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View of the Church of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole- Vincent van Gogh
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Hope, Give Me Hope
From my window I see the village church and I think about the faith that I grew up with. The God of my grandparents, parents, the God of my childhood faith. I have wondered sometimes about its truth, its relevance in my life, whether I worship now because of belief or tradition. It is a difficult question, one I struggle with daily. I have come to realize that I do believe. God is real to me. Without faith, what future do I have? From my window I see the village church, and I thank my grandparents and my parents for my faith, the faith I have passed on to my children as well. The faith that gives me hope & a broader view.
Across the meadow
I am thankful for the church
forgive me my doubts.
This is written for dVerse Haibun Monday. Bjorn has prompted us to use this painting by Vincent van Gogh & use it as inspiration for writing a Haibun!
Faith is a good thing - something to hold onto. I love the line "Without faith, what future do I have?" and love that you passed on your faith to your children. God is real to me, too. Beautifully done, Mary. The Van Gogh reminds me of the old fashioned white church I grew up in.......they tore it down and built a huge brick edifice. But I always missed the little old white one with its steeple.
ReplyDeleteI like your take on the painting and I too am thankful for faith traditions.
ReplyDeleteA church has to be forgiving, and cater for doubt. Love where you took the haibun,
ReplyDeleteFaith and hope can sure get one through much in life indeed
ReplyDeleteI too think that transmission is important even though what goes on when we try to transmit is a mystery. "Without faith, what future do I have? " - a very good question indeed!
ReplyDeleteNothing wrong with having doubts as its part of our journey to affirm or accept the faith of our parents and grandparents. Good for you to affirm it yourself Mary ~
ReplyDeleteHope - what a wonderful take on this prompt. I see in your senryu, you almost quoted St. Paul when he said, Lord, I believe. Forgive my unbelief. Lovely haibun - simple and so full of meaning.
ReplyDeleteA short haibun with an almost hymn-like quality. Van Gogh was training to be a priest at some point... but then found his true faith in art instead.
ReplyDeleteDoubt is such an important part of our faith journey, I believe. Without it, do we really mature in our own beliefs. Those who way that God is the opiate of the people could have a point if we aren't tested. In the end, though, faith is the object of things now seen. Such a trip!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mary, for such a lovely poem today. Without faith and love and charity in the world, what a pointless existence it would be for all of us...and the doubt is part of it.
ReplyDeleteWe all have a few. This is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting. I have a dark person who writes when I sleep. This was one.
Have a blessed evening.
A very interesting line of thought coming from that piece of art.
ReplyDeletewell done!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your thoughts on faith and the interesting questions you raised. I think we all have doubts about many things and faith is strengthened by thinking about them. I love this painting as well and the unique poem it inspired for you.
ReplyDeleteThis is something that puzzles us all from time to time.
ReplyDeleteYour narration on faith brings a relief to one in contemplation. It gets through very well especially bonding it with the knowledge of having been passed down and not a sudden fancy!
ReplyDeleteHank
Very thought-provoking.
ReplyDelete'I believe - help Thou my unbelief' - words frequently in my heart.
ReplyDeleteVan Gogh lost his faith spectacularly.
ReplyDeleteI love how that last line turns everything just a bit on its side... A very interesting take on the prompt! I have great faith in hope.
ReplyDeleteA thought provoking write, Mary! We each must consider our faith because everyone believes in something...thanks for sharing your journey and holding on to hope. Sadly, Vincent seems to have lost hope in the end.
ReplyDeleteVery real, Mary, doubts we all have them but we hang on , whether we call it a higher power, the Great Spirit or God...we do. I enjoyed your haibun and can relate to the influence to our parents and grandparents. I think it is their modeling a lifestyle that helped too.
ReplyDeleteI feel like having doubt is nothing that needs to be asked for forgiveness from. Questioning is the very foundation of how we find what resonates within each of us. But certainly faith and hope have led many to better lives and that is very good. Your haibun has a gentle acceptance of a family's faithful tradition...lovely, Mary.
ReplyDeleteI could relate to your searching and doubts. I had to reject some of what I grew up with to embrace the faith that I have, that I know to be true. Lovely write.
ReplyDeleteYou've written from such an honest and relate-able place...thank you, for sharing this, Mary. The closing line is especially powerful.
ReplyDeleteA very contemplative haibun - the haiku is, I think, particularly lovely and beautifully worded.
ReplyDeleteI think that all believers face those times of doubt, but that heritage of faith is sometimes a valuable bedrock that helps us to overcome our doubts and, ultimately, become strengthened in our faith
ReplyDeleteA lovely write .. a great read. Bastet
ReplyDeleteI love the repetition of "From my window, I see the village church...." There is such a beautiful flow as you attest to your faith, despite doubts that we all experience sometimes.
ReplyDeleteA sweet piece of writing, prose and verse.
ReplyDelete