It's not always easy to explain convictions that are different from conventional wisdom. When they're convictions about things of Spirit, about reality that isn't perceivable to the physical senses, there's an added challenge. The good thing about needing to explain—and it is good that we need to—is that we're often compelled to grow up to our convictions through example more than words.
I learned something about this from Edith, who belonged to the same church I did at one time. Edith (not her real name) had a thoughtful, modest way of speaking about faith and God's power that I admired. Once she told how she'd had to explain her trust in Christian healing to her grown son. Edith is a Christian Scientist, and for many years she had relied solely on prayer when she needed physical healing.
So when she began to have trouble with her knee, she prayed. But after some time, things weren't better, and she was having difficulty walking. Her son wanted her to go to a doctor. For a while, Edith just put him off, but his loving concern persisted, and she knew she had to address that concern somehow. I can almost hear her saying to him in the same calm way she told it to our church congregation, "No, I'm not going to do that. Because you see, to me the most important thing is spiritual growth."
