I have recently come to a realization about faith: My faith is uniquely my own and while I can change it, doubt it, and explore within it, I cannot deny it's there or try and make it something it isn't to suit those around me. I know many probably have similar ideas about one's personality, in general, but for some reason, when it comes to my faith, I seem to hold onto it a bit tighter than other aspects of who I am. This is probably because I think that my faith, in part, defines who I am.

Two months ago, I moved back into a house and a city that I haven't lived in for about five years. While I was away at college, my faith has evolved tremendously from that faith I had as a child and adolescent to one that one that continually surprises me and inspires me to learn even more about the God I love and the world I live in.

Moving home has been an interesting experience, to say the least. I have been home many, many times during my five years away, but for not much longer than a weekend or Christmas break. I would compare such an experience to meeting an old friend again after not having seen them for some time. After talking for a while, it soon becomes apparent that so much about them has changed, yet so much has stayed the same as well. I suppose that while I had such an experience with my friends and family, that they likely had a similar experience with me.

Such is probably true about my faith as well. These past few years, my faith and my ideas about the world have grown immensely. Consequently, many of those ideas have changed as well. However, while much has changed, much has stayed the same as well.

Upon arriving home, I began learning what it is like living with my parents again. In a way, we had to become reintroduced to some aspects of one another, after not having lived together for so long. Anyone who knows me, also knows that I like to engage in discussions about various topics concerning the world, especially religion. In time, some of my newly acquired beliefs began to emerge and my parents, still very much tied to many "traditional" ideas of faith, found my thoughts and beliefs to be quite shocking.

In these past months, we have come to accept and even sometimes embrace one another's ideas. I have a;sp discovered that though my faith may change from time to time, it is also inherently a part of me and I can no more deny it than I can any other part of myself, such as my small ears or my blue eyes. These past five years, I have doubted, analyzed, and explored my faith, always in constant wonder and amazement of the world itself. It is the truth I have found. As I discover new things, I change my mind and such truth inevitably changes, as it should.

In accepting this truth, I must also accept the truth of others. Though it may be a complete contradiction to what I believe, I must respect their own journey and what it has led to and where such a road may take them in the future. As a friend frequently tells me, "There cannot be unity without diversity."

Katie Griffin is a member of the Student Ecumenical Partnership (STEP) Leadership Team and is a member of Bethany Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Evansville, Indiana.