Narrative Summary
Interview with Rebecca Hosford by Katy Rogers
Rebecca Hosford is a young 20 year old college student who has grown up in the Ozarks
as a practicing Christian. She attributes much of her spiritual upbringing to her mother. She
remembers her mother taking her to Sunday school and church as a child. Her childhood
experiences with her faith extend anywhere from listening to sermons every Sunday to summer
church camps.
When I asked her if anything stuck with her from one of these camps she attended, she
mentioned the evening gatherings when the children would get together. During this service,
camp counselors could answer any questions they had about God. Rebecca said that a lot of her
questions regarding God were better explained within these meetings than at her church. One
particular question she had that the counselors were able to respond to concerned why God
allowed bad things to happen. The counselors replied that man has free will, and because of that,
some will choose to do bad things. It is up to those who seek to do good to counter them.
Rebecca believes that this is a truth all people should live by.
As a teenager, she gained a bigger understanding of God and how he works through a
person’s life. She recalls a Christian tale where a farmer’s young son died, and a local man
known to be a healer could not help. The man was harassed and tormented by his neighbors until
the farmer saw his son in a dream. The child told his father that he was waiting in Heaven for
him. The story made her realize that death was not the worst thing that could happen when one
lives with God in his or her life.
Though she has seen some negative attitudes towards her faith within her community, she
has never experienced any of it firsthand. She believes that Christians can persecute, as well as
be persecuted against. She has seen a lot of negativity in the media by Christians concerning
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other faiths, and she believes that it only serves to reaffirm others’ ideas that Christians are
judgmental and they force conversion on everyone.
There have been times in her life when she struggled with her faith. One of the most
notable was when her parents got divorced. She remembered being very sad and angry,
wondering why God could not help her parents reach the balance in their relationship that they
needed. She later realized that what was going on between her parents was the result of choices
they made, and was not because of God. When she came to this realization, she learned that God
would always be there for her. She found she could take any of her problems to him, and he
would listen, just as she had learned to listen to him and others around her. She began to pray
and rationalize all that was happening in her life, and she found the strength she needed to get
through it.
She has never considered another faith other than Christianity. She has always been a
Christian and intends to stay one. She has, however, studied other faiths like Hinduism and
various Japanese religions in college. Their tales and stories about their gods have always
fascinated her, and they are some of her favorite things to read about.
She does not see herself as having a specific role within her faith. She feels that one
should make his or her own way in life. She points out that, in the Bible, women’s roles fall
under the category of caregivers to their family and community. She feels women are more than
that; they can also help others build up their beliefs and make them strong. This is how she sees
her role.
I asked Rebecca what she thought Christianity should mean within her community. She
replied that it should mean acceptance and love. As far as she is concerned, that is what God is
all about and there is no better way to spread his Word. She feels that no one serves God through
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threatening others with damnation because his most important message is love.
Her spiritual mentor can be found in one person—her aunt. She credits her aunt with
helping her through her negative emotions during trying times like her parents’ divorce and her
grandfather’s heart attack. She remembers her aunt taking her aside and praying with her or
telling her that God loved her and would see her through it all. This helped strengthen Rebecca’s
resolve later on in her faith.
When Rebecca has a family of her own, she intends to raise them within her faith, but
says if they choose not to be Christians she will not be angry with them. She admits she might be
upset because one would naturally want your children to believe as you do, but her goal would
be to understand why they made that choice.
As far as marriage goes, she believes it is very important for spouses to agree on religious
issues. She feels differing religious beliefs would cause a lot of unwanted conflict within the
household, and she grew up with two parents who fought a lot. She would not want to expose her
children to that. “The best fight is the one you don’t have,” she replied.
In her closing thoughts on faith and religion, she said that faith does not have to involve
going to a building on a certain day or hour to worship. Your beliefs are what matter most, and
are what is going to get you through life. For Christians, she only has this to say: “hold tight to
[your] faith and try to do the right thing and remember [you] are not alone.”
Missouri State University
Spring 2011
Religious Lives of Ozarks Women