"F" is for Faith, and Friday

TGIF, That's Thank GOD it is Friday. He brought us through another week.

Faith is a difficult thing for me. It is hard to have faith sometimes with all that happens in our lives. Faith also means different things to different people. To me it means not having to worry. It’s letting things run their course and trusting that in the end they will work out for the better. It means that even thought I don’t see what’s ahead, I know in my heart that there is a plan and that I trust that there is a good plan for me.

You need to have a lot of faith when driving in the fog or rain. You need to trust that the person in front of you will have their lights on and keep moving so that you don’t run into them. That is hard to do sometimes and I struggle with it. That is why when I am driving in the rain or fog I am a nervous wreck. It doesn’t help that one or my aunts was killed in an accident in the pouring rain. I always think about that when I am driving in the rain. I guess this would be faith in other people and anyone that knows anything about South Carolina Drivers knows that is a risky thing to do.

A few years ago we took the boys to Wet and Wild in Orlando. I really love water parks and this was a big one. There was this huge water slide that started on the top of a tower and then went almost straight down before sending you horizontally to allow you to slow down. I watched several people go down it before getting up the nerve to climb the tower. There was a short line at the top and soon it was my turn to hit the slide. As I sat down on the slide and waited for the previous person to clear the landing area, I noticed that I couldn’t see the slide over the edge. All I could see was that I was up really high. I knew the slide still had to be there but something in my brain said “this is not a good thing”. To go down this slide I was going to have to push myself off a very high tower without being able to see where I was going and have faith that the slide was going to catch me and take me safely to the ground.

When the man said “go ahead whenever you are ready”, I closed my eyes briefly and gave a little push (ok I stopped long enough to say a quick prayer) but I did do it. I don’t mind saying, I will never do that again. Even though it was exciting, once was enough. I will stick to the “Lazy River” next time. For those that have never been that is a little stream that runs through the park and you sit on an inner tube and float down it. I guess I just don’t have faith in man’s ability to make something perfect that works every time. This is probably a good thing also.

I constantly work on my faith in God as well. I mean I believe in God, and always have but my faith has never been what I would consider a strong one. Each time life gives me one of those little kicks I wonder why and try to second guess everything. It is difficult when I am faced with a tough decision or an apparent setback because I want to “push” my way forward and not “allow” things to happen. I never know if what I am doing is the right thing or just what “I” want to do. I also rationalize that because I can’t move mountains that my faith just isn’t strong enough especially when all one needs is the faith of a mustard seed. So I will keep working on this one. Have faith in me.

By the way, I am still reading daily. And when someone says “ the world has gone straight to the toilet” I can say, no it has been that way for a very long time. I have discovered a lot that was apparently skipped over when I was a child at Bible study. I guess it was too adult for us.

Have a great day,
Greg

Comments

Kerri Farley said…
Wow...this one is a thought provoking post also Greg!!
I sometimes have issues with Faith too....I always try to think I need to be in control...but I really need to let God be in control. I also try to put limitations on what HE can do...when really HE is limitless.
I hope this doesn't sound like nonsense to you :)

Anyways...just wanted to say I know where you are coming from!

Happy Friday!
Lori said…
Greg, you are a very introspective guy and that's a good thing. It seems like you are always thinking about something interesting. (Although your story about coming down the water slide made me nervous!)

I hope you get to enjoy the weekend!
Kim S in SC said…
Greg: love your analogy. It is wonderful to hear you speak, with great honesty and thought, about your own faith walk. I feel like most of us, me anyway, have certainly not always understood faith but we know it as it grows. When I look back over my life I see His hand in every aspect, even before I knew HIM. Our faith can certainly make us question, but until we question, we don't get answers. I love Jeremiah 33:3 which tells us to "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know" Keep calling...He will answer. We can count on it.
Janice Thomson said…
Loved your honest analysis and evaluation of your faith which sounds pretty normal to me. We can all improve in that area for sure.
I'm with you on the water slide one :)
Annie said…
Ah, there's the conclusion! You came back to finish your essay.

I have faith in you, Greg.
Celticspirit said…
Wake up Greg. It's now Saturday morning and I don't see any post from you. Rise and Shine. Get out of bed and put one foot in front of the other, get your coffee and write away.

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