Last class, after discussing the fact that Liz just up and left reality and her life and in some ways responsibilities in order to find her balance. I realize that not everyone was going to like Liz or respect her decision but I thought that her decision to travel was not a sign of weakness nor was she abandoning her responsibilities, rather, I thought her trip was exactly what she needed. Liz had been through a lot and needed to recover and even more so needed to find herself again and like the person she found.

I think it is quite clear why Chapter 57 was the most inspirational part of the book to me. The ways in which Liz described faith were remarkable and to me, spot on. “Devotion is diligence without assurance. Faith is a way of saying ‘yes, I pre-accept the terms of the universe and I embrace in advance what I am presently incapable of understanding.’ … If faith were rational, it wouldn’t be—by definition—faith. … Faith is walking face-first and full speed into the dark.” (157).

After reading the description of faith I realized that the trip Liz took was exactly what she needed. She needed to restore her faith in not only some force that she could find comfort in, but also in herself. Faith is what is mending Liz. Faith is the reason she can wake up and feel ok.

I think it is obvious that, for most people anyway, faith is what we too rely on for comfort and assurance. Faith is why we are willing to risk everything and try new things. Faith is the reason my family was able to move cross country just about every two years for the entire length of my Dad's naval career; we didn’t know what was in store for us, and of course it really sucked having to readjust and familiarize with a new place, but at the end of the day we were all ok with it because we knew things would work out. I am one of those people who doesn’t get easily stressed out or overwhelmed but when I do it feels like the world is crashing down and I will never recover. When I get like this I usually call the one person I know will make everything ok, my mom, and every time she tells me the same thing, “God will not give you more than you can handle”. I have finally learned that this is true, sometimes things take a turn for the worse but there really is always a silver lining and a way to recover. The further I read into Eat, Pray, Love, I realized Liz was beginning to know this too.

In general this semester I have learned that homelands vary from place to place and person to person. The readings selected for this semester have all had a relatively similar theme, all the characters in all the books were able to go on with their daily lives and problems because of their faith.