The Community of the Faithful

No matter how long we have been on this faith journey and no matter how it might seem to us that we had no help or encouragement in the beginning, it is always true that our beginning has its conception in the heart or prayers of someone else.  My mother stands large in my memories of beginning.  In retrospect I am always amazed as she was so young and yet always made sure my sister and I were connected to the church.  Until my father came to an experience with Christ shortly before his death, she did it alone. 

 

While our stories are different, they bear this common theme of someone helping us get on the road of faith.  When the Apostle Paul wrote his second letter to young Timothy, he reminded him of this happening in his life.  "I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and now I am sure, lives in you."  (II Timothy 1:5)  What was true for Timothy was true for the elder Apostle as well.  He obviously had parents who made sure he was grounded in the faith of his ancestors and before the Damascus Road there was Stephen. 

It is a good thing for all of us to look back and see those who had a part in helping us find the way.  And even as there are those who come to mind in such a reflective journey, it is also true that there are many unnamed and unknown saints whose prayers have undergirded us from afar without our even knowing about it.  None of us have gotten where we are alone.  We are always connected to a community of faithful souls who chose to stand alongside us, pray for us, and pull for us.  May we remember them with thanksgiving.