Practicing faith
Faith, to me, is trust that the moment is just as it should be – even if it’s painful and difficult. It’s the Knowing, (with a capital K as my friend and teacher Paul Hertel would say) that there is something bigger.
But, this is not a passive Knowing. It must be practiced. Cultivated. And, when we do, it will show up for us in a way that keeps us grounded and going through difficult times that make us feel like we might just fall apart.
Three ways to practice your faith:
1. Try again, even when you’ve fallen before. When the dream comes crashing down, you lose all your money, or the relationship ends, or you are grieving a profound loss try again. Start a new endeavor, set a new goal, open to love again. Keep going despite the uncertainty, the risk of pain or failure. Reach out to others. Help them and allow them to help you. Fully engage in this life. The commitment to trying again will activate your faith.
2. Find the meaning in the moment. There are gifts in every moment – even those that are so difficult. You don’t have to judge whether the gift outweighs the loss or the pain. There will be pain no matter. But, when we remember to find the gift, we also find some sliver of meaning and that is the power of faith. It reminds us to look for the love and the compassion and the goodness, even in the worst moments. Look for the gift, and you’ll see faith at work.
3. Seek evidence. It’s out there. Though the nature of faith is intangible it often leaves concrete results. Find how it works in your life every day. You put the key in the ignition, the car, more often than not, starts. You don’t have to know how the engine works you just have faith that it does. The sun comes up – each day, somewhere – no matter what you do. It is there. The ocean keeps rolling. We can have faith in it.
Nearly 12 years ago, my sister went into labor. The delivery was difficult and scary and risky and went on for hours. And, by the end of it, I held this little, little boy, my nephew, and in that my whole life changed. I felt elated and afraid. And I cried. Because there were so many things that had gone wrong during the labor and others that could have, but still in that moment it all worked and we were given a great gift. I don’t know how everything came together in that one moment to make it work. I only know that it did. That is faith at work.
Look for those things in your life. Even when some things are so distressing and out of whack, other, positive things continue to go on. Notice those things too. Notice how people are stepping up to care for each other. To love deeper despite the loss. Notice, how we keep going.
In Imperfect Spirituality I write it this way: Faith, “works whether you know how it happens or not. It’s your job to notice it.”
This is my practice.
