--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Why are you here?” my seminary professors…" description: "\"“Why are you here?” my seminary professors asked me. “You don’t really believe in God, do you?” My brother wrote. Dear professors, dear brother. It is ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d7/kate-braestrup-38380_believe-in-god_why-are-you-here-my-seminary-professors_670939.jpg" --- # Why are you here?” my seminary professors asked me. “You… ![“Why are you here?” my seminary professors asked me. “You don’t really believe in God, do you?” My brother wrote. Dear professors, dear brother. It is possible that God is the way Annie Payne used to lean her old head against my shoulder, trusting me as I held her on the bedpan; Drew’s arms holding…” quote by Kate Braestrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d7/kate-braestrup-38380_believe-in-god_why-are-you-here-my-seminary-professors_670939.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d7/kate-braestrup-38380_believe-in-god_why-are-you-here-my-seminary-professors_670939.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d7/kate-braestrup-38380_believe-in-god_why-are-you-here-my-seminary-professors_670939.jpg) > ““Why are you here?” my seminary professors asked me. “You don’t really believe in God, do you?” My brother wrote. Dear professors, dear brother. It is possible that God is the way Annie Payne used to lean her old head against my shoulder, trusting me as I held her on the bedpan; Drew’s arms holding me in our fertile scent; Ron Dunham walking out of the woods hand in hand with a child lost, then found. It is possible that God is my neighbor with her pan of brownies standing on my doorstep. It is entirely possible, that is, that the God I serve and worship with all my body, all my mind, all my soul, and all my spirit is love (1 John 4: 8). It’s enough. It’s all the God I need.”” [Kate Braestrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-braestrup/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author argues that God can be experienced through love and everyday relationships rather than doctrinal belief alone. **In simple terms:** God is love expressed in daily life. Key Takeaway Seek love in ordinary moments. Themes faith love human connection spirituality Mood reflective hopeful Type personal philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - family caregiving - friendship support - community service - personal loss - daily gratitude Key Concepts theology existentialism embodied spirituality Questions to Reflect On - How does love shape your understanding of the divine? - Can everyday acts replace formal worship? A Different Perspective Some may view this as minimizing traditional religious doctrine. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believe God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe-god/) [Believe in god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe-in-god/) [Dear brother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dear-brother/) [God Brother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-brother-640517/) [God Need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-need-240088/) [God Neighbor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-neighbor-1129070/) [Hand in hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hand-in-hand/) [Possible God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possible-god-276599/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [“It is possible that God is the way Annie Payne used to lean her old head against my shoulder...Drew's arms holding me...Ron Dunham walking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-braestrup/it-is-possible-that-god-is-the-way-annie-payne-used-to-lean-her-old/) [Kate Braestrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-braestrup/) > [To love God and neighbor is not something abstract, but profoundly concrete: it means seeing in every person and face of the Lord to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/to-love-god-and-neighbor-is-not-something-abstract-but-profoundly/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [The man who knows the delight of the love of God ? when the soul warmed by grace, loves both God and her brother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silouan-the-athonite/the-man-who-knows-the-delight-of-the-love-of-god-when-the-soul-warmed/) [Silouan the Athonite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silouan-the-athonite/) > [Study always to have Joy, for it befits not the servant of God to show before his brother or another sadness or a troubled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-of-assisi/study-always-to-have-joy-for-it-befits-not-the-servant-of-god-to-show/) [Francis of Assisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-of-assisi/) > [Swiftly arose and spread around me the peace and knowledge that pass all the argument of the earth, And I know that the hand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/swiftly-arose-and-spread-around-me-the-peace-and-knowledge-that-pass/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [“Joy and peace are manifestations of the presence of God, and your brother and sister are His perfect expression. You now understand that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-blanchard-cisneros/joy-and-peace-are-manifestations-of-the-presence-of-god-and-your/) [James Blanchard Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-blanchard-cisneros/) > [Sharing is the answer for humanity. When we share we recognize that God is our brother, and unless we have that trust created by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-creme/sharing-is-the-answer-for-humanity-when-we-share-we-recognize-that/) [Benjamin Creme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-creme/) > [“Domenico!” Father Guglielmo said. “I remind you again that the late monsignor’s sins and his salvation are between God and him. Your brother’s, too.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/domenico-father-guglielmo-said-i-remind-you-again-that-the-late/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [Since Moses was in Egypt land, Gods people have been struggling for justice while singing freedom songs. 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Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. A crowd was sitting around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-scazzero/scripture-reading-mark-3-31-35-then-jesus-mother-and-brothers-arrived/) [Peter Scazzero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-scazzero/) > [Anyone who thinks that his time is too valuable to spend keeping quiet will eventually have no time for God and his brother, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/anyone-who-thinks-that-his-time-is-too-valuable-to-spend-keeping/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [If God and Christ were equal then Christ should be called God’s brother, not God’s Son.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arius/if-god-and-christ-were-equal-then-christ-should-be-called-god-s/) [Arius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arius/) ## More by Kate Braestrup > [“It is possible that God is the way Annie Payne used to lean her old head against my shoulder...Drew's arms holding me...Ron Dunham walking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-braestrup/it-is-possible-that-god-is-the-way-annie-payne-used-to-lean-her-old/) [Kate Braestrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-braestrup/) > [“A marriage, willy-nilly, requires you to trust that your spouse will tell your story truthfully and lovingly when you are no longer around to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-braestrup/a-marriage-willy-nilly-requires-you-to-trust-that-your-spouse-will/) [Kate Braestrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-braestrup/) > [“Mrs. Levesque will put me to use as witness, as crutch, as Kleenex, as proxy for Jean-Pierre -- a temporary substitute for all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-braestrup/mrs-levesque-will-put-me-to-use-as-witness-as-crutch-as-kleenex-as/) [Kate Braestrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-braestrup/) > [“Then light your candles to the living. 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I'm here to be with you while you freak out, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-braestrup/ah-i-smiled-i-m-not-really-here-to-keep-you-from-freaking-out-i-m/) [Kate Braestrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-braestrup/) > [“Eventually, my heart—my fragile glass heart—would again be offered to the mortal hands of another man guaranteed to break it, one way or another,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-braestrup/eventually-my-heart-my-fragile-glass-heart-would-again-be-offered-to/) [Kate Braestrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-braestrup/) > [“I can't make those two realities -- what I've lost and what I've found -- fit together in some tidy pattern of divine causality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-braestrup/i-can-t-make-those-two-realities-what-i-ve-lost-and-what-i-ve-found/) [Kate Braestrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-braestrup/) > [“God is love, John’s Gospel tells us. That’s a whole theology in three words. 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