It's unfortunately incredible how fast one can get sidetracked when it comes to faith if you are put in an environment where faith is either of little importance, or just pushed aside.
I have witnessed such things come to pass over the course of last week [not this week, the week before.] It is really hard to maintain a strong, steady faith in God when He is constantly being ignored or blasphemed.
I am horribly disappointed in myself for letting such things happen. All because I didn't want my 'friends' to think I'm some wannabe-perfect-person. It's awful.
I don't want to be this wannabe-perfect-person. I want to be who God wants me to be. I want to give Him control of my life. I want Him to direct me in the way He wants me to go. I want to give Him a good rep when I present myself to others.
Thankfully, I did not let my faith down completely [although, it's heartbreaking to say I did so even the slightest bit...] A couple of my friends saw my I Am Second bracelet and asked what it was about because they had also seen the sticker on my car. Apparently they had seen a billboard on the way to Gainesville about I Am Second, but they didn't know what it was about. I was given that opportunity to share my faith with them. Even if it didn't really seem appealing to them, I didn't back down. In that moment, I stood steady in my faith.
That makes me proud.
Standing firm in your faith when it comes to confrontational instances like that is an extremely hard thing to do.Trust me, I know.
Last night I had a dream that someone I babysit for asked me about something which then led to me talking about church. The face she made and the remarks she threw at me were horrifying. I know that in real life, she is nothing like this; however, in my dream it was a horrible situation that I was forced to deal with. Amazingly, I did not back down from that either.
In all honesty, I don't know if I could do that; stand up to doubt and negative remarks about my faith. It's a hard thing to do. But somehow, I was able to in my dream. That gives me hope for my future. It really does.
It's a weird thing to think about, I know. It was a weird dream. But, I think it was dream't for a reason.
I think that I had that dream to sort of test my faith without really putting me through it. It was scary enough as a dream, but at least I know what to do if it happens to me for real.
To remain steadfast in your faith is a very hard thing to do, but when you think about it...the rewards in the end are undeniably better than anything we are able to get our hands on.
Anyone who needs some encouragement in this area [as I have, and do need constantly,] I really suggest checking out Adam Young's blog--> www.owlcityblog.com
It is incredible to read about his faith, and it is always helping me stay strong.
No comments:
Post a Comment