One Hand, One Heart

This week's visit with the Almighty did not take place on a Sunday, or in a church, but it was a religious service just the same. Two friends from the CooperRiis community were joined in holy matrimony this past Saturday on a sunny, autumn afternoon with the Blue Ridge Mountains serving as a backdrop. The couple met as lodge advisors for CooperRiis, the healing farm for which I am currently working. Though they each moved on to other positions on the farm, their allegiance to the lodge advisor crew has not changed, and they were, in fact, the first people to take me out on the town when I arrived in North Carolina. I remember Jeannine asking me about religion and being confused at my answer. "So you're serving as a volunteer for the Brethren Volunteer Service but you're not Brethren, and you grew up Unitarian but you're not Unitarian?" "Exactly!" This is understandably hard to follow. How could someone grow up in a religion that is accepting of anyone's understanding of spirituality and choose to abandon it to pursue his own understanding of spirituality? This is a question I continue to ask myself. Why do I not consider myself Unitarian even though my morals and values align themselves so well with those put forth by Unitarians? It's because I have an innate desire to connect directly with God and I never found that opportunity within the Unitarian faith. Unitarians, in my opinion, are more interested in connecting with their community than connecting directly with God. Since the beginning of my current relationship, I've felt more connected to God and more in touch with my true self than I ever had before. I attribute this to meeting this amazing person that is a true believer in Christ and has the simultaneous ability to look outside of her religion to find different forms of spirituality. I guess I've never really connected with such an open-minded Christian before, and I've certainly never been in love with one. In fact, my travels to CooperRiis have opened my eyes to the well of faith that is present in this part of the country and doesn't necessarily result in close-mindedness. Which brings me back to the wedding. There were multiple prayers, a few Bible verses read, and the entire service was dedicated to a union that would be made in the eyes of God. In short, it was a little too religious for my taste. When I think of what I want my wedding to be, the word that comes to mind is celebration. I want the service itself to be the kickoff to a rockin' good time, a celebration of how beautiful love can be, not just a reminder that God is with us in life and beyond. If God wasn't already on my side, I never would have found the girl I want to marry.