grown up believing and other items I’ve come to believe as I’ve gotten older and lived and moved through this world a bit longer.

1. This will come as no shock to anyone, but I believe reading matters. I believe it is the number one way I’ve grown in empathy and understanding for another person’s life experience and story than anything else I’ve done in life. Even reading novels, maybe especially reading novels, I find myself walking in someone else’s shoes for 300 pages and come away with a new understanding of a way of life or set of experiences that I wouldn’t have otherwise. I believe reading is one of the best ways we can teach our kids how to grow in their imagination, compassion, empathy and understanding of the human experience and I will always continue encouraging people to pick up books, both for themselves and to read with their kids, I don’t think any time spent reading is wasted time.

2. I believe two people can love Jesus deeply, love our country and love others with their whole hearts and still land in a place where they would choose to vote for different political parties. I believe this means we all have different values we prioritize each election season, and I absolutely believe God is not confined to one political party. As I look back over my 20 years of voting I realize I’ve voted for an equal number of democratic and republican presidential candidates. I don’t believe this is because I can’t “pick a side,” rather I believe it’s because I have different priorities each time an election rolls around based on what’s happening in our country and the kind of leadership I think we need for the next season. I refuse to tow a party line or “belong” exclusively to one side and I am getting more and more comfortable living in the middle.

3. I believe finding little ways to do kind things for ourselves can make a big difference in life. I paint my nails once a week and love taking that 30 minutes to simply sit while each layer of polish dries and do nothing. It looks from the outside as a total waste of time, just sitting, yet it’s a chance to remind myself that I matter, that I deserve to spend a few minutes a week on something that brings me happiness.

4. I believe fall is the best season even though here in FL we hardly get one. The transition from the ridiculous heat to the first cooler breezes makes me beyond happy and it signals we are about to enter the holiday season which I adore. Fall is football every weekend afternoon on the TV, crock pots of chili and pans of cornbread, back to school and routines which I love, and finally getting to break out the jeans and boots after months of not wearing them here! (I will always be a northwest girl at heart, fall is just my happiest place in the year!)

5. I believe a morning cup of coffee, an evening glass of wine & reading the Psalms each day can solve a multitude of problems.

6. I believe The West Wing is the greatest television show ever written. I am not a huge TV watcher, but tell me Aaron Sorkin is behind a project and I’m all in. His dialogue, his characters, the way he infuses humor with a serious conversation, I think he’s just the best. When President Bartlet is pacing the aisle of the National Cathedral, wracked with grief and anger at this God he’s spent his life serving, yelling at God in latin, well, not too many writers can create that moment, and I believe it’s one of the best scenes on television ever created.

7. I am pro-life, but I believe being pro life involves more than issues around the unborn. I believe being pro life is wanting humanity to flourish from conception to death. I believe being pro-life also involves caring about stricter control on weapons that take life, abolishing the death penalty, caring for refugees with dignity, ensuring our elderly are cared for in the end of life and helping women have easy access to contraception to prevent unwanted pregnancies to begin with.

8. I believe musicals are one of the greatest forms of art. I get that not everyone appreciate them. But I’m so grateful my parents began taking me to live musical theater when I was so little, and these shows have shaepd my imagination more than any other form of art. To listen to Jean Valjean’s Soliloquy as he wrestles with who he is and what his life’s value is, or hear Aaron Burr come to realize too late that the world was wide enough for both him and Hamilton, or to see Tevye’s inner turmoil, wrestling with his beloved traditions and the changing times he’s living in, has shaped me in so many ways.

9. I believe women and men are made equally in God’s image and churches should be allowing women to preach regularly. I believe if we only are hearing from men then BOTH men and women miss out on experiencing the image of God in its fullness. I have very few theological hills I’m willing to “die on” as the old adage goes, but this is one of them.

10. I believe there is beauty everywhere in this world but the towering mountain ranges of Seattle, Alaska and western Canada will always be where a piece of my heart remains. Living among such splendor has shaped my understanding of God’s majesty more than any reading I could ever have done.

Knowing God

Knowing God

40 Books for My 40s--Book 2: Bread and Wine

40 Books for My 40s--Book 2: Bread and Wine