We have lots of commitments – what about God?

    I was in the car with a friend of mine talking about our plans for the summer and what we were planning to do after we graduate with our master’s degrees in May, when Taylor Swift’s song, “Don’t You Ever Grow Up,” came on my friend’s iPod. As I sat listening to the lyrics, I was struck by the refrain: “Don’t you ever grow up, just stay this little; oh darling, don’t you ever grow up, don’t you ever grow up; it could stay this simple.”         
    The song talks about varying moments in a person’s life – falling asleep as a little child with a night light, as a teenager having mom and dad drop you off at the movies, and finally ending as a young adult being dropped off by parents at your first apartment all alone. In the song’s bridge, Swift advises her listeners to memorize the little things about childhood – your room, favorite songs and sounds – because “I just realized that everything I have is someday gonna be gone.”
    It always amazes me how easily music can strike a chord and speak directly to a person’s situation. Of course, we all have to grow up – but how many of us have wished that we could still be children, when we have little responsibility and have parents to take care of us?
    As I’m in the midst of trying to find a house, pack up my belongings, pay my taxes and bills, it suddenly hit me that I have grown up and that I’m on my own now – it isn’t simple anymore. In just a few weeks, graduates will be facing this same reality as they embark on a new job in a new place, possibly away from home.
    Part of growing up is also trying to find faith and maintain that faith. It is so easy to get caught up in the allure of our materialistic society where it seems that we place our faith in our government, our jobs, money, material goods – everything but God and the Catholic Church.
    We make so many commitments to so many things and people – family, jobs, diets, etc. – that require us to do certain things that we may not enjoy or we may not understand. And yet, we still commit. Having faith in the Catholic Church and in God is also a commitment.
    One day, we have to make up our minds that we are placing our trust in the church. We may not understand all of its intricacies and mysteries; we may not, in the beginning, agree with all that the church has to say, perhaps because we misunderstand the teachings. But because we made a commitment, we trust the church.
    And then comes our training. Faith is not always simple because we, as human beings, have a desire to question, a desire to know. So, we begin our research, learning why Catholics believe and do certain things and why they do not believe other things. This process may not be fun; it may be painful, as we realize that certain ideas we had are wrong. But over time, this research can become more meaningful.
    We can come to understand the significance and dignity of every human being, and that may mean that we have to change our outlook when coworkers begin using “retarded” to label a person with a disability.
    We may come to appreciate the beauty behind the church’s understanding of sexuality and it might mean that we talk to our friends or our significant other about the church’s teaching in an attempt to dissuade others, and possibly yourself, from pre-marital sex.
    Faith is trust. It is trust that the Holy Spirit will guide us on the right path to fulfill God’s plan for each of us. It is trust that the church, who has been guided by the Holy Spirit for thousands of years of wisdom, will not lead us astray. We must trust in the church, knowing that our faith will lead us to our ultimate end – heaven. And so, we persevere, maybe disagreeing and not understanding everything that the church teaches, but we trust that with our reflection and learning about our faith, the Holy Spirit will guide us and help us figure it out.
    Heather Bozant can be reached at hbozant@clarionherald.org.