Faith

Faith is belief with strong conviction; firm belief in something for which there may be no tangible proof; complete trust; opposite of doubt.

I once heard someone say faith is taking the first step on a staircase we cannot see or touch.

Faith means different things to different people. To me faith is not some blind leap that we take without thought or examination. Faith is using all of our intellectual faculties to look at the evidence (which may or may not be physical), make a determination, and believe with all of our being that the determination we have come to is true. With that said, we must be willing to follow it with action. I may see a chair, touch a chair but how do I know when I actually sit down it will hold me. I have to trust that the people who designed this chair thought about structural integrity, that they knew what they were doing and designed it with me in mind. So I sit, and it holds. Without action, faith is meaningless and hollow.

I had faith I could finish the Ironman, but it did not mean I did not train. I trained like my life depended on it. Faith without preparation is also a lost cause.

Since I was a little girl my mother took me to church. I learned many verses and prayers. I was taught about right and wrong but I was also taught that we are merely human and humans make mistakes. Trusting the truth and meaning of the words and lessons I had learned was often times more important than how I actually felt (although if I did feel guilty it was often because I truly did do something wrong).

We will all make millions of mistakes throughout our lifetime, we will hurt those we love without even trying, we will do things we never dreamed we were capable of doing, both good, and bad. The beauty of faith is that I believe with all my heart, at the end of this road (life) that I will be the person I was intended to be, all the good, the bad and the ugly lessons all wrapped up into one being. The hard lessons will be shared with those who are younger, who may or may not listen, but that hopefully will learn from my mistakes.

Becoming who we are supposed to be is a process. Having faith during the hardest times is what makes us grow and re-affirms that there is in fact more to this life than we can see and touch. Looking back at my life I know the factors that were present were not circumstance or haphazard. Each person, experience, or lesson was placed there for a reason to prepare me to be who I am today, sitting here, writing this blog.

Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Without faith during times like these I would be lost (and most of the time I'm lost anyway).

A blogger friend once took the time to share verses with me when she was going through a rough time and they helped her. I share them with you now in hopes that you may find something that speaks to you. I've been reading them every day for the past four months.

God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

If indeed we share in his sufferings, in order that we also share in his glory. Romans 8:17

Whenever I am afraid I will trust in you. Psalm 56:3

You are the God who performs Miracles. Psalm 7:14

Thank you for sharing friend, you're faith has shown an example of getting through the tough times. Your caring and action makes your faith real.

I leave you with pictures from my talk last month, a day where I was so honored to have the opportunity to share with these kids. Trisha and I are still keeping in touch. She taught me the word-

Ner-cited. It's a cross between nervous and excited, which she was before her spelling bee this weekend. I hope she did awesome!