Faith is...

…the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.  Hebrews 11:1

 Faith by its very definition is the acceptance of what we cannot see but feel deep within our hearts.

My faith is learned.  I practice, I pray, I read, I am a constant seeker of knowledge always striving for a stronger faith and a deeper understanding of all things unseen.

But not our Scotty…Oh no...his faith does not come from a book, a religious education class or a yearning for knowledge in hopes of explaining the unexplainable…

…It just is.

Since he was very young he has always been a very holy little fellow.  

Even as a very small child he would fold his hands before every meal, and even at school  we were told he would pray before lunch.

Often times as we were rushing to get a quick dinner so we wouldn’t be late for some evening activity that required us to be in the car ten minutes ago, we would find him sitting quietly at the table…hands folded…reminding us to slow down and take a moment in our hectic day to give thanks.

 He reminds us every single day to see holiness in our ordinary. 

He will sometimes kneel down in prayer for no reason that is apparent to us, but we are left with no other choice but to join him.

He blesses himself with water from the dog bowl, the fish bowl, a water fountain, a duck pond or his cup of water at dinner. To Scotty it is the blessing itself not the holiness of the water.

He has always loved to go to church.  Though he doesn’t often make it to the end of the hour long service, he finds the ritual of the mass both familiar and comforting.  In our faith we do a lot of standing, sitting and kneeling. Scotty is always five seconds ahead of everyone else in the church doing the Catholic calisthenics… including the priest.  Though most times it appears he is not listening...clearly he hears every single word. 

Learned behavior…possibly.

Habit…maybe. 

Sweet…most definitely.

 

Last week I wrote of my personal journey this past year through the bible and of God’s impeccable timing.  I was not the only one in this family who has been on a God driven quest.  It seems our Scotty has been on one of his very own.

During this past year and our unplanned visit to hell and back, Scotty’s “holiness” moved to a whole different level.  As my friend Becky and I started our bible pilgrimage she gave Scotty a bible too.  A children’s bible with cartoon pictures and not a lot to distinguish itself from the hundreds of other books he has access to… none of which he can read. 

Like all books, he studies his bible upside down, he has always done this and we have never been able to figure out why. This particular book, from his much loved friend, became his constant companion.   He took it everywhere…sometimes looking at it…sometimes just holding it tightly. 

Soon after the worldwide prayers began and a sense of calm began to settle once again in our world he began spending many hours listening to church hymns and rocking in his chair by the front window, sometimes strumming his guitar, sometimes clutching his bible to his chest.

He also became focused, and by focused I mean OBSESSED as only a child with any form of autism can be, with watching mass on TV.  EWTN became his favorite station and even the promise of The Crocodile Hunter or The Three Stooges could not entice him away.  Standing close to the television and mimicking perfectly the movements and actions of the priest was always his activity of choice.

His reverence is humbling.

His usual attention span is that of a gnat, but for church TV he was and is still captivated for hours at a time.  It is here that he seems able to shut out all the chaos and all the noise. 

I watched in awe as his tense and broken body began to soften and heal under the quilt of peace that seemed to wrap itself around him.

And it took my breath away.  

There is something so much bigger at work here and I am in awe. I am in awe of God’s constant presence in our life and in awe of this boy and his devotion.

Faith is…the pure and simple light of God that shines from my son's eyes and warms us all. 

And as I have mentioned before in the small handful of words he has been given he can say amen.

Amen…So be it.

                                                        

 

 O Lord my God, I cried to You for help, and You healed me. Psalm 30:2

Disclaimer:  To all my writer friends and editor friends, I know my writing is quite a mess, but I just decided to write from my heart and not worry about all the things that I am sure are driving you crazy.  They are driving me crazy too! Forgive me:)