Friday, January 8, 2010

To Simply Believe...

Remember when you were a kid how easy it was to believe in Santa Claus? Or the tooth fairy?

None of us were smart enough to figure out that a man that large could not possibly fit down our chimney.



And what if you didn't have a chimney? Even then, we didn't really question it. We just figured Santa would use the front door.

As for the tooth fairy, I believed in it because I'd always wake up the next morning and find money under my pillow.

And since I wasn't a great sleeper as a kid, this was even further fascinating. At some point in the night--perhaps 2 in the morning, for all I know--one of my parents snuck into my room, managed to grab the tooth without waking me, and slip the money underneath my pillow.

Now that I'm older, of course, I know that neither Santa Claus nor the tooth fairy exist. (Sorry if that was a rude awakening for anyone out there.)

Still, I often times do wish that I had belief--no, faith--like that now that I'm a woman.

I remember learning about evolution in school. I always dismissed it, of course--it's just a theory. And even when I find people that don't believe in evolution, they still find it hard to believe that God could create the world in just six days (He rested on the seventh).

Yes, I'm a creationist. (I don't believe in calling it "the theory of intelligent design.") Do you honestly think that the whole world just happened by accident? Randomly? Even Einstein said that he doesn't believe that "God plays dice." In other words, that everything happened just like a throw of the dice--without meaning. I believe everything happens for a reason, and that includes the creation of the universe and everything in it. And yes, I believe God created each individual species--I don't believe we "evolved" from monkeys. Does that even make sense?

So, going back to the whole six-day-creation thing--I would always say in regards to that, "Well, why not believe God for the impossible?" He is GOD, after all. Omnipotent--all powerful. If you believe God to be powerful, then you should be able to believe God created the world in 6 days. And He's done lots of other amazing stuff, too, which you can read about here.

All creationist beliefs aside, however, I often do find it hard to just simply believe. Have faith. Know that God is in control, and surrender things to Him. Know that God can help me, that He does care, that He will get me through this. Know that God can still move in powerful ways, even today.

And He does. And He has--especially in my own life.

So, the thing I currently want to work on with God is helping to grow my faith. One way is simply reading the Bible more--Romans 10:17 says "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ." So that's one thing I can do. The other is praying. Not to give the typical answer of "read the Bible and pray every day"--but yes, reading the Bible and praying every day does go a long way. How many of us actually do that, though? I started off this break a little stronger than I am now. My mom says it's a discipline--you need to keep working at it. So I will. I must.

I'm not a perfect person, and I will never claim to be so. However, I can't keep getting stuck where I am either.

-Nicole-

2 comments:

  1. LOVE this post! I always think that God's time and our time are so different from each other. His 6 days may have lasted much longer than our 6 days last especially when you look at an eternal perspective. Maybe that's how it only took "6 days". I think it's great you have started reading the bible more often. I need to do that as well! Scripture has such an amazing effect on us. It does often sound cliche to read your bible and pray and things will be ok. I find that things aren't always ok for you if you do those things because,after all we were sent to earth to have trials and to see how well we could deal with those trials and still be faithful and valiant enough to stay true to our God and return to Him again some day. You could read and pray all day every day and you'll still have problems (trials). What I find though is that when I read scriptures and pray I am strengthened by Him. I can face the challenges better because I have made the effort to bring Him closer to my life and He blesses me with comfort and peace and helps me through. Good for you for reading more. I had decided to do that on my own more and with my family after the first of the year but haven't. You have inspired me! Have a great day! Tara

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  2. Stay strong and take it one day at a time. You already have all the answers you need right in front of you. Just keep believing and reading. Btw... you need to watch the Santa Claus movie. Will definitely help explain the whole bit about the chiminey.

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