Before each book talk or event I attend, I prepare notes for what I want to say. My husband once asked, “Don’t you just say the same thing each time?” Well, yes…and no. The facts and details are the same; those do not change. But there are different angles from which to tell the story, based on the demographic of the audience: a swim team will hear a more swimming-focused story; a book club might want to discuss the nature of the writing process or the challenges of publishing a book; a church or a school with a religious affiliation might hear a talk that discusses more of my spiritual journey.

The last topic is up for debate before each talk: how much of my spiritual journey do I share, based on my audience? I actually had one man (one whom I would consider to be faith-filled) approach me after a talk at a Catholic high school and say to me, “I’d love for you to come speak to my company. Just clear out some of the God talk, focus on the team aspect, and it will be great.” I can appreciate what he was saying, because no two persons’ faiths are the same, and I do not want to alienate an audience. I also believe that our faith is very personal.

When I do share it, I talk about being raised a “religious mutt”: our family “church hopped” and I was exposed to several communities of all denominations: Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Methodists; I graduated from a Catholic high school and college. I also attended a grade school that had many families of the Jewish faith; families who welcomed me into their homes during Hanukkah and Passover, friends who shared their faith with me.

I was not a Catholic when I went to Notre Dame; however, the Catholic Church embraced me nonetheless. Do you see a pattern here? Throughout my life I have been welcomed in churches and faiths of all denominations. And that has directly impacted my faith today. It is not necessarily rooted in doctrine, but in a welcoming place of a community – a prayerful community - that has come together to celebrate something greater than the individuals.

Last week I attended a book club, of which I only personally knew one member, but I shared my faith journey nonetheless. As I mentioned in a previous blog, I am always interested to see what “new” question or comment will arise. That night it was about Faith. But not mine.

There was a young Jewish mom who admitted that she was hesitant to read a book with a subtitle that read, “Haley Scott’s Journey of Faith and Triumph.” Yet, it was her book club’s selection. How thrilled I am she read it – and how thrilled I was to hear her feedback. It was inspiring to hear that this woman felt better about her own faith, while reading about mine. It confirmed her own beliefs in being involved in the prayerful community of her choice.

My journey of faith has been welcomed into the lives of many different faiths. And that - to me - is inspiring.