By now you're asking yourself, what else is there? She is really coming clean! Well, here's my last and final one. The big one. God. I have posted about going to church and our amazing pastor, he has really made a huge impact on my life. Even with that I find myself, when the chips are down, losing faith. It's easy to have faith when things are going swimmingly. Much harder when the chips are down.
My pastor always says there is no scoreboard. God is going to love you whether you have faith or not, go to church or not, believe or not. I want to believe that. Sometimes I do!
I have "God" moments all the time. I see Landon's sweet smiling face as he stands up in his crib every morning saying "Mom?". I watch him kick the soccer ball all over the lawn squealing with delight. Every time he has a first (first forward roll on his won today!). I know there is a God. I do get confused when I hear awful stories of children being hurt or when I am facing big challenges myself (update on all health issues for tomorrows post).
My biggest battle is fear and worry. I would rather turn "worry into wonder" which is, as I said in an earlier post, the motto this year at church.
Do you believe in God? A higher power? Do you think things happen randomly or in God's plan? And if so, what makes you know that?
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18 comments:
Great post! Yes, I believe in God. I think God has a plan for each of us but sometimes figuring out what that is becomes difficult. I agree whole-heartedly about it being easy to have faith when things are going well, when things are down I sometimes begin to wonder. I think everyone does that though, on some level. We're all human.
I am a Christian. We have a wonderful church and pastor.
I, however, struggle daily with God's plan for me and my faith. Not too long ago I prayed and prayed about something. I even felt like God had spoken to me about the answer I needed. I was so confident and calm about my decision and I felt like he had given me that strength. And then that thing did not go as I thought it would.
I was left wondering why, why, why, God did you set me up for dissapointment, when deep down I know it was just not the plan he had for me at the time. I am trying to be better at making my faith stronger. It is definitely a daily struggle.
I do believe in God. I was raised Catholic and brought up in the church. When I lost my mom, I lost faith because I had prayed so hard for her to get well and it didn't happen. Over time, I began to pray again.
With my whole heart mind and soul...YES! I believe in God, I believe that his son died on the cross so that all our sins can and will be forgiven. I believe everything happens for a reason. I have had heartache that I literally thought would kill me and it brought me more to life than I was before. I embrass God's plan and TRY not to question it. It isn't always easy but I know that it is mine and it is His gift.
We're on the same (blogging) page today. I also posted about my faith. I struggle, but I believe. I'm a Christian.
I believe in God. I wasn't brought up in a very religious household, but my boyfriend was (his dad was a minister) and I've been going to Church with his family from time to time and it's nice.
It's hard to keep faith when someone is tragically taken away far before their time. I thank God that nothing like that has happened to me personally, but I have friends who have been dealing with loss and it breaks my heart and does make you wonder why that particular path was chosen for that person.
I know there is a God! I recently attended the funeral of a wonderful 40 year old woman (mother,wife,friend,daughter,sister). The priest gave a beautiful homily about how we should not question that God did not answer our prayers for her. He went on to show how her entire life had been an answer to one prayer or another. I need to remind myself to watch for the answers to my prayers. Sometimes they don't get answered quite the way I am hoping, but they are always in accordance to His plan for us. Like you said, it is so easy when things are going smooth, and not so easy when times are tough.
I was raised to be a Christian therefore, I have always considered myself a Christian. I became much stronger in my faith after the birth of my daughter. How can you experience childbirth and not believe in God? During my pregnancy, I felt God speak to me. I think that experience is the first time I realized I cannot control everything that happens in my life. He still speaks to me and I try to listen. It is hard though....His plan for me is not always what I want but, I do feel everything is for a reason. It is His plan, not ours. I, personally, could not get through my day without Him. I do struggle though!!! Our pastor is wonderful too! He speaks on a personal level. I have never had a pastor like that. I have also never felt like I missed someting if I didn't go to church until, we began going to this church.
Great post!!!
I was raised in a very strict Irish Catholic family, and drifted away from religion once I was out on my own. Funny thing is, though, that as soon as I started my own family, I joined the local Catholic parish. I'm not as strict as my parents were, but we are there every Sunday, and volunteering as well. Go figure.
Yes, I'm a Christian and feel all that others here remark on. It's hard for us to have complete faith in God's plan for our lives, but it's all about the relationship we have with him. It's a daily relationship, much like a marriage. It requires work and, unfortunately, I'm the one who turns away from the relationship sometimes. Usually it's when things are good. However, I'm at church every Sunday and taking kids back on Weds. It gives me the fuel to keep on moving along!
The Dalai Lama said that even those who dont believe in religion are to be respected...the only problem is these people miss out by not being able to have "forgiveness". And when times get tough,they have no inner strength because they dont know how to forgive..."Your day to day life must be meaningful & purposeful"
Great post! I am a Christian and converted to Catholicism when I married. I believe in God and know that he has a plan...sometimes I may not understand it but I know it's there. I have also questioned my faith during troubling times...but somehow I always believe again. Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for these great posts!!
Karen
Great series of posts. I am a Christian and drifted for a long time. I thank God for how He protected me during those long years. It is nice to be "home."
I'll post on mine because it's kind of long what I want to say, you know I'm a Christian and it is the single most powerful thing in my life...I truly believe that without his loving hand on my life I would not be the person I am today. Even when my dad died I never questioned, only clung to my faith even tighter, knowing he would guide me through.
I should also have said that I love this post, very tender and sweet, especially the bit about that miracle child of yours...how could we not believe in God, when we look in the face of a child??? Such magic can't possibly be random!!!
I love that "turn worry into wonder" motto! I believe in God. I think I have come full circle from being raised in a Christian household (Catholic, but later attending Protestant churches) to questioning, exploring and being angry at God, to returning to my faith - but being more accepting and inclusive of the faith of others. The truth is the truth wherever you see it - I have found a great deal of insight and encouragement in my own spirituality from people of other faiths and philosophies. I think where once I might have found these things threatening "That can't possibly be true if it comes from ______!" now I find myself amazed and delighted when I find spiritual encouragement in an unexpected place. I think if we spend more time separating out "us" vs. "them" we will all have fuller lives.
I struggle with the God thing daily. I wasn't raised anything really... we were a military family and we traveled all over the world and sometimes finding a church was difficult. I am curious about religion and all of the different ones that exist. And I have tons of questions about stuff that only God could answer, I guess. I believe that there is something or someone out there that is divine that watches over all of us. I am still figuring the rest out.
OK, someone's got to post on this side of things: I do not believe in a god. I sometimes wish I did, but I just do not. No god, no higher power, and absolutely no plan. I was raised in a liberal protestant church in which our family was very active. I think I took away the important things: a sense of compassion, social justice, and desire for spiritual growth. And yes, I think the last can happen outside the (what I perceive to be) confines of organized religion. When I say I do not believe, I mean that I do not believe in a higher being; I do believe in a force of nature that binds us together in a common humanity, and I do consider myself a spiritual person. I have the moments you mention; I just call them something else. But for me the bottom line is not whether you believe or what you believe in but what kind of person you are and how you live your life.
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