FAITH IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES
“You know the human spirit Powerful. There is nothing as powerful. It’s hard to kill the human spirit. Anybody can feel good when they have their health, their bills are paid, they have healthy relationship…. ANYBODY can be positive then… ANBODY could have a larger vision then… ANYBODY can faith under those kinds of circumstances. The real challenge of growth (mentally, emotionally, and spiritually), comes when you get knocked down. It takes courage. It takes Faith….. It’s not easy. If it were easy, everybody would do it.”
FAITH. EVEN WHEN THE DARKNESS OVERWHELMS YOUR WORLD. ESPECIALLY THEN.
We say our prayers. We eat healthy. We limit risks. We plan. We control. Yet. Still we are not immune. We are not invincible. Faith is not an invisibility cloak or a shield or a bullet proof vest. Faith is strength and support through all circumstances. Through the crisis and the celebration.
Many people might assume that a belief in a true God means you can’t be angry. FALSE. You can be angry, mad, upset, frustrated, pissed, livid, depressed. You have the right to shout every expletive you can think of at the mountain tops. You can cry and flail and scream. You can have ALL of the feels. BUT, you let those feelings process and pass. You accept where you are and the responsibility to trust, pray, and take yourself where you want to go. You can scream your anger, but eventually you’ll sing His praise.
My Faith in ONE TRUE, omnipotent, powerful, loving, and kind creator [God] is not blind faith. It is a trust. A relationship. A bond.
I wasn’t asked to forgo all anger and frustration. I wasn’t told to ignore my pain and immediately trust in a greater purpose. I chose to have FAITH that regardless of my immediate situation and emotions, I would find peace. NOT HAPPINESS. NOT WEALTH. NOT PERFECTION. NOT HEALING. Peace.
Faith is a support system. It is a framework of love and a blueprint for peace. Not a promise. It requires you to reinforce the bonds. Strengthen the load barring structure. You have to love your faith and invest into it. Otherwise, in the midst of crisis it is nothing more than a pile of kindling to burn along with your hopes and dreams.
Yes. It’s all dramatic and theoretical. Yes it is intangible. No it is not perfect. However, what it offers is clarity and acceptance when the time comes.
Eventually, you have to let your faith over-power your fears and emotions. Use those emotions to remind your faith of your strength. Make lists of the good and the bad. The blessings and the bull-shit. Become comfortable in your personal crisis. Grow strong in your peace rather than bitter in your anger.
Faith is a huge word. You don’t have to be afraid of the size and the depth. You have to become comfortable in the uncertainty of your situation. In everyone’s situation. If you let it, peace will come.
I may never know the answers to my questions, why me… why now… why this… why not… why more… ?!?!?! I may never get the life affirming, diagnosis validating, journey assuring moment of “OH I SEE…” but what I do have is an acceptance and a trust in my path. My faith. My God. My Belief. My Story. All beautifully and wonderfully and imperfectly made.
Charlotte Raejole