Thank you, God, for my friends who teach me so much about Life

Thank you, God, for my friend, Kyle, who taught me that I can call my Higher Power God even if I don’t fully understand it.

The word God doesn’t have to put My God in a box. Other people can have their beliefs about God and so can I and I can still call my conception of God, God even if other people have other beliefs.

Thank you, God, for my friend Will who taught me that I could pray.

I can pray even if no one might actually be listening, that prayer is for myself, that I can pray even if I don’t understand God to exist exactly as the Bible or Quran or whatever describes it and that doesn’t make me crazy.

Prayer is for me and it doesn’t really matter what God’s true nature is so long as I feel good praying and it brings me closer to God. God could just be the Universe itself or nothing at all, I will keep praying because it makes me feel good. I choose to believe in God and God represents Goodness to me and what I want to strive for.

Thank you, God, for my friend, Ron, who taught me that I can have a Higher Power and Wisdom but not need to force it onto people.

Only now a decade later do I realize Ron had so much wisdom, which could have benefited me, but which I was not ready for. It was wisdom for him not to try to force it on me.

Thank you, God, for my friends, Bob and Ylois, who show me that people can have strongly held religious beliefs and still accept other people’s beliefs.

Thank you, God, for my friend, James, who teaches me I can be myself.

Thank you, God, for my friend, Samba, who taught me we can talk about the issues which divide us without it dividing us.

Thank you, God, for my friend, Cole, who teaches me what courage looks like in talking about God in public.

I am afraid of being judged, but for me God is Love, so why should I be afraid to talk about God in public so long as I am not forcing it on people?

Thank you, God, for my wife, who teaches me it is Ok to be spiritual even if we are not religious.

I felt weird praying in front of my wife because of my own hangups, but she has supported me every step of the way for the last few years as I figure out life, how to be a better person and what my own spirituality looks like and means. She makes me feel safe to experiment and safe to not know all the answers. I am so grateful for her comfort and love.

Thank you, God, for my friends who I didn’t immediately think of when I wrote this quick post.