Defiant Faith

Someone (another Christian) referred to my "defiant faith".  When I hear something like that, I like to chew on it for a while. 

I concluded, you know, they're right.  I think ANYONE would agree, regardless of their "religious" viewpoint.  I have also had "intolerant" thrown my way a few times this week, too. 

I have an annoyed Muslim asking why I shaved Ron, is there something wrong with looking like a Muslim?   To that I say, no, nothing wrong with how a Muslim man presents himself to the world.  They are always clean, tidy, and hard workers.  The clothes look a lot more comfortable than what we wear.  However, Ron looks better with a shorter beard.  Not to mention, he won't scare the customers, drivers, and my parents when they come to visit. 

I think, generally speaking (and I hope the guy finds his way over here), the "Western" norms of dress and grooming prefer a man with a short beard, if at all.  I know the everyday people we encounter feel that way, too. 

Ron can be obnoxious and profane.  I wouldn't want him looking like "my" gang if I were Muslim. 

[shrug]  Maybe I should have said, "Ron looks like a homeless, mentally ill man off his meds, living under the overpass when he has a long beard.  Even I get a little scared.  So I trimmed his beard".  But then I'd probably have someone posting on my offensive comments about the mentally ill! 

Anyway, back to my original point: my faith is a huge part of my identity.  Without my faith I wouldn't have made it to age 14.  I never would have survived 2006. 

So, I feel, if you see things you admire, a comment that motivates, a perspective you find helpful, that is all God, in me.  I'm just reflecting what I have learned and absorbed. 

My faith has been tested in terrible, deadly, times.  I could only rely on God to sustain me. 

Which is why I do have a defiant faith.