Words to Live By . . .

"People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost."

These "words to live by" were posted on the latest Hobby Lobby weekly coupon email, and they couldn't show up at a better time. You see, my niece asked me the other day why I didn't go to church, and told me that it was "bad" that I didn't go to church. You have to understand that my niece is only six, and I'm sure doesn't understand what she was saying to me. I'm certain that she's just repeating what she has heard, by someone who was obviously very narrow-minded..

I've always lived my life by the standard that I don't impose my beliefs on others, and in return, I ask that they do the same by me. I don't feel the need to go to church because I truly believe that although church plays a very important role in people's lives, it's basically a social outlet, a common bond among like-minded individuals coming together as a group to worship. Their bond is their belief, specific to the particular church or place of worship. I don't have the need to network or socialize in that way. Instead, I choose to socialize through people that have interests like mine - the love of animals via the Humane Society, and the passion for quilting by patronizing my local quilt shop. These are the two constants in my life, and I follow my heart with these passions, and in doing so, I find fulfillment and happines - like the passage above indicates.

Does not going to church make me a bad person? I certainly don't think so - and I hope that one day, my niece will be able to decide for herself what makes a person "bad" without depending upon the opinions and views of others - by opening her mind and following her own heart to fulfullment and happiness.