Maybe its a question of "familiarity breeds contempt", Sooz. I certainly took my faith for granted. Its why I find the parable of the prodigal son so relevant (and many other people do too I think!).
This is part of an pre-selection essay (prior to being selected for Reader training) I wrote on the prodigal son:
?this brother of yours was dead and has come to life, he was lost and has been found?
This, above all, has significance for me. How that can comfort all of us! When we?ve done wrong, gone our own way, ignored what is right. Then, when we?ve hit rock bottom, perhaps been too scared to ask for forgiveness due to fear of rejection. To stand or kneel before God and say ?I am not worthy? and to feel His love enveloping you? picking you out of the dust. All the fine things ? the robe, the ring, the fatted calf. They never even mattered to the prodigal. What was all important was that he had his father?s forgiveness, his father?s love. The welcome he received was far beyond anything he could have hoped for. He probably appreciated his father?s love more now too ? because he had ?lost? it, had been away from it, and now was encompassed by it ? because you don?t appreciate what you?ve got till its gone. We can take comfort from the prodigal?s plight and forgiveness by his father.