Saturday, May 2, 2009
Choosing Faith...
For most of my life I struggled with faith: is there a God? If there is, then is one religion right and all others wrong? Was Jesus the son of God, or is the Messiah yet to come? And if God is all loving and all forgiving, then why have many religious people I have met believe that those who don't accept God or Jesus in the manner they believe will be condemed to eternal hell?

I have no doubt that this uncertainty and sense of disconnection was a block that prevented me from finding peace and comfort in my life.

A few years ago I was working with an alternative practitioner regarding a chronic health issue that had no known cause or cure. He was a very spiritual man with a strong faith in God, but with no religous affiliation. One day he suggested to me that "faith is something we choose, and is not something we are necessarily born to believe." Believe it or not I had never considered this before - I was fascinated by the concept that I could choose to have faith, and therefore I would. He also suggested that my uncertain religious/spiritual faith could be at the root of my illness, and recommended I explore this further.

As always happens when the time is right and the student is ready, some remarkable people came into my life, and whose wisdom and teachings guided me to resolve much of my uncertainty. I still don't have an affiliation with any religious group, nor have any profound revelations occured to me that have clarified the questions that I have pondered most of my life. But what did happen is I discovered my own power.

I discovered that we each have the power to choose - our thoughts, our feelings, our beliefs. That when we have doubts, we can make the choice to let them go, and rather align ourselves with the knowing that life is unfolded exactly as it is intended to. When our failings and limitations present themselves we can accept them, knowing that we are not and never will be perfect...and to love and accept ourselves anyway. When we are disappointed we have the ability to shift our thoughts to focus on our blessings instead, and the things that are right and good in our lives. Most importantly, when we are filled with fear and uncertainty we can choose to have faith...to recognize that although we can't control the circumstances or the events that occur in life, we can control is how we react to them.

And so I have finally discovered true faith. I choose to believe that there is a God who wants the same goodness and love for me that I want for myself. That all I need to know and do will always be available to me if I ask to be guided to it. And most importantly I live in faith that no matter how dark the day or difficult my struggles, I will always find my way to light once again. ~ Andrea :-)
Written at 8:59 PM by Andrea.
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