“You Better Be Right!”

Sometimes in my role as clergy, I find myself living and especially, being, the faith that others need. When grief and fear overwhelm us, we want to believe, though it’s hard. God seems far away. I remember declaring my belief in future life with God at the end of a Celebration of Life for a young child. I said,

“I believe this child is in a wonderful place, full of laughter and love. She has left us, for sure and she is with God.”

I’d spoken those words many times before, seeking to comfort grieving parents, a spouse, a child, a friend. This particular time, as I hugged the child’s mother, tears pouring down her cheeks, she said to me “You’d better be right! You’d better be right!”

That mother desperately wanted to believe, to trust, but in that moment, she needed me to be strong in faith on her behalf. She knew me. She trusted me. She was reaching out to my faith as an anchor for her.

Wow! That was, and is, a huge responsibility. I went home with those desperate words seared into my soul. For months after, each time I prayed, I thanked God for the reality of my faith. I did believe. I do believe. There is a next life, and it will be wonderful. After death, we go to be with God, or maybe we return to God, and I believe God is good.

Yet, like everyone else, there are times when a fragment of doubt creeps into my soul. At such times, I pray, “I believe. Dear God, help my unbelief.” There are times when I question, “What if I’m wrong?”

At these times, I remember as a woman of faith, I’m called to be a comforting, reassuring, strengthening presence for others. It is my role to be a strong lifeline of faith for others to hang onto. I remind myself that I do believe in a next world with God. I do believe that in that next place, we will live lives of love and joy. What better belief to have? I do trust in the teachings of Jesus. I give God thanks for the knowledge of his teachings. My faith in Jesus is a defining part of who I am. Even if I’m wrong, I believe there is no better way to live this life.

Based on Mark 9: 15-27