Impossible Faith

14608673_544774999049471_343328373344812361_o“That’s an oxymoron,” said my sister. They don’t belong in the same sentence, impossible and faith.

Ah, but here’s the thing, I responded. Not that it’s only an impossible event you expect to occur, but that you have to nerve to believe it. Impossibly so. People will marvel at your faith in the face of such obstacles. Impossible faith renders life’s circumstances possible.

It’s hard to have faith when dealing with seemingly insurmountable barriers. Believe anyway. People will laugh and ridicule you. Believe anyhow. They will make you feel simple minded … until you do it. It will take crazy, unshakeable, impossible faith to reach your goals. But, once you have accomplished it, you won’t seem so crazy.

I saw a wonderful movie on Netflix, Little Boy. I  highly recommend it! It’s about believing in spite of what it looks like, no matter what it looks like. I loved it so much, I walked away from that movie with my faith in God and in my own abilities strengthened. You just gotta continue to believe! Faith is not passive, nor is it for the faint of heart. Someone will definitely come along and challenge your stance, making you feel foolish. But I take comfort in this scripture: Wisdom is justified by her children (Luke 7:35). It’s the end of the thing that declares it. So let the haters hate, the mockers mock, and the naysayers say what they will. Believe God and let them think you are crazy.

Loria

New Again

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And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. Revelation 21:5

I seem to have gone through more than my fair share of trials lately. Ever felt that way? Then you wonder what it is you’re doing wrong. I’ve been asking, seeking and knocking (more like banging, LOL!) to no avail. Until it occurred to me – things keep happening to me. There’s something passive about that, as if I had nothing to do with it, therefore nothing can be done to prevent it. That doesn’t wash with me. I feel there is always something that can be done. Then another word came to mind. Allow. It gave my participation, or lack of, a name. You’ve allowed these things to happen to you, Loria. What? How? Where? For the answer, I went back to the beginning, when I re-set my life.

For me, everything began anew with my divorce. That’s when I began to live. Sounds strange, right? But it’s true. At that time, I stopped letting things happen to me and took more control over my life, the lives of my children and our future. It was a glorious rebellion, a hostile takeover – it was not given to me, I took it by force. For years, I heard Oprah sing the praises of keeping a personal journal. I did not heed her at the time because I was too busy. And I thought my life was fine, which it was because I never took the time to closely examine it. A clue was given me, that something was wrong, when I went to see a dietitian about my eating habits, ostensibly, to lose weight. But that session became so much more when she made a simple request: Describe to me what your day is like. 

I found myself in tears as I gave her the details of my life. Crying, for I knew not what. I was embarrassed. I never went back. But I recognized that feeling. I felt overwhelmed, like my life was not my own. She summed it up thusly: Wow – sounds like your life is kinda on auto pilot and you’re just hanging on for the ride! She was so right. My life was happening in a way and at a pace that left me running just to keep up. I had lost control.

Which brings me to my recent revelation. I asked myself, Loria, what is different about your life now? How did it get so out of control, again? Why are you letting things just happen to you instead of taking more of an active role? This time, the answer came quickly: journaling. Keeping a journal made the difference then and has already improved things of late. My journal is more than a record of what happened during my days, it’s a diary of my prayers. When I look back over them, I see that I have all that I ever asked God for during that transitional period in my life. Prayer is like an arrow – it gives you focus and aim to better enable you to hit your target. It’s like providing direction for your life. When I didn’t write it down, I became aimless and I fell for far too many distractions.

Moreover, writing less often removed the desire for me to write altogether. So, I found myself in a cycle once again of life happening and me just keeping up with the shenanigans. Writing the vision makes it plain – that the reader may see and run with it! Write that vision, Loria! Write it down – this is too important. Otherwise, you’ll continue to tread water and spin your wheels while you wait for something better to happen. It’s not gonna if you don’t direct it. God’s plan for me is good – to give me a future and a hope, an expected end. I’ve said this before and now I write to remind myself: write the ending you expect! Write that vision, girl! What you want out of life, claim it. I was waiting on God and becoming more frustrated but as usual, turns out he was waiting on me.

I’ve got my head twisted on straight now and I’m ready to re-enter the fight. Thank you, Lord, for giving me back my drive and ambition. Thank you for mistakes I’ve made along the way. I will not regret them because they are part of the process and necessary lessons to get me where I want to go. And, get me to where YOU want me to be so that you can bless me even more. I’m not afraid anymore for my future, I know you’re already there and you’ve made provision. I’m excited to see the things you have in store for me. You’re the God of better, of more than enough. You make all things new, AGAIN. Let’s get it – LET’S GO!

Be blessed,

Loria

For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie:

though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not delay. Habakkuk 2:3

 

Faith that Conquers

14670609_543510342509270_3669100487200880762_nOne of my favorite songs that has sustained me for years is FAITH, by Vanessa Bell Armstrong. Oh, there are many imitators, perpetrators and duplicators, but no other version can compare to her rendition. This recording is poor in quality but her voice transcends and more than makes up for it, somewhat reminiscent of Aretha Franklin. I rise with every swell of her voice, my spirits lift with her riffs until it culminates in:

Faith, that sees the invisible!
Faith, that expects the incredible!
Faith that can conquer anything!

Oh, to have THAT kind of faith! I long for it and reach for the faith of our fathers, which kept them during dark times. Faith to see my future, afar off, as Abraham did, even though it had yet to be realized. To believe God and count it to Him for righteousness, believing in His promises, that He would do just what He said. Not that I have attained, but I’m getting there. And I realize now, that it would have taken some time for Abram to get there, too. He may have stumbled at times, taken a few bad turns, or even wondered if God had forgotten the promise or if possible, reneged. When Abram found himself waiting on a son for so long that he thought it was humanly impossible for even God to deliver, he and Sarah agreed to have a child through a surrogate. That was a faltering of faith. But God came through eventually. When Abram’s wife was taken from him TWICE, any thinking person (as I’m sure Abram was) would have thought – maybe I shouldn’t have gone this way. He would have questioned, at least, if he made a wrong turn somewhere. But God used those occasions to enrich Abram. By the time God asked Abraham to give his only son as sacrifice, the father of faith was staunch in his belief. He went to obey so thoroughly that an angel had to stay his hand. And so it is with us. We’ll get there. Don’t dismay. The more He does, the more we know He will do. He will not leave us to our own devices. How do I know? Because of what He’s already done. On this, I hang my hat  and my faith. And know, I can conquer anything.

Be blessed,

Loria

Take a listen!