Child of heathens

Lori.... how I love you. I think you and Sean are two of the most decent, hard working, honest people I know. To me, that is more "god like" than the vast majority of the church goers I know. In my world, the way you live your life, the things you do in this life, prove who you are and where you belong in the afterlife, if there is one. I may not have been raised to believe in a higher power, but I was raised with morals and a knowledge that you were to treat people as you expected to be treated yourself. There are a ton of things that the bible tells us that should be meant for all people, not just those who go to church on holidays and pray for forgiveness instead of actually doing something to make this world a better place. Every day you go to work you are making a difference in many people's lives just with your spirit and dedication. You don't have to work where you're working, you chose to work there. And it is in that choice that you prove that you are indeed a better person and that you have respect for human suffering. You do your part to make those people's lives better, not only the people you meet at work, but everyone around you. To me, that is living to a higher standard and there is no need for prayer or reflection.... you're living by god's rules. You and Sean give much more than you often have to give.... isn't that an example of how the bible asks us how to live? I don't know.... prayer and being saved aren't my thing and I know you and Tom were raised to live by those rules. It's something that has always made me feel like I was a bad influence on Tom. I can only hope that my own behavior, minus that horrible potty mouth I seem to have acquired over the last few years, is good enough to make the Van clan feel comfortable that I'm not a heathen myself. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I have read just about every religious text there is to read in my own search for "what it all means" and they all say the same thing. Be good, do good and always be honest with yourself and others. Don't need to believe in god, krishna, mohammad or the buddah to do those things. Just do em! That's you my friend. It's who you are and you did that yourself. Enough from this corner of the world, may I not be struck down by lightning now.

Love to all, Jess