Like Woah

How does your faith in God positively influence your life? - Steph Stoffa

I'm aware that I'm going out of order with these, but I have to answer this one. When she asked it, I immediately thought of my answer, as opposed to sitting on it for weeks on end. Yes, I finally got caught up, you have no idea how giddy I am because of that. ^_~

My faith influences my life in a number of ways. It's hard to believe in someone you can't see, to know that they're the only person that can actually change your life other than yourself. I have a lot of different views on this, but there are times when you sit there, in the dark, hating yourself.  There are going to be days in life where you can't stand whom you've become. There will be moments where you sit there and stare at nothing, wishing you could change the outcome because you messed it up so bad. These are the moments where you wonder if there's really anything that can be done...and you wonder if you can fix it.

An example I can think of, off hand, is my mom and Scott. Though being with Scott ultimately ruined her marriage to my dad, she's happier now. I believe that was meant to be that way.  She waited twenty-six years to see him again.  You don't see that in life very often; especially him still loving her the way he did.  And you're wondering; what does religion have to do with this? Well, think about it. If God didn't exist, would that have happened any other way?

I also love finding hope in simple things. I'm so easily amused, and sometimes that's good, other times that's bad. One of my favorite seasons is autumn. I love to see the colors change, the beauty in grace. But where did it all come from? I agree with my dad's approach on this; you can't honestly look at the trees, rocks, birds, fish, frogs, water, air, clouds, and sky, and say they all came from one organism. You can't honestly look at the inner workings of people and believe there wasn't a design to it. Every single minuscule part of your body has a purpose; so how can you believe that it wasn't designed with a reason in mind? And if you believe otherwise, though I believe you have your rights to do so, I firmly think you're lying to yourself.

Another example I can think of is a bit ironic to me. I made a lot of mistakes recently. I hurt a lot of people. One of them was going to walk away from me and never look back.  We had a sermon that Sunday about how we all want one thing but no one will work for it.  I prayed that night, and I asked for one thing. I said; please don't take him away from me.  Because of all my friends, he's the one I'd be devastated to lose the most. I decided to give him two days to talk to me again (and if he didn't, I assumed he hated me and never would); since that's the time frame my dad mentioned. He said "Don't worry, two days from now, he'll be talking to you like he always does".  He sent me a message at 11:11...just before the second day. This particular person also has very strange timing. At one point I told him that if he still cared, he had to stop me from leaving...and he did. A day after I left. But I know he still cares.

My faith is believing in a higher power, that I'm not in control of my own life. Everything is already done for me, and I second guess everything I do. I constantly wonder, pray, and plead that I'm dong the right thing.  I have faith to believe that my God can save people, and that he can change an outcome, no matter how grim it looks. For instance, Mrs. Maryann had Cancer. I met her during that time, talked to her a few times. I don't know how bad it was, I never asked her, but within the time I knew her, she was healed of it completely. You can't sit here and say there wasn't a purpose for that.

Or even more amazing than that...my dad always has business ideas, but none of them have ever been put into play before. One day he got this amazing idea to help the church out.  Well, I had talked to someone in the church and found out that they really needed the money.  So, dad's going to be putting the plan into play a lot sooner than expected. You can't say that faith doesn't exist.

James told me that his life is the way it is because he's blessed. And while I believe that's true, I also believe it's because he tries and succeeded. Everything comes harder for me because of my paranoia, lack of social skills, and fear of making mistakes. I second guess everything I do. If I could have faith like he does, maybe life wouldn't be so difficult. Maybe things would come easier to me. But you know what? That's how my faith makes a positive influence on my life. Little things like this are what change my mind about everything.