MY ROAD TO LIVING A FAITHFUL LIFE
MAGNIFICENTLY MCKINNLEY: Blog #6
Good Afternoon Readers and Welcome Back to the Blog! Today we are discussing MY ROAD TO LIVING A FAITHFUL LIFE. I think one of the largest changes I have made in the past 3 years has been my pursuit of faith and my relationship with God.
I was baptized Catholic and attended church with my grandparents when I was young, but I had never received my other sacraments of Holy Communion and Conformation because my father wanted my brother and I to be able to choose where we wanted to belong. He encouraged a pursuit to religion but never forced one specific one upon us. So, up until the age of 19, I only attended Catholic church when I was with my grandparents and never really had a true understanding of religion or of God himself. In this time, I questioned faith. I began to seek answers and an understanding of faith. I questioned why could God let bad things happen to good people, how could we be in such a world of turmoil and hatred if that was not how God created life to be. It was not until I began to take religion classes in college that I started to grasp the idea of faith and began my pursuit of a life with God in it. My college class was called The Sacraments of the Catholic Church and my professor was a priest. Up until this class, I had no idea what any of the sacraments were really, besides a basic understanding of baptism, communion, conformation, and marriage. Long story short, this class completely changed my life. I came to class everyday excited to learn more about the Catholic faith, as we thouroghly discussed the hard topics of the Catholic religion such as gay marriage, abortion, divorce, and many more. But at the end of each and every class, no matter how difficult of a topic we discussed or how each individual student personally felt, our professor encouraged to close with the statement that "God is Love". [1 John 4:8]
This is where I was finally convinced that a pursuit with catholic faith and with God was right for me. I wanted to only seek out love in the world, in my life, in my relationships, in my work and in myself; and I needed God to aid me in doing that. I enrolled myself in the RCIA program at my school and made my Holy Communion and Conformation. I try to attend church every Sunday, I pray every night, I write/read devotions, I seek God's help before anyone else's, and I try to live a faithful and loving life.
Choosing to pursue a steady relationship with faith and with God was one of the best choices I have ever made in my entire life. I am a stronger person because of it, I am more loving, I am happier and I am less stressed. I was once a very worrisome person, but now I have developed a mindset of "giving it to God and going to bed". Any issue, problem, worry, fear, hope, or wish I experience, I pray on it and simply leave it in God's hands and wait for the outcome. My faith has helped me overcome many different challenges in my life and has, I think, made me into an incredibly better person than I was before.
I am incredibly thankful for where I am today and I accredit it to my faith in God and his will for me. I now seek a life of serving others, as God serves us, and I seek to be a love for others, as God is a love for us. God is always seeking you. Every sunset, every ocean wave, every clear blue sky, every starry night; he is saying "I am here". If he seeks us, why are we not seeking him. I think that the secret to joy in life is to keep seeking God where we doubt he is. To trust God in the light is easy, but to trust God in the dark, that is faith.
Sincerely, McKinnley ✝
I was baptized Catholic and attended church with my grandparents when I was young, but I had never received my other sacraments of Holy Communion and Conformation because my father wanted my brother and I to be able to choose where we wanted to belong. He encouraged a pursuit to religion but never forced one specific one upon us. So, up until the age of 19, I only attended Catholic church when I was with my grandparents and never really had a true understanding of religion or of God himself. In this time, I questioned faith. I began to seek answers and an understanding of faith. I questioned why could God let bad things happen to good people, how could we be in such a world of turmoil and hatred if that was not how God created life to be. It was not until I began to take religion classes in college that I started to grasp the idea of faith and began my pursuit of a life with God in it. My college class was called The Sacraments of the Catholic Church and my professor was a priest. Up until this class, I had no idea what any of the sacraments were really, besides a basic understanding of baptism, communion, conformation, and marriage. Long story short, this class completely changed my life. I came to class everyday excited to learn more about the Catholic faith, as we thouroghly discussed the hard topics of the Catholic religion such as gay marriage, abortion, divorce, and many more. But at the end of each and every class, no matter how difficult of a topic we discussed or how each individual student personally felt, our professor encouraged to close with the statement that "God is Love". [1 John 4:8]
This is where I was finally convinced that a pursuit with catholic faith and with God was right for me. I wanted to only seek out love in the world, in my life, in my relationships, in my work and in myself; and I needed God to aid me in doing that. I enrolled myself in the RCIA program at my school and made my Holy Communion and Conformation. I try to attend church every Sunday, I pray every night, I write/read devotions, I seek God's help before anyone else's, and I try to live a faithful and loving life.
Choosing to pursue a steady relationship with faith and with God was one of the best choices I have ever made in my entire life. I am a stronger person because of it, I am more loving, I am happier and I am less stressed. I was once a very worrisome person, but now I have developed a mindset of "giving it to God and going to bed". Any issue, problem, worry, fear, hope, or wish I experience, I pray on it and simply leave it in God's hands and wait for the outcome. My faith has helped me overcome many different challenges in my life and has, I think, made me into an incredibly better person than I was before.
I am incredibly thankful for where I am today and I accredit it to my faith in God and his will for me. I now seek a life of serving others, as God serves us, and I seek to be a love for others, as God is a love for us. God is always seeking you. Every sunset, every ocean wave, every clear blue sky, every starry night; he is saying "I am here". If he seeks us, why are we not seeking him. I think that the secret to joy in life is to keep seeking God where we doubt he is. To trust God in the light is easy, but to trust God in the dark, that is faith.
"Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast."
- Psalm 139:7, 9-10God is everywhere. Seek to be aware of his guiding hand and alert to the plans that he has for you.
Sincerely, McKinnley ✝
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