Christmastide Day 3: December 27th
The Second Faith

There are two faiths, not one. The first faith is the one you espouse before you've been challenged by hard adversity. It's the faith you profess with impassioned words of knowledge, trust, and hope. But it's a faith that hasn't yet been asked to walk through the fire.

The second faith knows the fire. It's the faith that's born when life stops going the way you wanted it to go. It may be ushered in by mishaps, illnesses and brokenness, or by and anger and entitlement that grips your heart. You may find yourself wrestling in shocked disbelief as you realize that life has no guarantees; no one is exempt, after all.

Then the transformation. For those able to press through the fury of the ego's resistence, for those willing to live with questions and doubt, something beautiful may begin to emerge: the second faith, the one marked by resilience and vulnerability, the faith that bears true power. This is the faith of the world's real lovers, the ones willing to convert loss and fear into a truer, deeper knowledge. The ones who challenge us by the force of their very lives to do the same.

What do I really want? Can I face myself and look within? Will I allow my pain to be transformed and my faith to deepen? Will I let my spirituality grow up? Am I able to move from words and the profession of faith into the deeper mystery of God?

Am I willing to face myself and finally grow?


by Paula D'Arcy, Redbird Foundation
from the book: Daybreaks