"I choose to believe"

It was probably in late summer . . . Christmas, that is.  The birth of Jesus of Nazareth.

He was born in Bethlehem, spent some time in the south until things blew over and then was raised in Galilee.  The word Galilee means 'circle' - meaning it was circled about by non-Jews.  It was viewed as a very liberal place - not the area for an orthodox Jew.  People from this area had very interesting accents - kind of how you can spot someone from Mississippi or West Virginia today.  Not to say anything against people with accents, but it was a definite choice by God to pick the backwoods over center city.  He was an average baby - one of thousands born in a corner of the world that night.

And this is a signal to us . . . a flare for those with flagging faith.

It seems that God is not the 'knock down the doors and captivate you with my presence' kind of God . . . at least not yet.  It is stumbled upon in unlikely places - the uneducated, the poor, the ones who have been picked over . . . sinners.  So those whose faith is low and seeking more - faith is found in the unlikely places:

- Like the breath prayer that says, "God help me."
- Like the breakroom when you whisper, "show yourself to me."
- Maybe the stairwell on your knees, all alone with a prayer: "I choose to believe and follow you alone."

The unlikely God with the unconventional methods calls to us in the most unusual ways . . . it is only fitting that our faith be just as unpredictable.