When My Faith Looks Different Than Yours

Like I mentioned in my last (whiny) post, our dear old friends from Nevada, Galen and Donna, will arrive here in middle May. (Years ago I wrote a post about them here.)

The strange thing? Just weeks ago I thought, "Hmm... Galen and Donna have never visited us here in all our 18 New York years, so probably I should just give-up believing they'll come." So I officially gave-up and felt at peace. Really.

Then just weeks later what happens? I get an email from Donna saying they'd love to come see us and our farm. Wow. After 18 years they're coming! And right after I gave-up believing they would.

I can't even count how often that sort of thing has happened.

People have poof! Traveled across Country to visit Tom and me right after I laid down my faith that they would. And just days after I concluded that I'd never get to visit Washington D.C. before I died (and felt fine with that), shwoop! Tom and I found ourselves on a tour bus having the best vacation, ever, in D.C., having traveled over from Gettysburg, our true destination.

I gave-up having a farm in my lifetime--and then got one. I assumed many friends were gone forever through distance and Time--and then found them (yay!) over at Facebook. I set aside the dream of writing a book--then 'magically' wrote one, post by post, by way of this blog.

But what about faith? Doesn't faith mean always believing, always standing, never giving-up?

Actually, I believe we make a mistake when we assume that faith always looks and feels just one way. That it strictly resembles other peoples' form of it, that it always comes out of a factory-sealed box, identical to what our neighbor got.

Sometimes? Sometimes I think the greatest faith on Earth is when we quietly lay our dreams down into the palm of God's big hand. When we just leave them there and let Him set them on a shelf, or roll them around into a whole other thing or just crumple them up and toss them away, even, we display enormous trust.

I, frankly, find that kind of faith to be pretty awesome. In fact, I'm planning to give-up more often, especially considering God's ways are much better, more creative and way more mind-blowing than mine.





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I've discovered that wanting God, Himself, more than anything else, simplifies, enlarges and enchants my life.

"Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this." Psalm 37:4-5





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"Not my will, but yours be done..."