Every Sunday morning I feel such joy as I hold hands with my son on his way to Sunday school. We walk together smiling; he is excited to be there and I am peacefully happy giving this gift to my son. Faith. Not important to me what faith community you are connected to nor how you worship. Just simply having faith is good for your soul.
Is your faith strong? What source do you pull from when times are tough? When life unexpectedly throws you curveballs, do you sit in silent prayer and ask for strength? Or is it a simply mantra that you repeat over and over.
Oriah in her book The Invitation asks:
“I want to know what sustains you when all else falls away”
What does your inner strength look like? The greatest gift I will give to my children is faith. ”Have faith son when life pulls you down, believe there is a higher power out there looking after you.” “Beautiful daughter, don’t cry so hard nor for so long, ask for divine guidance to hold you.”
Years ago, one of my friends who was given 6 months to live had shared with me that he had wished he had given his school aged children faith. It had not been important to him so he didn’t pass it on to his children. Now he was trying to process with them his dying and leaving them; how he felt faith would have been so important to hold them in their grief for years to come.
Faith. It means something different to each one of us. Allow your faith to become strong. Bring it into your daily life. Call for divine guidance when you’re hurting and depleted. The nourishment one can feel from having a strong faith can be life-sustaining. Quiet prayer. Joyful praise in singing. Feeling a sense of community in worship. In solitude, giving thanks. It is there ready for you to embrace it. Wherever you are on your journey, faith and you can be hand in hand. Faith is there through accomplishments, regrets, sadness, defeat and betrayal. What truly sustains you when all else falls away?
In my home there is a paper on the fridge that is never taken off, it simply says
“The Lord Sustains Us”. And that is exactly how I feel always and in all ways. May your faith provide you peace, joy and a nourished soul. That is my wish for you.
Julie McGrath is a motivational speaker and founder of The Joy Source in Peabody, Massachusetts. Through her six-week Joy Course and biannual all-day events, Ms. McGrath encourages women to live their best life possible. More information can be found at http://www.thejoysource.com.