SEARCH Journal

Faith in a time of war

MY FAITH LIFE began at the age of 12, when one night I woke up with an uncontrollable urge to thank God. It was convulsive and joyous and so surprising that I dared not speak of it for many years. For the last 55 years I have been blessed with a sense of God through thick and thin every moment of the day.

MY FAITH LIFE began at the age of 12, when one night I woke up with an uncontrollable urge to thank God. It was convulsive and joyous and so surprising that I dared not speak of it for many years. For the last 55 years I have been blessed with a sense of God through thick and thin every moment of the day. In times of death, tragedy and trial, I stopped praying but was aware at a deep level that when I started again God would not hold against me the emotional rawness that made the vulnerability of prayer untenable. If I had one impulse throughout my ordained life it was to witness to God’s love and presence in people’s lives, the Good Shepherd, walking us through the valley of death to green pastures. That belief was affirmed time and time again as I saw broken people find new life eventually. I find in Jesus a guide that has never failed on how to do life, and because of that I trust him on death. Having walked his way for so long, I believe he is the way, he is the truth of what we can be, and when we live his way, life does prevail.

* Full article available in printed copies.


maria-jansson

Maria Jansson

recently retired as Dean of Waterford.