Re-reading some old Rabbit Room posts, I came across this Flannery O’Connor quote in the comments section of a post about one of her books that reminded me of one of my posts from a while back, Weak and full of holes, where I quoted some thoughts from Frederick Buechner, Kevin Twit, and Philip Yancey on faith.

I think there is no suffering greater than what is caused by the doubts of those who want to believe. I know what torment this is, but I can only see it, in myself anyway, as a process by which faith is deepended. A faith that just accepts is a child’s faith and all right for children, but eventually you have to grow religiously as every other way, though some never do. What people don’t realize is how much religion costs. They think faith is a big electric blanket, when of course it is a cross. It is much harder to believe than not to believe. If you feel you can’t believe, you must at least do this: keep an open mind. Keep it open toward faith, keep wanting it , keep asking for it, and leave the rest to God. Don’t expect faith to clear everything up for you. Faith is trust, not certainty.

~ Flannery O’Connor