Despite a traumatic child- and young adulthood, despite tremendous struggles with mental health and debilitating chronic illness, I found joy in a deep, abiding faith.

I've learned that this kind of faith is nearly impossible to explain. I can tell you that I first encountered God in my dorm room closet, where I had hidden with a piece of broken glass, intending to kill myself. 

I can tell you that I experienced an overnight healing from needy crazy-pants to level-headed human. I can tell you that I have days of crippling physical pain, but I feel God's presence so strongly that those times become sweet.

I can tell you that now, in my 70th year, I'm brimming with the kind of joy that can only come from faith.

I don't know if any of these experiences will speak to you. All I can do is promise you that they're true.

"Always be prepared to offer an explanation to anyone who asks you to justify the hope that is in you. However, do so with gentleness and respect." -- 1 Peter 3:15