Day 6 - Faith is ...

Day 6

Day 6, the last day of the conference, began as the other five had, with the group gathering in the circle. Any earlier thoughts that the young girl did not belong in such an elite group were chased away by her reactions to each of the earlier presenters. While no one may have conscientiously recognized it, each one was more than just a bit excited to hear what the young girl had to say. When the group sat down in the clearing, they finally realized that the young girl was not with them. So they waited, each with their own thoughts.

The sun was almost directly overhead when she showed up in their circle of sharing. She walked gently into the circle, nodded at each of the other four, and sat in her chair. Her hair, always tied back before, laid loosely around her neck. Her face, so clean and bright before, was now marked with tear trails as if small canyons were in the process of being created. Even her posture, so straight and correct before, showed the entire slump of her inner being.

After a long silence, the air began to feel awkward for the first time in the entire week. Finally, the cheerleader spoke,

Faith is simple.

All heads turned to look at the cheerleader, except the head of the young girl. Next, the professor spoke,

Faith is simple.

No heads turned this time. Next, the hard man bellowed in the quietest voice he had yet used:

Faith is simple.

And lastly, the old man mumbled

Faith is simple.

This last statement seemed to reset an internal switch in the young girl, for she looked up, and a small smile began.

Cheerleader:

Faith is simple. I understand so much better now. Faith is
simple. The results of faith are wonderful. The joy, the peace, the
comfort, the love; these are all the result of faith. But faith itself is
simple.

Professor:

Yes, I agree, Faith is simple. I still say that its application, from time
to time, is complicated. But many times, it is we who make it complicated
by trying to apply a million rules to a million situations. The basic
tenets of faith are very simple.

Hard man:

I too agree, Faith is simple. And as my esteemed colleague the professor
just pointed out, its application is sometimes hard. And as he also
pointed out, we many times make its application so much harder than it needs to
be.

Old Man:

I began this week fully convinced that faith was ridiculous. I saw, on a
daily basis, how faith drove people into such wrongful situations. Now I
understand it was not faith that did the driving, but actually the lack of
faith. It was people putting themselves in front of their faith and doing
the driving. Faith itself, is left alone and unhindered, is simple … and
wonderful.

The young girl looked around the circle, making eye contact with each of member. She quietly asked,

What changed your minds?

Each member answered with their own reason,

Your pat on my knee.

Your handkerchief against my
forehead.

Your kiss on my cheek.

Your tears.

The tears started up again, but this time they were tears of compassion, of joy, of togetherness; and this time each member shared their tears with the group.

As the rays from the sun sank low in the western sky, the five joined hands, bowed their heads, and prayed the simple prayer of a simple faith:

Lord, we are Yours. Hold us tightly. Guide us strongly. Keep
our eyes open in Your direction. Make us Yours in everything we do.

Deep in the forest, five individuals met. Each one was considered very intelligent in their own circles. Each one brought with them their own unique perspectives, backgrounds, and prejudices. And each one had a different answer to the eternal question of What is Faith? And each one left with the same answer, a new answer for four of them, a better answer, one they felt was the right answer, -- a simple answer.

Faith is simple.

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Postlude. The convention in the woods came from a discussion I had with my dear sister. We were exploring different sides of a topic as we oft do, when I stumbled upon a realization and told her: "You have a simple faith." At the time, I believe she thought this was an insult. I hope after this story, she realizes what a true compliment I was trying to make.