2008 Woodie Awards
I'm a believer
My View
Christine Wolniak
Issue date: 11/6/07 Section: Viewpoint
Faith can really be a funny thing at times.
It's a word that really gets thrown around a lot, but lately I've begun to wonder if the people that are using it so carelessly really sit down and think about what it means to them.
My family has never been overly religious. With that being said, my parents have never discouraged me from going to church.
They simply explained to me that they do not agree with everything the Catholic church preaches and if I wanted to look into other religions they fully support me in that.
I have yet to do that and quite honestly am not sure if I am ever going to. Let me explain why.
When I was younger I seemed to be surrounded by people that went to CCD every week and had their communion.
For a while I was slightly jealous that I did not partake in these activities and I grew fearful that something might happen to me if I didn't.
This was mainly caused by the fact that my next door neighbors told me I was going to hell if I didn't go to CCD. I've since figured out that they were wrong, but to an eight year old, that can be traumatizing.
It was at this point that I started relating faith to religion. I thought that you had to be a part of a certain religious belief system in order to have faith.
I went for a while thinking that I was not allowed to believe in God, heaven and hell because I didn't go to church and read the Bible.
This was until I sat down and had a talk with my mom about my concerns and thoughts.
She explained to me that I am allowed to believe whatever it is that I want to believe.
She also told me that as long as I am a good person and lead a good life, everything will work out in the end.
These are words I hold very dear to my heart and still, to this day, think about when I am going through rough times.
When my grandma passed away my senior year of high school, it was a hard thing for me to deal with. I was extremely close to her and I wasn't ready to say good-bye.
It's a word that really gets thrown around a lot, but lately I've begun to wonder if the people that are using it so carelessly really sit down and think about what it means to them.
My family has never been overly religious. With that being said, my parents have never discouraged me from going to church.
They simply explained to me that they do not agree with everything the Catholic church preaches and if I wanted to look into other religions they fully support me in that.
I have yet to do that and quite honestly am not sure if I am ever going to. Let me explain why.
When I was younger I seemed to be surrounded by people that went to CCD every week and had their communion.
For a while I was slightly jealous that I did not partake in these activities and I grew fearful that something might happen to me if I didn't.
This was mainly caused by the fact that my next door neighbors told me I was going to hell if I didn't go to CCD. I've since figured out that they were wrong, but to an eight year old, that can be traumatizing.
It was at this point that I started relating faith to religion. I thought that you had to be a part of a certain religious belief system in order to have faith.
I went for a while thinking that I was not allowed to believe in God, heaven and hell because I didn't go to church and read the Bible.
This was until I sat down and had a talk with my mom about my concerns and thoughts.
She explained to me that I am allowed to believe whatever it is that I want to believe.
She also told me that as long as I am a good person and lead a good life, everything will work out in the end.
These are words I hold very dear to my heart and still, to this day, think about when I am going through rough times.
When my grandma passed away my senior year of high school, it was a hard thing for me to deal with. I was extremely close to her and I wasn't ready to say good-bye.
Be the first to comment on this story