While this site is still under construction, I’m having a “soft opening”, meaning that The Sanity Search is open to 
the public, and I’ve started up a newsletter called The Sanity Update.
It is in this newsletter that I mentioned my thoughts on faith, and other ways to cope with crap. I knew that this page was a bit “empty” as it were, and I wanted to address those important topics.
I’ll start with Faith and Prayer. By the way, I’m using the word “God” in the Judeo-Christian sense. Also, for expediency. I know that someone may use some other kind of universal, powerful, benign symbol, which is fine. Or they may follow a polytheistic approach, and depend on more than one Supreme Being. Fine by me.
As the image here suggests (to me anyway), you can find God anywhere, if you are searching with an open mind. For so many, having a solid faith in God has helped them handle serious life events.
I honestly don’t rely on God as much as I should. And when I do pray, I think sometimes it’s far too humble an approach, like “Gee, sir, if you’re not too busy, and I KNOW that you are, what with the wildfires in the California, the misery in Syria, that little girl on the news that has a dying wish to meet Princess Jasmine, and the the victims of house fires, floods, tornados, and on and on…”
Right there, I think it’s actually a little insulting to Our Lord. God can handle a heap more of life’s bizarro events, he can comfort millions at once, and probably get the stains out of those work uniforms too, if that were totally necessary. But I’ve acted like my needs were not worthy of his time. Kinda crazy, when I think about it.
SO, I am trying to remember that it’s OK to step up and say, “Look, this is what’s going on (and of course, he already knows), this is what hurts, I’d like some help. Oh, and God, I loved how the sky looked today at sunset, I’m so happy for my friend’s family who just got the best news regarding their sons’ new medications – Thank you!!”
Back in 2010, when Tom was going through his transplant and recovery, I was putting it all out there on social media. Updating with mostly good news, and the sometimes worrisome stuff, I know I asked for prayers. And we got them! At some point, I felt a weird, but pleasant sensation of being wrapped up in love. This was more than just being pleased at reading the nice comments, it was a physical feeling that I’d not remember ever feeling before. I have felt God’s presence, or been aware that he has answered a prayer, but this was a combination of Agape Love and Human Love, woven together with divine intent.