This is a story. A story of faith. A journey. It’s not a particularly dramatic story. It’s not one with soaring highs and desperate lows. It’s just an ordinary story of one man and his journey of faith. It’s not a sob story, and I’m not looking for sympathy. In some ways I feel a little embarrassed that this matters so much to me, when other people have so much bigger issues to deal with, and do so with a quiet dignity. It’s not even (I hope) a complete story – it’s just a snapshot in time that will serve to shed some slight on the past, and some provide some pointers for the future. Please beear in mind, however, that it’s difficult to be objective when you’re so close to the subject. And also that there is a possibility that I'm creating a story, and linking events together, that maybe don't warrant it - after all this is only my perspective. Somebody else would probably tell a very different story.
That said, the story exists, here and now, because I have a need to make sense of it. The reasons why may (or may not) become clear as the story unfolds. All I know is that, at this point in time, I need to understand where I am. I think I’m doing this largely because I need to work out where to go next, and understanding the journey seems to me to be a useful way of trying to figure that out.
But why not keep it to myself (I hear you asking yourself). Well, three reasons. Firstly, doing it this way gives me an impetus to see it through. Secondly, I have a vague feeling that there may be some value in this to others. Thirdly, I’d kind of like various people who have been alongside me for the journey to have some understanding of where I find myself.
So that’s what this is all about. You don’t have to read on. You don’t have to pretend to be interested. It’s about Church, belief, spirituality, faith and all sorts of things that I can understand being very off-putting. I genuinely won’t mind if you don’t read any more. But an audience of zero won’t stop me telling the story. So here goes.
