noun: faith /fāTH/
- complete trust or confidence in someone or something: “this restores one’s faith in politicians”
- strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof. “she gave her life for her faith”
- a system of religious belief. plural noun: faiths “the Christian faith”
- a strongly held belief or theory. “the faith that life will expand until it fills the universe”
I have a strange relationship with the word faith. I am a skeptic by nature. I rarely take things “on faith”, as it were. To do so would mean suspending one of my personal principles — that anything worth believing must be examinable; there must be some proof that can be considered before I can be satisfied. To be fair, I probably define proof much differently than others; still, nothing is integrated into my beliefs until I can find reason to consider it true.
My relationship with my Parents is much the same. When each of Them came to me, I did not make the assumption that I had been chosen as Their devotee or child. I acknowledged Them, I honored Them, and I tried to corroborate my experiences with others who dealt with Them. I waited for the Rite of Parent Divination, which confirmed Them as my Parents. Only then did I accept that They were interested in me, particularly.
I have faith that my gods will not abandon me. I have faith that They will be there for me until the end of my days. I have faith that I always walk with Their blessing. I do not believe for a minute that this will grant me protection from suffering or hardship — but now, only now, after experiences, divinations, and signs and omens have confirmed, do I have faith that these gods are mine and I am Theirs.
carrying their light 