This is Kit, the author of our second entry on chapters 10 and 11. She said, "I babysat my fiancé's best friend's kids, and it was Tevein and T'neice's first time making cupcakes. We had a blast!" I'm just wondering if there are any of those cupcakes left...!
Happy reading!
In chapters ten and eleven, Ranya made a really good point when she discussed the conversation she had with the women about God and rituals. She said people shouldn't worry about how other people practice their religion, and instead should concentrate on their own beliefs. I agree with Ranya because in today’s society religion is a heated topic. People have different views on it. People have the right to their beliefs and others should respect that. Religion is personal to each individual and is sacred to that person.
Reading these chapters made me think of my own family rituals, beliefs and praying to God. I grew up in a home where I was taught by my parents to believe in Buddhism. I had a hard time understanding my religion when I was growing up. My parents never explained our religion to me and I just went along with it. Both of my parents are extremely religious and they pray to the Gods of Buddha every day before they go to bed. My parents also have a ritual where they wear a Buddha pendant as a necklace to protect them from bad spirits. I felt like I was forced to practice Buddhism when I was growing up. I wore a Buddha pendant, went to the temple, but never understood why I had to pray to a Buddha. When I was a teenager, I felt like I had grown out of Buddhism and began to believe in God. I made a connection when Suzanne talked about giving up on sweets for Lent and she wasn’t able to keep her pledge. She then lost her grandmother's necklace, and she told God that she wasn't going to drink another beer again. She found the necklace, but then wasn't able to keep her promise to God.
This sounds selfish, but I only pray to God when I need guidance. I used to do the same thing Suzanne used to do when she would pray to God. When Suzanne’s grandfather died, she reconnected with God. One day she was looking for a place to pray and she was introduced to a church by her home called Maria am Gestade Church. The church not only gave her a place to pray, but it offered wonderful services. I can relate to this because I took a long break from Buddhism after I graduated high school. I wasn't sure if I believed in Buddhism, but instead had started believing more in God. Not long ago, I started to go back to the temple with my parents. Now, I have a better understanding of Buddhism because they explained it to me. Now I practice my beliefs and pray to God.
People practice different beliefs and rituals. These beliefs and rituals are passed along from one generation to the next. People tend to adopt their parents’ ways, practices, and beliefs. Children learn through modeling and each child has a different culture and religion. The reading made me realize that it is very important to respect a child’s culture, religion, and family. I think it is important for people to learn about different cultures and religions, and to teach children how important it is to be different and unique.
The reading answered my question about God: Who is God? Every culture has their own vision of God and their own perspective. When Suzanne was putting her daughter to sleep, her daughter asked her about God. Suzanne didn't have an answer for her daughter, but instead told her, “God is here” (p. 149). Teaching a child about God is hard. For example, when Suzanne asked her father about God, he didn't have a clear answer for her either.
This reading has encouraged me to be more open-minded with each child who comes from a different race and has different beliefs. I feel that people should be sensitive to different cultures, to learn about each culture and religion to have a better understanding. In the end of chapter eleven, Priscilla recognizes that it is easier for her to pray to God. She became more sensitive to Ranya and Suzanne’s beliefs, and she has a better view of her own beliefs.
I agree that religion, and religious practices like rituals and prayer, are deeply personal and sacred to many people. My family did not adhere to a religion nor attend church, though my parents had basic Christian beliefs. I think I learned from them -- whether or not they intended -- that spirituality is private. As a young child, I did attend church services with friends' families, and perhaps through that influence as well as talking to my parents about their beliefs, I developed a relationship with God that has primarily been between him and me. I pray in my own way, and even end my prayers with a phrase I made up as a child and still use. I admire and am interested in faith that is more community-oriented and shared more outwardly, but thus far, have not been entirely comfortable sharing my faith that way.
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