August 16, 2018
Hi people. Today, I am simply writing on what’s been on my heart lately. I try to write monthly, but truthfully, sometimes it just takes me a little longer to have a topic stirred in my heart. So, the past few times I’ve thought about writing, each time the idea that everyone is on their own faith journey kept coming to mind. Recently, this idea has been shown in magnitudes in my own life as for the first time in my whole life, I have not been a part of a small group for about a year. I never imagined not being in a small group until it happened. Honestly, I just felt like the messages being preached and the conservations being had in small group were just not for me in my own faith journey right now. Nothing, nothing at all is said to go against any of the people in my small group or who attended my church service; they are all totally wonderful! However, I prayed and thought over and over it and slowly stopped showing up. Obviously, this was not the most considerate choice as I left behind people who cared about me in my small group, but it was what I needed. It took me time to adjust to not going anymore, and it took time for me to allow myself to not go without feeling guilt for not going. With all of that said, currently, I have been really content with keeping my faith to myself for a while. To be honest, this blog post is probably the most I have talked about my own faith in a while. It is hard to be open and share your faith with others all the time. Most importantly, it’s okay to not completely share your faith all the time. Our own faith is our most precious gift, most valuable weapon against temptation, and above all, our OWN relationship with God. Nobody can tell you how that should be or what that should look like. It’s YOURS! One of the most important things I have learned since taking my faith journey somewhat solo is that it is okay to be content with your own faith journey and not strive to make it something it’s not. Growing in your faith shouldn’t be a task we think we have to do in order to “have a good relationship with God” or to resemble someone else’s faith we admire. I am NOT saying it’s bad to work hard on your relationship with God or to have positive role models whose faith you admire; what I am saying is that God did not intend for us to push our relationship with Him to our own accord. He does the heavy lifting and molds our hearts; we just get to be grateful and spread His love in return. It is a truly beautiful exchange, one that is a direct product of God’s completely reckless love. We get to walk the journey with Jesus, not sprint it towards the finish line of a “perfect relationship.” There is no such thing. As humans, we aren’t capable of having a perfect faith. However, we are called to avoid complacency and devote time to Jesus, trusting that He has our best interests at heart. There is a BIG difference between being content with your faith and complacent with it. Content is a result of the peace that ultimately comes from the love of the Father; complacency is the evil that leaves us spiritually declined when we prioritize earthly desires over what God has in store for us. My hope would be that we can all become content with our very own faith journeys, no matter what that looks like. It is a small decision every day to share God’s love that keeps our own faiths alive. It is time to be unbound by the expectations we think our relationships with God need to meet.
With love,
C