it was a good thing the donkey talked...

"So it was a good thing the donkey talked?"
"Yes, it was a good thing."

That was the conversation I had with a woman at Signs of Life this morning. She was asking me about the name of our coffee club, the Talking Donkey Club. I shared with her the story of the prophet Balaam (Numbers 22:21-41) and how his donkey had to warn him about the angel of the Lord blocking his path. It got me thinking that it's a good thing to open our mouths. It's good to help other people see what sometimes they can't see. I know that I've benefited from conversations with people or books I've read in which I've been told something that on my own I wasn't able to see. Sometimes we get so caught up in our daily routine that we miss what's right in front of us. We miss the budding of trees signaling the hope of spring just around the corner...we miss the smiles on the faces of others that are meant to show us that the world isn't out to get us...we miss out on life.
Mari and I have been talking about life lately and it convinces me more and more that my faith is absolutely necessary. My choice is between faith in a loving God who in turn teaches me to love others or in an empty nothingness...a life that lacks meaning or purpose...if I don't have faith then what am I living for? Why do I bother working or going to school or anything? Thinking about a life without faith scares me. I don't know if fear is a good starting place for faith, but I prefer the hope of faith to the fear of a life without faith.