Marilyn Shabatura

I am an Orthodox Christian christined not long after my birth. I grew up in the church which was pivotal to my famiily's life. I didn't realize how much so until I made reading the OSB and the prayers of the hours a daily routine around 2006. There I found echoes of my parents' and grandparents' wisdom and knew where they had found it: "Forgive, forgive, forgive.", "Love all, be kind to all.", "The smarter you get, the dumber you get." (God resists the proud.), etc. As I read the Bible more, I came to appreciate them and their struggles toward deification more. I, like they, am a work in progress: "I have been saved, I am being saved, I will be saved." I'm not sure that I have any relevant credentials, but consider this: In 2006, I was clueless as to what much of what the Psalms I read daily meant. I was particularly puzzled by Psalm 85--"Truth shall spring from the earth, And rigteousness shall look down from heaven.". I like the Ethiopian Philip met on the road, asked, "What could that possibly mean?". There was nothing in the notes. But, I kept on praying it. Then, one day it came to me all of a sudden--Christ springing forth from the tomb and. His Ascension into Heaven!". My perserverance had been rewarded. I continue to learn through my Rabboni, Christ the Teacher.