Faith is truly a beautiful thing.

Faith fascinates me. It always has. What is it that make people believe? It gives them the peace of mind that there is a higher power looking out for them? That must be such a comforting thought, that thought itself can see one through difficult times! God will take care of me, I will leave my worries in the hands of God! Must be a lovely, secure feeling.

Varanasi is one of my favorite cities in India. Sitting under one of the chhatris in Dhashashwamedh ghat one can view the mass of humanity in their various phases of proclaiming their faith. They come asking the Almighty to take care of their loved ones,to keep them safe. And they believe that Vishwanath is going to listen to their plea. The misfortune in their lives, whatever they may be, are God’s way of testing their faith. And they come out strong.

In Bethlehem, I stood in line with many others, to catch a glimpse of the Grotto which was supposedly the manger where Jesus was born. To me, it looked like a tiny hole, but to those who believe, it was the holiest place of all. It was simply amazing to see men and women shedding tears of joy because they touched their Savior’s birth place. There was similar jubilation at the spot where Mary’s milk was supposedly spilled. It was a beautiful and touching. It wasn’t so pretty, however, when a Korean gentleman, upon knowing that I am not a follower of Christ, told me in no uncertain terms that I was going to Hell. But there was still time to redeem myself. He wanted my address so he could mail me a bible. I didn’t want to be rude to an elderly man, I confess I gave him a wrong address.

Since this blog is about what mama thinks, my kids’ faith needs to be mentioned here. My 12 year old is a cynic. She believes that there is a super power who probably created the first spark of life but she doesn’t feel the need to go to church or temple to pray. She’d rather read the Bible, Gita and other religious texts and learn the good lessons that the good books teach.

The 6 year old boy is a true believer, though. He told me, not too long ago, ‘Mom, I don’t think God is real, but I will still believe in Him all my life!’ ‘Can you tell me why you think God is not real?’ I asked. ‘Well, because God doesn’t have a mommy and daddy so He can’t be real but I still like to believe in God!’

As I said earlier, faith is fascinating.