now and to change my tone

Spent the evening with unbelievers, one a scoffer destined to be scoffed at. What was striking was that throughout an evening of entertainment, issues of faith were appearing. Did they or did they not have faith in victory? Did they or did they not have faith in a particular athlete?

The lesson here wasn't of misplaced faith (although there is that), but of the wavering nature of belief, the fluctuation of faith. Faith in this instance wasn't on firm foundation, the clearest hidden parable of sandy bases I have ever seen.

What was emphasized to me, however, was that this is not some aberration of faith, but likely the truth. The walk of faith is a walk that attempts to minimize these fluctuations. The truly faithful are the ones with the ripples and not the tides. Question for the brethren, then: where are you in this walk? How large the ripples in you?