Excerpt from page 89
“I was raised in a religious home, but I had to live in the wilderness to experience the meaning of faith. In the States, I accepted what my people believed, conformed to what was prescribed, and bothered my head no further. Here, the slate is wiped clean of all creeds and doctrines; faith is stripped down to the fundamentals; and it becomes clear that all religion is no more and no less than the human soul reaching out to the Creator; that the individual alone, of his own free will and accord, must do the reaching. For me contact with God comes through his creation; the forests and the hills, the winds and the tides, the birds of the air, the creeping things upon the earth and the fishes in the sea, the starry heavens, the loyalty of a friend, love and devotion, faith and work, honor and awe.
I worship my god humbly before his manifestations, which go far beyond the doctrines of any Church. From deep within me my worship surges forth. I am thankful and humble. A divine force — a spiritual guidance surrounds and envelopes me. This I know, not how or why; I only know that I do know, and it cannot be different.
As your needs are great, you will pray. this I ought to know from experience. I have said prayers since I could talk — mumblings and say-words — yet I have never prayed truly until there was nothing else possible for me to do. These last few weeks I have prayed more than in all my life before.
My prayers will be answered only if I pray with all my heart and humbly accept the answer to my prayers. To receive help I must do my part ungrudgingly, no matter how hard it will be.
I must work with all my might and intelligence and pray as I work. Then all will be well with me and my child. Yes, I do sometimes doubt and question — much less now than at first. After all, I am only a mortal being, and I have been sorely tried.”
Martha Martin (Helen Bolyan)