By Nancy Agafitei
Reading is an important part of my life, and since I have been involved with Interfaith efforts I have been able to find messages of connection in much that I read. Here is an example. I am currently reading "Woman Hollering Creek" by Sandra Cisneros for the Pen and Paintbrush book club that partners the Barbara Bush Library with the Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts. The discussion pairs significant works of literature with works of art currently on exhibit at the museum.
Reading is an important part of my life, and since I have been involved with Interfaith efforts I have been able to find messages of connection in much that I read. Here is an example. I am currently reading "Woman Hollering Creek" by Sandra Cisneros for the Pen and Paintbrush book club that partners the Barbara Bush Library with the Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts. The discussion pairs significant works of literature with works of art currently on exhibit at the museum.
In one of Cisneros' stories in this book, the narrator is struggling in her search for God in her life when she has a revelation -- "I don't know how it all fell into place. How I finally understood who you are."
After a lifetime without God, she confesses, "When I could see you in all your facets, all at once the Buddha, the Tao, the true Messiah, Yahweh, Allah, the Heart of the Sky, the Heart of the Earth, the Lord of the Near and Far, the Spirit, the Light, the Universe, I could love you, and, finally, learn to love me."
This encapsulates for me the way that Interfaith discussions have changed me. I have come to know that God is great enough to love us all.
Nancy Agafitei is the Branch Librarian at the Barbara Bush Branch of Harris County Public Library, Vice President of Hosanna Lutheran Church, and facilitator of a women's Interfaith discussion group. The views expressed in this post are her own and do not necessarily reflect
those of Interfaith Houston.
No comments:
Post a Comment