Where Is God?

I was raised in a Southern Baptist Church. "Raised" is the best way to describe my time at Church. My parents felt they were doing the right thing by dragging us there every Sunday morning, evening and for Wednesday supper. I was always a child full of questions and from an early age I questioned many things about "religion". When no one could answer my questions to my satisfaction, I lost all interest in organized religion. I curse, I drink wine, I am impatient, I ask a lot of questions about religion and to this day I still do not attend Church. All of this makes me a very unlikely candidate for someone to spread the word of God, wouldn't you agree? But if you know your Bible, you will know that the Disciples that Jesus chose were far from perfect, and perhaps that is why He chose them. I would like to share with you my Church and my beliefs for I know there are others out there that are like me and feel out of place and perhaps not good enough to spread the word of God. I believe in the Bible and I believe it is open for interpretation. The Bible was written by men, their perspective of events and the impact those events had on them. Men are human and therefore subject to emotion and inflection and I believe that must be taken into consideration when reading the Bible--I do not feel it was ever meant to be literal. I believe in the 10 Commandments and I believe they are NOT open for interpretation. They are very specific and there is no need for interpretation. I believe that Church is wherever you feel the Holy Spirit and closest to God. Whether that be in a building surrounded by others with a steeple over your head or in the forest surrounded by the sounds of nature and the sky and clouds over your head. I believe there are angels among us and they don't necessarily come in the form with wings. Some angels are animals that bring comfort and keep away loneliness. Some angels are children who are wise beyond their years. It has been my experience that many special needs children are gifted with an insight that can bring me to tears and can only come from God. Some angels are people that come into our lives during our darkest hour--they may only stay a short time until we get back on track again, and then they are gone. Some angels can not be seen but they spare our lives during horrific accidents; car, plane, train. I believe in miracles. I have learned to not take seemingly ordinary things for granted, like rainbows, a full moon, the stars, sunsets, a flower that has found a way to grow between the cracks of a sidewalk. I have been known to pull off the road just to take a picture of God's beauty and try to capture it, but we never really capture it do we? We can only admire it for the moment. I believe we are not promised tomorrow. If you have ever known the loss of a loved one, you know that every moment is precious and when its gone, it can never be relived. I believe that words can make a difference in a person's life. Whether they be words condemning someone, words of cruelty, encouragement, love, inspiration--one word can change a life. So be careful the words you choose. I believe one person can make a difference in the world. It may not be the whole world but one person can make a difference in SOMEONE's world. And it just might be the difference that it takes for that someone to make a difference in another person's world--see where I'm going with this? I believe each and every one of us was put here for a purpose. God doesn't make mistakes. We ALL matter. It may take us a while to find what our purpose is but if we have Faith and listen, God will get us there. I believe we all make mistakes and God does not love us any less because of them. He's already forgiven you for your next mistake. Learn from it and move on. So, where is God? Everywhere of course!!! I believe He lives in each of us. Sometimes He is difficult to see in some but He is there because He never gives up. Perhaps if we would be a little more open to hearing God's Word through the mouth of someone we aren't expecting to hear it from, the Word might become a little clearer. I believe there are people who have been called to preach God's word to a congregation, and there others who are just every day people that have been chosen to tell God's story. I believe we should listen a little closer and if we feel compelled, or led, tell others of God's place in your world, OUR world. And if enough people tell the story, I believe God will smile and we will feel it in our hearts.