Small note on religion and faith

I'm not a very religious person, but I don't denigrate the faith of others, and sometimes I think there is much to be envied in that faith. I just came across a passage in one of Munro's stories about prayer, and I think it's the best passage in fiction I've ever read on faith as a positive force.

from "The Progress of Love"

My mother prayed on her knees at midday, at night, and first thing in the morning. Every day opened up to her to have God's will done in it. Every night she totted up what she'd done and said and thought, to see how it squared with Him. That kind of life is dreary, people think, but they're missing the point. For one thing, such a life can never be boring. And nothing can happen to you that you can't make use of. Every if you're wracked by troubles, and sick and poor and ugly, you've got your soul to carry through life like a treasure on a platter. Going upstairs to pray after the noon meal, my mother would be full of energy and expectation, seriously smiling.

Typically, the story also has the other side of faith/religion, regarding this same mother's indifference to her daughter's (the narrator's) desire to be further educated, because according to the mother it doesn't matter to God: "This was the first time I understood how God could become a real opponent, not just some kind of nuisance or large decoration."

Anyway, this also reminds me of my own mother's recent increase in faith. There's been a lot going on in my family the past year, and I think this faith has made her better able to deal with that, and generally mellowed her out. I feel like I've been able to reason with her more that before, in any case.