Practicing
Tom Soma
I spent last week-end in South Bend, Indiana—where, in addition to seeing friends and enjoying the Notre Dame-Michigan football game, I visited the place that inspired my quest for America’s most heavenly cinnamon bun: The Blue Gate Restaurant & Bakery in Shipshewana, Indiana. While the bun didn’t crack my top ten (sorry, Jessica Yoder!), the ride was sure fun. The rural landscape and country stores evoked bygone days and deep-rooted values. And much to our surprise, across the street from one of the other two Amish bakeries at which Susanne and I stopped, we discovered the Dutchmen factory where my RV was manufactured 11 years ago. It was probably good—both for the company and me—that the place isn’t open on Saturdays!
An unexpected highlight of my Indiana stay was an hour-long conversation with Audrey Tucker, a young woman from Oregon who I met two years ago. She’s now a sophomore at Notre Dame, studying Political Science and Theology.
“My father was an Evangelical Protestant,” Audrey shared. “And my mother a Catholic from the south. They met in the middle and became Anglican,” she laughed.
The home in which she and her brother were raised was one of open and intense theological dialogue—a reality evidenced by her comfort with all matters spiritual. She had an extensive grasp of scripture, and casually referenced a number of theologians she enjoyed—C.S. Lewis being her favorite, largely due to her admiration for his conversion from non-belief to faith. She takes her own faith seriously—and I got the impression that she enjoys being slightly outside the mainstream in the intensely Catholic setting.
“I find God everywhere,” she observed. “In nature, in literature, in people. We can find God whenever we want, wherever we look.”
“What effect does that awareness have on you?” I asked.
“I live by what the ancient Greeks called agape,” she replied. “Unconditional love for everybody on the planet simply because they’re human. Whenever I feel love, I know God is present.”
“We’re called to love each other deeply and unconditionally,” she concluded. “That’s how I practice my religion. As my youth pastor at church used to tell us, ‘Practice the gospel always. When necessary, use words!’”
I’m inspired by young folks like Audrey—whose convictions serve as an unshakable foundation for a deeply loving embrace of humanity. When it comes to living one’s faith, little else needs to be said—especially if practice truly does make perfect.
(Traverse City, MI)