When do you ask for consent

I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe.

-Smith Wigglesworth

Life is so full of surprises... sometimes you get what you expect the least when you expect the least.. and sometimes it's a no forever... yet life goes on... revolving around a simple word "Faith"... faith that one day we'll be there.. faith that one day we'll get it... faith that one day it'll be ours... a simple faith that one day everything would be right and would be exactly as it is supposed to be.. fit perfectly on it's place where it's best for all.. and we keep moving on...

I am not the kind of person who believed in God. I don't believe in what I don't see. I have heard stories of people having supernatural experience, people going into trance on the name of the God; having blissful experience and believing in something were two separate things for me. I had faith.. faith that I have the power to change my destiny and I, alone, make things happen in my life. As for blissfulness, I enjoyed that in alcohol.

The day when this story begins, I was out on my usual morning walk. It was 6.30 A.M. in the morning and the air was cool, with the essence of bygone rain hanging in the wind. Road was wet and pretty much empty with a few fellow walkers here and there. I usually enjoyed the calmness of the mornings. That's why I preferred to do routines up early in the morning near dawn. I took a one whole round around my colony which was like spread on an area of 5 kms, going past a tea shop, a local grocery store and a temple. I would usually wish people on my way, now since we were early-morning-rising-buddies, that ought to be the courtesy. Temple was the only place where I never stopped. I don't mean to harm any sentiments, but it always made me wonder why people so loved this idol.. it's after all just a  statue. 

So, going with the routine, I walked past the temple thinking on the same lines, thinking that if there is something called God, I would want to know it, I also want to feel it and then a smirk in my head said it all, "Nothing's there". And I moved ahead.

Coming back around to my house, I saw my younger son playing out on the porch. He had inherited my traits and so, was an early riser too. He always waited for me to return and hug him. So, as soon as he saw me, he started jumping with excitement.

Briefing you on my family, I am a consultant in a multinational firm with well-to-do family. My wife is a teacher in a primary school because she loves kids. She's also a loving mom to two cutest kids in the world, my elder daughter, 12 years and my younger son, 5 years. I have a happy family and we all love each other.

On that day, my younger son got excited on seeing me and ran towards me across the road. Suddenly, as if from nowhere, came a truck and hit him, dragging him for like 10 meters. There was blood, a lot of blood on the road. And it all happened in a matter of couple of seconds, right there, in front of my eyes, my son was dragged by a truck. I stood there aghast. As if I cannot move, I didn't want to see I didn't want to know what was about to come next. Then there was noise, a lot of noise. Somebody was lifting bloodied body of my son. Somebody pushed me into a car. Everything went all hazy. And then there was darkness.

I opened my eyes to my wife's tearful face. It took me a moment to recollect what had happened and I stood up as if coming out of a trance. I knew I had to be strong. Nurse told me my son was still alive, breathing. He was being kept on ventilation and he had lost a lot of blood. They needed a supply of his blood group immediately. Even though I begged them to drain every ounce of blood from my body and save my little kid, they wouldn't because somehow we both had different blood groups. Everyone was looking for his blood group, which, as told by doctor, was very rare. 

Two hours, five hours, 10 hours and still no blood. Somewhere, I was losing hope and so were the doctors. Everyone just kept saying only god can save him. I wondered whether my wife's prayers are being heard by god or not. 

Almost 12 hours had passed and the blood could not be arranged. I heard doctors saying it or murmuring it in my ears, I exactly don't remember, that they are going to take my son off the ventilator. There was no more hope of saving him. Everything became hazy again, like a blur. I heard the same voice inside my head again telling me may be it's time for me to bow my head. It seemed like the only hope to me now. And I did. I bowed to whoever he was, where ever he was.. I knelt down before him and I begged him for my son's life. 

As if, in response to my prayers, God sent a messenger, an angel. An angel who gave his blood to my son and saved his life. And the angel told me he got late because he was held in police station and undergoing inquiry for hitting my son with his truck. They heard in police station about the critical condition of my son and he was let off just for this small purpose, with the guard escort. He had to go back to that place again. I couldn't thank him enough. 

After 3 days in ICU, my son was all well now. Back to being all chirpy, he brought back lives into our bodies as well. Those three days were the dark days of my life. I made it out of them and it feels like coming out into the bright sunshine. I brought my son back to home and we went back to being a happy family again. I took off the case against the driver. He might be the one who nearly killed my son, but he was also the person who gave him another life. People might be looking for their gods in stones, I found mine in that simple truck driver. 

Today, walking past the temple, I had an urge to go inside. Taking off my shoes, I redirected my steps inside the temple and came face-to-face with the god. He might just be a stone idol, but he listens, he hears your sorrows and he responds, without any discrimination of cast, gender, race, nationality, religion or BELIEFS. I changed my destiny.. I knelt down before HIM.
Today, I bow my head before him and I feel different. I feel light and happy and I know where this feeling comes from...knowing that HE takes care of everything. I made out of those dark days of my life and I know now that if I trust him, everything will be easy. I still uphold atheism or rather, I would rephrase it as "a theism".