Rediscovering Faith

Filed Under Personal

Every person finds his or her faith and religion in different ways. I’m sure a lot of us found them just the same — through our parents. From our infancy up until we are already grown-up, our parents have introduced us to their faith. Usually, they bring us to the church, attend mass and pay together. Actually, the way our parents, family and the people around us introduced God to us also defines how much we know God, what we don’t know about Him and how much we appreciate Him. I would say I’m one of the lucky souls who had parents that raised me and my siblings with an open heart and minds and thought us how to appreciate things no matter how small it may be (i.e., don’t waste a single a single grain of rice as it needed blood and perspiration to produce them).
Speaking of appreciation, I remember a classmate in high school when asked in a Christian Living class on how often she thanks God. She said that in every morning she wakes up, she thanks God and also on each blessing she receives. That hit me and haunt me for years. I asked myself, ‘Do I thank God as she does?’, ‘Do i appreciate all His blessings or at least, do I recognize them?’
At that early age of 13, I’m not really sure if my classmate knew what she was saying. I don’t know if she clearly understands what she does… if she really mean what she says. Actually, I doubted if ever she was saying the truth. However, that is already irrelevant. What is important is how important God is to me…. how much I appreciate Him, if at all.
Honestly, it took almost a decade before I fully understood. All that years, I am just another kid that follows whatever is preached without my heart. I was confused just like some of us. I wanted to understand more about my faith.
And God is just right everywhere. He always know what we were thinking… what bothers us. And what more is best to re-introduce Himself but through trials. At first, it just add some more into my confusion. When you try to live the way of Jesus and still receive enormous trials in life and family, your faith in Him would be put to the test. But amidst the ordeal, God showed himself in many ways. He showed how much He loves our family. He reminded us that He is the light at the end of the tunnel and that He never let us alone. All we needed to do is just hold on to Him and offer each and every day of our lives.
Slowly, He led us to pick-up the pieces of our shattered lives and stand up to continue to face life and serve Him. I realized that on each and every trial we went through made us a better and stronger person. I realized each ordeal teaches us things we wouldn’t have learned if did not gone though those problems. It is true that it is not important how many times we were down but how many times we get up. Each trial made us realize how much lucky we are and began to appreciate things I would have ignored or not noticed before. Today, just like my high school classmate, I thank God for every morning I wake up, for every night I sleep and in every blessings, big and small, that comes along the way. Thanks to her, she has unknowingly planted a seed that grew in me.
Trials in life redifined how I view my life in general. It led me to love my job more and have more passion in everything I do. I feel that I’m more responsible now and that I can face anything because I know God is with me. I have more confidence on myself than ever and have never been thankful through the bottom of my heart. It’s funny that it may be a simple thing for other people to rediscover your faith but for me, it was a big thing. It strengthen my faith and me.
Everything happens for a reason. All you need to do is BELIEVE IN HIM…. just believe.