My coming to faith did not start with a leap but rather a series of staggers from what seemed like one safe place to another. Like lily pads, round and green, these places summoned and then held me up while I grew. Each prepared me for the next leaf on which I would land, and in this way I moved across the swamp of doubt and fear. When I look back at some of these early resting places- the boisterous home of the Catholics, the soft armchair of the Christian Science mom, adoption by ardent Jews- I can see how flimsy and indiresct a path they made. Yet each step brought me closer to the verdant pad of faith on which I somehow stay afloat today.

Anything that excites us is a clue that we have the ability to pursue it.

Anything that truly intrigues us is evidence of a Devine talent that's signaling our awareness.

To awaken each morning with a smile brightening my face; to greet the day with reverence for the opportunities it contains; to approach my work with a clean mind; to hold ever before me, even in the doing of little things, the ultimate purpose toward which I am working; to meet men and women with laughter on my lips and love in my heart; to be gentle, kind, and courteous through all the hours; to approach the night with weariness that ever woos sleep and the joy that comes from work well done - this is how I desire to waste wisely my days.

Thomas Dekker