I recently spoke with a woman who, like many, is mourning the loss of a loved one this Christmas season. Behind her pain was the conviction that he was in a better place. I offered her my quick assurances that she was right, but as I left, I couldn’t help asking myself if he was in fact in that better place. I was not questioning the state of his soul; no, my question was a much bigger one. One that in the past I would have been afraid to ask – Is there a heaven? Is there a God?
I am a skeptical person by nature. This natural skepticism was then honed through years of graduate training and clinical work where I required scientific proof before I would ever believe something as true. While there are biblical scholars, theologians, and saints that can all clearly and convincingly point to the existence of God and Heaven, the answer to my question came not from these brilliant scholars and awe inspiring mystics, but from somewhere deep within. That still small voice that whispered, “You know the Truth.”
The voice is right; I do know the truth. Though my faith is strong, I still question and probably always will. But deep within, beneath the questions, I am blessed with the gift of belief. A gift I can assure you I do not deserve. This is not a gift unique to me, it is there for all of humanity. It is waiting for all who want to put aside the limitations of our physical world and in the silence, listen to the still small voice running through each of us, the voice calling us to that better place.