There was a time when I could not go to church.....

There was a time when I could not go to church. Everything irritated me there-singers, priests, and even the smell of incense. I had enough strength to get to my father Vasily Yermakov. And he says so happily: "Do not go to church, come to me, we'll have a seagull, we'll take a walk ..."

I came to see him almost every day. We walked around the cemetery, he stopped almost at every cross and told about the life of the person lying here. We talked about anything: about the weather, about politics, about the cinema, even about the first love. Sometimes they just sat on a bench and looked at the spring.

A couple of months later I returned to the temple. Father Vasily explained to me that this happens almost to all who sincerely came to the Church. "It's like in a marriage: first, you forget everything from love, and then everyday life begins, and the heart cools. This does not mean that love has ended. This means it has become more calm, mature, deep.

Faith also has its "stages", its tests. The Lord draws near to our heart. But you always remember the days when you entered the temple. Do you remember how your heart burned? You were ready to give your life for Christ. This is the moment of truth. Always keep it in your memory and never fall away from the water of Life. No matter what happens.

Vladimir Shcherbinin