Feeling safe and guided

Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens.

~ J.R.R. Tolkien

Our four-year-old granddaughter was accepted into an International Baccalaureate program. The school is Catholic.

Although she has been christened, she and her family have not yet committed to a religious practice. They are now considering it.

One night, as I tucked her in and reminded her that she is safe and loved, she asked me if God was always watching her.

My religious background

Your hardest times often lead to the greatest moments of your life. Keep going. Tough situations build strong people in the end.

~ Roy T. Bennett

I grew up believing that God saw everything we did. I went to church every Sunday and had to go to confession before having communion.

I feared the wrath of God and having to confess my sins to a priest, so I behaved.

Until high school, I attended Catholic schools. The middle school I attended was a prototype school that facilitated advanced independent learning for children capable of working beyond current grade level.

My grade 8 teacher was a nun. She had high hopes for my future, so she was disappointed when I chose to attend the local public high school. She expected me to attend a highly sought-after Catholic school that was far from home.

My parents did not drive. It would have been costly and inconvenient.

Although I continued to go to church on Sundays into my twenties and prayed to God and Mother Mary when I felt hopeless and needed guidance, I started to question my religion in high school. For better or for worse, science became my new religion.

My husband is Christian, but not Catholic. When we had children, we christened them but didn’t find a church we liked. Being part of a tribe did not appeal to me. Religious beliefs seemed dogmatic.

When I studied religion in university, Buddhism resonated most. Rooted in Buddha's teachings, it offers a path to understanding suffering, cultivating wisdom, and living an ethical life.

Over time, I became more spiritual but less religious.

We are divinely guided and protected

I've always believed in a higher power. You can call it God, you can call it Jesus, Krishna, Buddha, Allah, I don't care. I really believe we are all a part of God.

~ Olivia Hussey

So when our granddaughter asked me if God was always watching her, I struggled to answer.

I remembered the fear of experiencing the wrath of God when I was little.

I wanted to say that God was within and loved us unconditionally, but that was complicated.

To keep it short, I said that she had a Guardian angel to guide and protect her as needed. She was safe and unconditionally loved. We'd talked about Archangel Michael before.

Closing thought

The power of intuitive understanding will protect you from harm until the end of your days.

~ Lao Tzu

In retrospect, I realize the benefits of having a higher power to turn to when I was struggling in life.

Embracing whatever religious practice we are born into is a great stepping stone in our spiritual journey.