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Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). When a mother watches her little child get on the school bus and head off to kindergarten for the first time, her heart may be filled with a swirling eddy of emotions—pride, loss, sadness, nostalgia, excitement, joy, and fear—all with a little faith mixed in.
As these feelings converge on her, faith alone keeps her from running after the school bus to overtake it and pull her child back into the safety of her arms. She cannot see what the day will bring for her little one, but her faith assures her that God will be watching, too, and that all of her hopes and dreams for her child will be waiting on the other side of that closed school bus door.
Over and over again, through the course of her child’s life, a mother’s faith will be tested. The first jump into the deep end quickly becomes the first day of college, and through it all we are faced with the choice to either live by faith or live in fear of all that we cannot know for sure. One mother’s play on words captures the essence of faith; instead of referring to the “true gift of faith,” she calls it “the true grit of faith.” I think she may have a point!
Faith means that we believe, in spite of the physical evidence and knowledge we gather through our own five senses. Faith sometimes seems to go against reason. Some people confuse faith for mere intuition, personal perception, or strong human desire. Faith is neither manipulation nor magical thinking. It is a commitment we make in the way we approach all the unknowns and first steps in our lives. Faith means that we live our lives with our arms and hearts wide open. Faith is truly a hidden treasure in a mother’s heart, a free gift from God that we open day by day, as we trust in his goodness with all our might.
Dear Lord, help me to persevere in my faith, even when I am afraid or faltering. Teach me to stay open and eager to receive the gift of faith every day of my life.