Melting Snow

Leap of Faith

Friday, March 24, 2017

Those terrible chains  (13+) In 1852 Baha’u’llah spent 4 months in the Síyáh-Chál #1589815 by Prosperous Snow celebrating

The "Blogging Circle of Friends "  prompt for DAY 1590
"In late February, frogs, salamanders, and other amphibians responding to early warm temperatures began migrating from their winter hideouts to vernal pools to begin the spring mating season. Some of the animals were chaperoned to safety by concerned volunteers across trafficked streets late at night in New York and other Northeastern states. Write an essay about a time in your life when you made a big decision or took a leap. Did someone arrive to accompany you or were you on your own? Was your emotional journey guided by a crossing guard who brought you to safety?" ~ Writers Digest

Leap of Faith

The biggest leap of faith I have ever taken was to become a Baha'i. I had never heard of the Baha'i Faith, Baha'u'llah or the The Bab until I moved to Las Vegas. When I moved here, I moved in with my family because I didn't having anywhere else to stay and I didn't have enough money to rent a place. My brother, Frank, was a Baha'i at the time which is how I heard about the faith. I ask my brother about it, but instead of answering my questions he took me to a Fireside, which was a meeting in a Baha'i's home where you could ask questions about the religion.

The woman who gave the talk was a longtime Baha'i. She answered all my questions. One of the things that attracted me to the faith was the scriptures and prayers revealed by Baha'u'llah. The only way I can describe them is a drink cool fresh water. I had been subconsciously searching for a religion, a faith, that I could be comfortable with for years. I say subconsciously because my search begin with two dreams I had when I was a child. I suspect I had the dreams because I was uncomfortable being a Southern Baptist. I believed in Christ, but I couldn't accept the idea that only Christian (specifically Southern Baptist) would go to heaven. I was also bother by the fact that there were people before Christ who never knew him who would go to hell because they never knew or heard about Christ.

Baha'u'llah's teaching of progressive revelation answered my question about the people who lived before Christ. Since I didn't have to give up Christ when I became a Baha'i I signed my card declaring my faith in Baha'u'llah. I will admit that I didn't understand some of the laws reveal by Baha'u'llah or much about the Baha'i Faith. I'm still learning and understanding many things I didn't when I declared my believe. I suspect I will continue to learn until the day I ascend into the Abha Kingdom (Baha'i's name for heaven).

Who was my crossing guard? Baha'u'llah. The Holy Spirit. Those are the only two answers I have. I know I didn't have any physical crossing guard. I can't say that all my family was happy about my choice. The truth is I'm not sure that it even mattered to them. My mother and other brother became Baha'is after I did. Both my brothers eventually withdrew from the Baha'i Faith while my mother and I remained members. Mom died a Baha'i and was buried with a Baha'i Burial Ring.