My Faith Defines Me

We're taught from an early age not to let anyone or anything define us. 

Trouble is, everything and everyone we interact with and experience helps make us who we are.

Everything and everyone defines us. 

My faith defines me. 

It's the basis for my morals, my interactions and reactions,  my thoughts and speech.  

Because of my faith, I try to incorporate God and the bible teaching into my life. 

So it does indeed,  very much, define me. 

There was a time when I turned my back on God.  I was raised in it,  didn't know anything else.  When I had the freedom and access to other religions and philosophies....man, I was swimming in it. 

I compared it to being fed chicken my whole life and swearing it was my favorite food, then finding out about all the other meats out there. How do I know chicken is my favorite if I've never had anything else? 

So I shut God out for a while. He was always there, knocking ever so softly on my heart....and I would turn a deaf ear or call myself silly and move along. 

I know there are people who know I'm Christian and think "kook, delusional,  crazy, misled, etc". 

Well that's okay. 

I'm not here to preach, that's not my calling. 

I'm here to testify to my own walk with God.  

I don't judge you for being different,  for thinking or believing differently. We're all different,  it's kind of what we do best. 

If you're going through a hard time, if I'm worried or fearful for you....I'm praying.  

Not because you need to believe,  because I believe.  

God loves us all and he'll take care of us regardless of whether we love him or not. 

He is the perfect parent.

"Well if he's such a good father why does he let us suffer? Why does he let us go to hell?"

Because a good parent knows we have to go through hard times in order to grow as people.  It builds our strengthens,  our character,  our principles,  makes us more compassionate and empathetic,  increases our knowledge and understanding.  And God gave us freedom.  We have a choice. We make our decisions and he abides them even if it makes him weep. He gives us chance after chance,  hoping we'll have a change of heart. 

God isn't Santa Claus,  he's not a genie. 

He is divine.

Your mind is boggled that I can believe in "an imaginary diety ". My mind is boggled that you think the universe is a cosmic accident.  

Everything we experience,  everyone we meet....God has a purpose even if we don't see it or understand it. 

You know it was buddhism that brought me back to God.  I was angry, depressed,  stressed,  overwhelmed,  miserable.  I found buddhism and it helped me learn how to quiet my mind, my thoughts. I learned how to be silent, how to listen. 

When I listened, when I found myself under everything life had pushed at me...

I found God,  waiting with open arms for me to come home to him willingly.  

I've seen God working in my life, in the lives of those I love ever since. I look back and see how God was there, all the miracles he produced for us that we were too busy to appreciate.  

I'm glad I came to God on my own, I'm just sorry for all the blessings my family and I missed because it took me so long to get there. 

I am on an endless journey to become who God wants me to be,  to do what God wants me to do.  I know some of it will be challenging,  painful, daunting,  and just plain undesirable.  

And I'll do it anyway if I'm called to because I know God is smarter than me and he sees the big picture. I will let my faith define me, and it will be glorious.  

Gods love is like walking out into a bright, warm, spring day after being in a cold, dark theater. You squint because it's so bright,  you feel the sun warming you up, you feel good. 

That's what it's like when God enters your heart, only 100 times better. 

Once you let him in, you don't feel the same without that light in your heart. 

And that's what I pray for you, to feel God's love and joy in your heart. 

Just for a moment.  

I guarantee you'll want more. 

God bless and good day.