A lot of my posts of recent have been religious, as I have retreated into the safe space of time with God to reset, refuel, and empower my confidence and energy towards my goals. However, this one is not about religion specifically.. though it could be applied to religion.. but some recent reflections about faith in GENERAL about ANYTHING and what we would see in such an environment.
The first ones I have mentioned a couple times in recent blog and social media posts. I think that faith is a combination of expectation and determination. You have to BELIEVE in it to the degree that you expect that it will happen and are determined to do your part to bring it about. Benjamin Franklin is known for saying, "God helps those that help themselves." However, that's not the origin of the concept. Jesus, Himself, required actions by those that He healed when on earth... go wash, pick up your mat and walk, go feed them, walk to me on water, etc. Even the act of sacrifice for salvation is incomplete, unless we ALSO choose to believe and accept it for ourselves. It is pretty safe to say that we don't see ANY intervention of God in our lives, unless we believe that it can and will happen. And, you WON'T be determined to do anything for something you do not expect will happen.
The next one surprised me a little. PATIENCE is a sign of faith. Some people will say, "I wish I had more patience." I've been in failed relationships where the other person did NOT have patience that it would work out. But, you can't have patience without faith. You won't wait on something that you don't believe can happen. So, the only way to have more patience is to choose to believe that something will happen.
Another sign is that you will have work. This is similar to determination above... but it is the actual feet on the road actions that bring it about. I think this is very lacking in our society, because we have such a lack of faith or desire in achieving goals. Indeed, we have a worker SHORTAGE right now, because people would rather sit around the house and complain about their lack than actually get out and do something about it. When they DO go to a job, they try to do as little work as possible. I recently saw a post by a leading Democrat economist that was in the Clinton era that said what they liked about unions was paid vacations, weekends off, holidays off, etc. So.... no actual work. Work is called WORK for a reason. It isn't SUPPOSED to be fun.
I want to focus on that last one more, here. I've noted in the past that every form of improvement that we would do would be based on upon doing things that we don't for a period of time. Do you want to get in shape and be fit? I've made great strides in that over the last months. What did it require? Running or walking every other day, which was unpleasant at the time. But, it felt great when I reached fitness goals. Recently, I also decided that I didn't like my income level, status, or all the things I gave up for others and was left broke and alone. So, I applied to 2-3 jobs a day and did interviews. And, I got the job that will pay 500 plus over monthly bills and have room for advancement. When I needed to cover presents in the holiday where I had two flat tires, I worked extra hours to cover needed costs and lost working time for them. Even relationships take WORK. They don't happen on their own. We jointly MAKE romance happen for each other.
So, I hope these reflections help you in your journey to your own happiness.
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