Believing and Questioning
Believing and questioning seem like opposite practices. However, they can dance together a beautiful ballet. I have been reading the textbook for my next job (which I am not revealing yet). The book A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger is all about questioning. This questioning it discusses is all about asking the right question to achieve change. I am enjoying this book a lot. I will eventually share more about this book and the experiences that will come with it. I am re-learning to question to achieve results and not to try to go in circles with questions with no answer or multiple answers that only depend on faith and ‘proving’ a point philosophically. Those kind of questions are more like excuses to take control and responsibility for life itself. Questioning for the sake of questioning and trying to prove a point is also a way to show a lot of insecurities as arguments take nowhere. A lot of people can’t resist ‘losing it’ when they either get challenged or because they get ignored. Some people is just argumentative and their questions are just a way to get attention instead of chasing questions to promote change.
At the same time I am learning to question, I am learning to believe. The message at church was all about believing.
So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10
When I am confronted with a verse like this I have to question myself: “Why do I worry so much?” “Is there a reason for me to be fearful?” Of course, if you don’t believe in God your questions are going to be different and I will probably ask “Why?” not to be annoying or to challenge what you believe but to understand why you believe what you believe. I am not looking to be convinced by you or convince you to believe otherwise. I might be more interested in understanding your reasons and if I get the chance I will be more than glad to present my reasons to believe what I believe.
Faith and questioning can go together if the questions fit the bill to increase faith or to support the lack thereof. The questions that challenge the status quo if directed wisely can change your life. Believing and questioning will support each other, and strengthen each other. When my hope is low and it feels like all is lost, then I question my position by going back to the promise of God. As the week and all the worries that might come with it unfolds before me, I keep the faith. I won’t let Journey down. He is with me and the benefits are awesome.
I Believe in Dreams
People is always impressed when I tell them my story. I’ve been drawing since I was very little. In third grade I could already draw by looking at stuff. In fifth grade I spent the year painting history related murals in the classroom. I was always involved in something ‘artistic’ in school. However, when the time came to apply to college, I applied to study civil engineering. The day I was filling up paperwork for the application my father sat next to me and asked me what was I doing so I explained. His response was:
“Why? You love art. You are going to be miserable if you do anything else.”
He was right. After the first year I was already leaving civil engineering and moving into arts. (I’ll save the story of that transition for a different post.) Needless to say I’m here now with a long journey in front of me still. My dream is not complete yet, but I can say it is getting there.
This journey makes me think of Joseph. The first time I heard the story of Joseph I became fascinated with it. Yes, it is in the Bible (Genesis 37 and on). Joseph had dreams and the gift of interpreting dreams for others. His character also had to be tested because of that. First thing I learned from this story: Be careful who you share your dreams with and how. Joseph made enemies out of his own brothers because of his dreams. Sadly, we are going to make enemies because of our dreams, gifts, and abilities. Rest assured, “the haters” (it even sounds funny when I write it) will one day bow down. That’s not the point or what we are looking for. I am learning to pray for the success of “them” and grace, just like the one I received.
As I mentioned before, Joseph’s character had to be tested. We go through life trying to make sense of the paths we have taken and how it all fits into our dream. We might be living the roller coaster life and on each turn it seems like we are about to touch our dream and we miss it. We take another path, and another, and feels like just isolated experiences. Maybe we are collecting the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and one day we will make sense of the bigger picture. Hold on to your dream!