Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” – Matthew 14:31

Well if I could walk on water
And if I could find some way to prove
If I could walk on water would you believe in me
My love is so true

Trust, faith, belief…and the ever present Doubting Thomas. We all know how hard it is to maintain these traits given the nature of the human condition. The big problem, I believe, lies in the marked difference between what we see everyday in life versus what we want – or don’t want – to believe.

Well I’m no angel, now, I’ll admit
I made a few bad moves I should regret
I hurt you once or so you said
Just one more chance is all you get

Yes it’s the constant failings, both our fellow man’s and our own, that shake our faith. None of us are angels, that’s for sure. I get challenged on my faith by others at times. This is because most of them define faith as “belief without proof”. Or as a senseless belief in something – or someone – despite the existing evidence. When actually, quite the opposite is true.

Didn’t mean to do you wrong again
Worse things have been done by better men
Baby, baby, don’t, don’t treat me this way
I know, yes, I’ve got to pay now, I’m still paying

I’ll admit it’s hard, very hard, to keep your faith at times. After all, if what we see and experience on a daily basis from those around us (and even ourselves) is reality, it can seem almost ludicrous to maintain certain beliefs in the face of it all. And so it is these things that we “see” that rule our feelings and emotions. But as my grandpa once told me: “Don’t believe anything you hear and only half of what you see.”.

Well if I could walk on water
And if I could find some way to prove
If I could walk on water would you believe in me, my love is true

And the truth is that haters are going to hate and doubters are going to doubt. Walking on water, multiplying fish, raising the dead or splitting the sea…it won’t matter to some. They just don’t want to believe.

All along, I told you lies
To err is human, forgive is divine
Don’t be a fool, don’t settle the score
Cause I can’t take it no more, I can’t take it

Eddie Money – born Edward Mahoney – is surely a keen study in keeping the faith. Eddie was born to a large Irish Catholic family in Brooklyn, New York, laced with Irish cops – his grandfather, dad and brother were all NYPD.  In the late 60’s, Eddie was following the family path towards a career as a police officer himself – he was actually a NYPD cadet – while honing his chops as a local area rocker.

His love of music reigned supreme however, and soon Eddie wound up splitting for Berkley, California. He cut his teeth on the local club circuit until legendary promoter Bill Graham, took notice. He wound up getting a deal with Columbia Records and the rest was history. His breakout debut Eddie Money spawned two Top 40 hits in 1977; “Baby Hold On” and “Two Tickets To Paradise” along with the his Top 1oo cover of the Smokey Robinson penned “You Really Got A Hold On Me”.

Well, if I could walk on water (if I could)
Is that what I’m gonna have to do
If I could walk on water would be you believe in me, my love is so true

Eddie’s meteoric rise to success continued through the early 80’s with MTV fueled hits like “Shakin” and “Think I’m In Love”, but the hits started to dry up as drug addiction problems began to take hold of his life. He went four years without a charting single, but his record label, Columbia, remained faithful and helped to get him back on track. In 1986, Eddie resurfaced on a duet with the legendary Ronnie Spector on “Take Me Home Tonight” and triumphed once again with “Walk On Water” in 1988.

Do I have to walk, walk, walk on water for you
Hey baby, baby, there’s a little time, let’s spend it together
We’ll get over what we left behind, there’s our future together
Yeah, well let’s stay together

A few interesting notes about Eddie:

• The Ronettes biggest hit “Be My Baby” is featured as part of the background to “Take Me Home Tonight”
• Eddie’s last charting single was “I’ll Get By” which reached #21 in 1992
• Eddie and his song “Two Tickets To Paradise” were featured in a GEICO insurance commercial

And isn’t it ironic, especially at this time of year, when it seems that the whole world is taking time to celebrate the birth of Christ – as we have for over 2,000 years  – that people still find it hard to keep their faith?

So, when the world seems hell bent on beating you down and your faith starts to slide, just remember that there is always a reason to believe.

Listen to Eddie here:

References:

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Money