Convincing a Skeptic: Mission Impossible

At first, the task of proving that a family member existed seemed extremely simple.  There are tons of pictures of my great-grandmother, the stories that my grandmother and great aunts tell me about her, old clothes and jewelry and of course her cooking recipes that we still use today.  From these pictures, stories, jewelry and recipes, one may believe that my grandmother lived.  But, an extreme skeptic would never believe it.
It is true that I have pictures of my maternal great grandmother, Dorthia Arbor, and even her obituary which lists her successors (including me).  Isn’t this enough proof that my dead grandmother was living and proof that she was my grandmother?  Maybe.  But not for a skeptic.  The question still remains “How do I know that she is actually your grandmother without some genetic test?”  Of course said genetic test is impossible since my grandmother is dead.  For a skeptic, her jewelry means nothing as well.  “How do I know that this is her jewelry?”  These relics of my grandmother’s past are insignificant to a skeptic.
I even thought that proving that my paternal grandfather lived would be easier.  My grandfather was in the army.  Surely there is a record of this.  We even have the same last name.  But, for a skeptic, our shared last name means nothing as well.  “There are plenty of people who share a last name who have no blood relation at all.”  Well, the task of proving to an extreme skeptic that any of my dead relatives were living is mission impossible.  There is no need to go any further in my persuasion.
But, despite the fact that the skeptic won’t believe that my relatives lived, this does not shake my belief at all.  When my great grandmother passed away, I was only 2 years old and I never had a chance to meet my grandfather because he died of HIV right before I was born. Although I do not remember these two, I know that they lived for the same reasons that seem doubtful to the skeptic.  Because we are studying the history of Islamic civilization, I am reminded of religion.  As a Muslim, I am reminded that God makes believers.  So, whether we are talking about the belief that my grandparents lived,  or the belief that Islam is the right religion or even the belief in the Sira of the Prophet Muhammad, I cannot convince the skeptic of anything until it is willed by God.  From this “experiment,” I learned an interesting lesson.  If your faith is strong enough, there is no way that any skeptic can make you change your mind.