A Rough and Unfinished Journey to Faith

Summary

The text is a personal narrative poem reflecting the author's complex journey with faith, from childhood prayers to atheism in adolescence, and eventually to a cautious openness to spiritual belief as an adult.

Abstract

The poem describes the author's evolving relationship with faith, beginning with fervent childhood prayers that went unanswered, leading to a sense of abandonment and a loss of hope. As a teenager, the author adopted atheism as a protective measure for mental health, believing in self-reliance due to the perceived absence of divine intervention or adult protection. The healing process later in life brought the realization that trust, including faith in a higher power, can be rebuilt over time. While the author has not fully restored faith in a deity, they acknowledge the possibility of such a relationship in the future, signified by a door left ajar.

Opinions

The author initially held a strong belief in prayer but felt forsaken when their prayers seemed unanswered.
The transition to atheism was a coping mechanism to deal with the lack of perceived divine or adult intervention in the face of harm.
The healing journey led to the understanding that trust, whether in people or in faith, is something that can be gradually reconstructed.
The author remains skeptical about faith in a higher power but is open to the idea, indicating a shift from a closed to an open stance on spirituality.

A Poem from the Prompt: Faith

When I was a child I prayed and prayed for safety, for warmth, for change —

until I dropped all hope, instead shouldering a lifetime of shame, believing that even God would not intervene, and that I deserved… this.

As a teen it was thus easier, better, let’s say, for my mental health to be staunchly atheist —

to believe that no one stopped the harm because no deity witnessed with their eyes, nor adults listened with their ears, that no one was reliable, other than myself.

In the healing journey, I now realize, that each bond between a person and another is different, and that trust can be built, one brick at a time; that I can trust another.

Which also means that between a person and their faith can hold the same uniqueness and meaning. While I have not regained trust in Him, nor Her, nor Anyone Above quite yet, this previously firmly closed door now lays ajar, open to possibilities.

Lucy (The Eggcademic) crafted this poem from this week’s prompt on faith.

A Rough and Unfinished Journey to Faith

A Poem from the Prompt: Faith

This Week’s Prompt: 05.-11.10

All things faith.