At my parents table (faith renovations over decades)

It’s a natural and healthy part of development to ‘differentiate’ from your parents/carers. Even if you grew up in a safe, secure and loving environment there comes a point at which you begin to take ownership for your life, your values and your beliefs. As I reflect on the household I grew up in, I feel like my parents gave me two great gifts (among many others):1. They passed on their beliefs and practices for understanding the world.2. They cultivated a sense of permission to explore beyond the boundaries of these. Undoubtedly, my experience is partly reflective of being the 5th (out of 6) kids. By the time my folks got to me they’d had a decent amount of practice/levelling out. Either way, I have this strong sense that the capacity I feel that I have to honestly explore the doubts, questions and frustrations of faith, while maintaining a core belief that the centre of this Jesus tradition is goodness and love and liberation - I owe much of this to the generosity and flexibility of my folks’ faith. So, on a recent visit to their home I pulled out the mics, and convinced them to have a cup of tea and a chinwag with me about how their view of God has changed, expanded and been challenged over their lifetimes. If my generation is going to make it to our 60s with some form of robust, healthy Christian spirituality, we need role models like these. I hope you have them. If not, I hope this episode gives you a window into the ‘gentle renovations’ that can take place in healthy, life-long faith (befriended by doubt). Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.The Spiritual Misfits Survival Guide (FREE): https://www.spiritualmisfits.com.au/survivalguideSign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/View all episodes at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com