Flirting with Faith by Joan Ball: Take the Journey
Posted: Wednesday, December 29, 2010
by Teresa Ortiz
Freelance writer/Speaker
Joan Ball had everything most modern women desire. She was highly educated, had a successful career, a dream home, a husband, and children. She was an Atheist and in every way, content.
What went wrong; or should I say right? Maybe it was the heart attack....maybe not.
I invite you to join Joan on her journey from Atheism to a faith-filled life. It's real. It's funny. It's shocking. It's true. It's about you; It's about me.
Beyond this, anything else I say wouldn't do her story justice. Therefore, let me introduce my friend Joan to you:
...."Despite my growing concern over the pressure in my chest, I sat motionless, proud enough to choose the anonymity of a pew over creating a scene with a quick exit... Of course, this begs the question: What was I doing there in the first place? Faith aside, church and a nice brunch made for a surprisingly relaxing Sunday-morning routine that offset nicely the insane pace we managed to maintain Monday through Saturday....it seemed like a benign sacrifice of an hour in exchange for some quality family-bonding time..."
" I probably wouldn't have been at church at all if I'd not married Martin six years earlier. When we met, in 1992, I was a single mother and a rabid atheist. More than that, my most potent venom was reserved for theists of the Christian persuasion... So coming from what could best be called a pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps secular environment, I'd pieced together my own personal philosophy on religion and faith. In my view, people who embraced God and religion were emotionally, physically, or intellectually weak and unable to carry themselves through life on their own. This elaborate ruse called faith provided them with an external construct to prop them up. A fantasy scaffolding that I was smart enough and strong enough to avoid."
GOING BACK
"Six years old and new to "the country", I recall three things that I wanted to define me. I was Irish, I was Catholic, and I was from Brooklyn. Unfortunately, none of these identifiers was actually true.... If you are going to create a false persona, your backstory needs to airtight..."
FLIRTING
"Juggling both a hearty appetite for drugs, alcohol, and dangerous behavior and an intense desire to succeed, I put myself through college, earned a BA in economics, and became a licensed stockbroker by the time I was twenty.... It was during these years in Albany that I, for the first time since grade school, became interested in faith... "
"....One book, one crystal, and one tab of acid at a time, I sought to find some transcendent truth...I wish I could recall a specific moment in time when I shifted from searching for faith to deciding that there was nothing there for me, but this spirit of self-reliance crept in over time..."
STRUCK
... And then suddenly, this Atheist, turned agnostic church goer found her self "struck Christian". This is where the real ride began. How did she handle this uninvited faith? Did she really plan to kill her Pastor and mentor in faith? It would be easy to think her story was a work of fiction, but that would be too easy... Take the journey.
Joan - Thank you for sharing your story. I appreciate the fact that your life and strong will dispel the myth that Christians have given up on independent thinking and free-will. You have shown that it takes courage to live a life of faith. And finally, thank you for being real by sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Meet Joan http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Joan-Ball/62731484
(C) Teresa Ortiz
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Top-level comments on this article: (5 total)Yes, very helpful! Makes me want to read the book!! :) Thanks!!Hello Anon. Thank you for the comment. It is a great book that gives an accurate picture of how a life must be turned upside down, to be made right. In many cases, people who commit their lives to Christ have an easier transition, but for those who come from this kind of background, it is not easy, but it is worth every moment because nothing can compare to a true encounter with Jesus...and going back to the old life would never satisfy. Do read it :-). Many blessings to you! Teresa
But why is she an atheist? She must have some intellectual reason.Hi Jen. She is no longer an atheist. She did have great intellectual reasons for being one, but she has an even greater intellectual reason to be a Christian. I really think you would enjoy her story. She talks about how hard is was the first few years of being a Christian. Many disappointments with other "more mature" Christians, she shares the feeling of being torn between both worlds. But then she also shares how her experience and the change God was doing was hard to fight, and then she found her self no longer fighting, but hungering and responding by searching every spiritual avenue to draw closer to God. In the process God did/is doing amazing things in her and through her. Check out her site. She spends a lot of time discussing Atheism and Christianity with a lot of skeptics and people who have turned their back on God. I am blessed to have her as a friend. Lots of love and hugs to you :-)Hi Jennifer. I was an atheist because that was all I'd ever known. I was not brought up in faith and believed that people who relied on God were either weak-willed or manipulative. I carried that into my early 30s when I came to believe that there was something out there, but that it was not to be found in organized religion. It wasn't until I was 37 that I came to believe, and even then I was (and remain) skeptical of many of the trappings of American Christianity. That said, I do believe that God is doing some pretty mysterious things and that I (a very unlikely convert) find myself wrapped up in it. And its turning out to be a very surprising adventure...Thank you Joan. Nothing like hearing it straight from the source. :-)
Thanks for another great article, Teresa!Hi Caleb! Thanks for reading. I trust all is well in Eugene!
Wow- sounds like a book to read and be encouraged by that book! Sounds like where many of us have come from - me included. Keep them coming Teresa!Hi Marijo. It sure is! I learned so much more about the perspective of atheism, which I didn't have before. I know you can relate to her. The other great thing she brings out is that it is important to search out the truth of God's word and not just take what organized religion says. Learning to trust the Holy Spirit as our thoughts align with God 's word. I am loving the extra time I have to read, comment, and write a few of my own while I am in a holding pattern for the sitcom. Thanks for the encouraging words! T
Thanks Teresa! Can't wait to read her book! I feel like i am too busy to read, but if i notice what i put my free time into i realize i'm not. I have become so inspired by some books i've read; that i believe God lead me to read them, because they were what i needed; when i needed to change. Good books can change your life ; )Hi Heather. I hear you. It's amazing how much time we waste. This is a very encouraging and challenging story. It's amazing how her faith fueled her husband's faith into action as well. What wonderful "yay God" story :-)
Blessings to you! Miss you! Teresa
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