Faith

A beautiful sunny morning like this one helps me define faith. I think once a person understands and has faith their life becomes much easier. I haven't always had faith. I don't mean faith as in religion or belief in God but everyday ordinary faith. Faith that good out weighs bad. Faith that spring will come again. For me faith has come with age. Faith comes, I think, with life's experiences. Faith requires some patience.  I watch my son at times and he reminds me so much of myself at his age. Everything seems to take forever, life seems frustrating, very impatient, and people cannot react quick enough for his demands.  I remember that feeling that if it doesn't happen now, it will never happen. I think my faith has grown not so much do to wisdom of age but more to the aging process its self. Day after day, week after week, year after year of seeing things eventually working out, the feeling of renewal each spring with the first sight of a crocus popping out of the snow, the slow but eventual healing that takes place after you loose someone you love. I think faith like many things in life take time. I think each experience in life helps define us and gives us the chance to develop those desirable traits of faith, patience, honestly, dependability, kindness, etc. My faith has grown as I've seen my town and its people survive and come back after a devastating flood.  My faith has grown as I've seen troubled youth grow up and become productive citizens. My faith has grown when someone steps up to defend someone weaker or less fortunate than themselves. As I take a moment now and then to look out the window as I write, I have faith that this glorious sunny day will be one of many to come. I have faith that bad times will be followed by good, lean times with days full of riches, days of healing will follow days of illness.  I have faith that my students will grow and develop into loving parents and productive citizens, my son will learn faith as I have and his children as he will.

Remaining loyal and remembering your roots

The nurse today at my doctor's office asked me why I didn't go to the doctor in Florida instead of being sick for a week and driving back here to WV to go to my doctor. I guess it was a good question because Rob thinks it was crazy, too.  One, I really thought I would start feeling better each day. But I am just one of those people that have a loyalty to things. I'm loyal to my true friends, even if you do some really stupid things at times. I'm loyal to my family as annoying as you can be at times. I'm loyal to my state. I'm loyal to my Mountaineers, even if you loose a bowl game. I proudly wear my school colors and display the flying gold and blue on my vehicle. I believe in loyalty and faithfulness. I believe in remembering where you came from and who your childhood friends were when you fell off your bike. I believe in saying that I am from Preston County, WV not saying I live near Morgantown. I believe in saying I'm from Rowlesburg and proud of it. I believe in staying loyal to people, places, and things. Our home is filled with family things. Everything is kind of mismatched but old and comfy. I believe in family and remaining loyal to those artifacts from the past full of memories of my grandparents and great-grandparents. I believe in high school reunions and looking at old yearbooks and face booking my classmates from the Class of "76 of Rowlesburg High School. We will probably always own this home on Oak Street because it is where my roots are and roots sustain life, always have, always will. I believe in God, family and friends. I believe in remaining loyal and remembering your roots. I trust my doctor. He has been there for me through floods, childbirth, diets, pink eye, and now middle age. I drive miles to see a certain doctor, watch the Mountaineers play, help a friend, or be there for a family member. Maybe it is a small town thing or maybe it is just the right thing.