Washburn 1

Trevor Washburn
Ms. Townley
Composition
19 January 2015

Faith, the Search for Understanding

I believe that faith in a god can save a life, or at least change it. I was born when both of
my parents were still in high school. My grandfather raised me as his own son after my dad
walked out on my mother and I. Growing up alongside this man, who I referred to as "dad", was
a very unique experience. Each morning, when I would stay with him, we woke up at 7 AM to
attend Mass. My grandfather would lean in and recite the prayers of the Mass and over time I
eventually memorized every prayer. This simple act instilled a call to want to know more about
this man I called God and Father. I would beg my mother to buy books about the saints and
prayer books, and as she did, I continued to absorb more knowledge and memorize more prayers.
But knowledge and memorization werent the only things I received, I began the longest running
relationship I have sustained throughout my life; my relationship with God.
This relationship I have with God began to develop into something that brought
incredible joy to my life and gave me a purpose for that life. I began to read the Bible, which in
turn led to me asking questions that couldn't be answered, which established my faith. Having
faith that what I was reading about was true and without question, the Word of God. At the time,
I was unaware of the Ignatian teaching of seeing God in all things, I was trying to see God in the
beauty of nature and in his creations, through my grandfather's faith, and through the prayers I
had learned. I hadn't taken a look at my own faith, as a way to see where God had been
throughout the years. What I saw was what made me strive harder to further develop this

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relationship with him. At points I have had times where I've felt further away from God, but
there always seems to be some divine intervention that brings me closer to him.
I could have turned out to be a very different person without the early faith foundations
that I had built. Without faith, I would still be in a public school probably wasting my life away,
not attending the Jesuit high school that has helped sculpt me into the man I want to be. To a
certain extent, my faith has been a moral compass throughout my life. It has kept me grounded
through the difficult choices I've had to make, and I turn in faith to God to help guide me to
make good life choices. Faith has been my own Fortress of Solitude in a way, when I have faith
that God has a plan, I find the strength to face any obstacles I am confronted with in life. When
things get tough and life seems like its unbearable, I stop thinking negatively and remember that
I am loved and cared for by someone; and that someone is God. For me personally, a life without
faith is not a life worth living, it's an energy from which all things branch from.
While I personally believe in the Christian God, I also hold firm in the belief that no
matter what god you believe in, if you have faith in a god, it can change your life. While it
doesnt have to be a life altering experience, if you reflect enough on your life after finding god,
you will notice the small changes, and those are the ones that matter. Saint Anselm once said
Fides Quaerens Intellectum which translates in English to Faith Seeking Understanding, an
understanding of you and your life choices, and through understanding, one has the ability to
change their own life.