Opening to Faith

[The Stage is on Fire] is a page-turner in which, much like life, there are no easy answers and yet each step of the journey yields insight and hope. This work of heart must not be missed!

Melanie Faith

Creative Writing Teacher, Essayist & Poet.

Katie Steedly’s first-person piece [The Unspeakable Gift] is a riveting retelling of her participation in a National Institutes of Health study that aided her quest to come to grips with her life of living with a rare genetic disorder. Her writing is superb.

The Society of Professional Journalists

In recognition of receiving the Dateline Award for the Washingtonian Magazine essay, The Unspeakable Gift.

I thank you … It is the authenticity of your “class notes”; and it is the delicacy and skill with which you present the nuances of classroom life and the actuality of your students’ and fellow teachers’ lives.

Maxine Greene

Philosopher and Education Scholar

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Once a man was about to cross the sea. A wise man tied a leaf in the corner of his robe and said to him ” Don’t be afraid. Have faith and walk on the water. But look here – the moment you lose faith you will drown. – Sri Ramakrishna

Many years ago I went white water rafting on the New River in West Virginia.

As we began our trip down the New, we received some advice from our guide. He was talking us through the safety features on the raft and how to properly secure our life jackets. Toward the end of the spiel, we were told that if we fell out of the boat, “Just float on your back to the side of the river. Try to keep your legs up out of the water. Don’t fight the river.” I sat there and thought how funny that sounded. Sit back? Really? Don’t fight the river?

About halfway down the river, I was tossed from the Raft into major rapids.

I had to remain calm so that I remembered to breathe. I had to remain calm so that I would not panic. I had to remain calm so that remembered that I know how to swim. I had to remain calm so that I would not smash up against a rock. I had to remain calm so that I was not pulled under water. I had to remain calm in order to grab the oar that pulled me safely into the raft. I felt like I was struggling in the water for a lifetime, but in reality it probably was no more than a few minutes.

Letting the water carry me was the answer.

Letting the water carry me was about opening to faith. I had to trust the same water that tossed me from the boat to sustain me, and not harm me. I had to let go of any perceived control I had in the situation. My ability to swim would not save me. Surrendering to the river allowed me to find my way back into the raft.