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___ Sightseeing with Michelle By Michelle Balmes Article #3 May 15, 2003 Written in the woods: I had to go to church today; it's been too long I feel; to come into nature, the wild and perfect outdoors, and seek-reconnect-to my spirit. I know that it's not necessary to come out here, to hike to this spot, to find god. That is not my truth. Never has been. I was always suspicious and skeptical of having to go to church to find God. It scared me to think he lived in only one place; in the Baptist church on the outskirts of town. Surely he couldn't be found in any of those other religion's churches- those Catholics and Methodists and Jews were heathens and fools if they thought God was among them; clearly only the Baptists knew the way to God. At least, that's the idea I got from the many teachings and sermons of my church. I do remember that it made the rest of the world, outside of my church, seem like a dangerous, sinful and lascivious place, what with the absence of God and all. The fact that I felt mostly anxiety, fear, shame and dread when I was in the House of the Lord didn't help. In the end, the only thing that made any sense was walking away from my Father's House and into Creation's World. It was here, out in the cold, cruel, godless world, that I finally found my spirit. Where I made the connection to my GodSparkSpiritLightCosmicOneness. I guess you could say I found my spirituality in the streets; like a common heathen. Now I find my church hiking on dusty trails, lying beneath a canopy of giant redwoods, climbing rocks in the hot and pulsing desert. Every time I swim and surf and float in the ocean I'm being baptized by my mother. Every time I lie in a meadow and doze in the sun I'm being cradled in my father's hand. And when I sit here next to a babbling stream and listen to the orchestra of birds overhead, I'm hearing a sermon meant just for me. - Michelle Copyright 2003 Michelle Balmes. All Rights Reserved. Click here to read other Sightseeing with Michelle articles. Click Here to Receive Michelle's Articles via Email!
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