Faith

It seems like everyday I'm hit more with the realization that life is hard. But with every revelation of difficulty, the Holy Spirit is right there to present hope, to offer grace, to paint a picture for me of what matters, of what is true.

I was talking the other day with my boyfriend, Jeff about how as I go about the day, doing the different things required, my soul will get hit with a disatisfaction... there's something more. I realized that these times of discontent happen when I lost my focus from Jesus and am not remaining in him. Jeff and I were talking about our ways of trying to remind ourselves to abide in God and stay in constant communion with Him throughout the day...and we both felt frustrated with the results! Things become commonplace so easily; routines and plans lose their true meaning as I just go through the motions.

Why is it so hard, we wondered?

Then I realized that it's about f a i t h.

And the grain of our culture is so totally opposite of faith. We live in a realm saturated with instant gratification, materialism and all sorts of ways to meet our every whim, desire and need right NOW. On top of that, we are so full of visual messages- we can see, touch, feel everythign. But faith means wait... faith means believing in what we cannot see. Faith REQUIRES patience, waiting, persevering, trusting, standing firm, delayed gratification.

It was cool because after I hung up with Jeff, I just so happened to be in Hebrews 11 for my Bible reading plan. :) I'm not exactly sure what it's going to look like, living by faith, but I'm chewing on Hebrews and I'm thankful for the constant presence of my good friend, the Holy Spirit. I love learning, so I'm so glad He likes to teach me all throughout the day!

So there's some throughts for the day. :)

On another note, I did indeed get a job at a coffee shop, called Mugz. I love it! It's fast-paced, efficient, and customer oriented. I'm still learning the ropes, but I love my co-workers and manager and am so blessed by how God set it all up for me!

Other than working, I've been renovating my room (which will be the guest room when I leave), keeping in touch with friends and my boyfriend (we're two weeks into four months apart! God's been teaching us a whole lot, so though I miss him, I'm thankful for this time), and spending time with family and being involved at Christ Chapel. I sent out an update letter this week, so I hope you enjoy it! I'll keep you posted on further developments. :)

Much love, and may God empower you to walk by faith and not by sight today!