Lisa, a close friend, was asked to talk about her journey to being baptized into the Catholic church. Kam offered his writing services, putting a theme to her journey. Although not a spiritual person himself, he saw Lisa’s joy and excitement over her renewed vows into religion and wanted to help her voice those feelings. She would then tell her story during Sunday Mass.

Here’s what was written:

I started out on this journey with my hand held high. I ask you to join me now… raise your hand.
Before this journey, I held it high because I thought that the closest I could get to God was by raising my hand and trying to touch the heavens.

By doing this, I felt that at anytime I needed to talk to God, I could simply reach up and call on him with my hand. But, this journey I have taken to becoming Catholic has changed this simple gesture.

As I stood there with my outstretched hand, waiting for God, a close friend of mine grabbed my hand in hers, and asked me to be her son’s Godmother and showed me a different way of trying to speak to God, through the church. And so my journey had begun.

As I studied the word of God, I followed this gesture of holding hands when I dragged my husband to church with me. I say dragged, because he at first didn’t want to go to church, but with such a loving community we have here, he ended up joining me in my journey, supporting me with his hand on my shoulder.

His gesture would help guide me through the first steps until my husband found that he renewed his own vows in God, and followed his own journey. With much still to do, that gesture of guiding me was replaced with my sponsor, with her hand now on my shoulder.

She helped me see that, my hand had been everywhere in hopes to becoming closer to God, but in the right place. After seeing this incredible community open their arms, their souls, and their hearts… I then realized where my hand should have always been…

Over my heart.

I have learned that it’s not the outstretched hand that gets me closest to Him, but an open heart to let him in.

I have God and Jesus in my heart. And I cover him with my hand knowing he is here with me.